A cultural difference

In a discussion in Skypeland about how people from different faiths can live together, someone from a Muslim country wanted to give us an example of how superior Islam is. He said that in a Muslim country, a man killed a child with his automobile. The crowd was upset and wanted to kill him, so he sought refuge in a nearby house. The man of the house agreed, when his son appeared and said he wanted to kill the driver since the driver had struck and killed his brother; that is, the other son of the man of the house. The man of the house forbade his son from hurting this driver seeking refuge. However, the son disobeyed and killed the driver, so in response the man of the house killed his son for disobeying.

The Muslim who told this story was extremely proud of it, as though it showed the decency and moral superiority of Islam over all other beliefs. When I said that the man should have called the police after his son killed the driver, I was treated with disdain, and told that this just showed how weak I was and not strong like these good Muslim people... (As I contemplate this story, it strikes me that we have a vast gap in standards and understanding here. In the West, the accident should have been reported to the police immediately. The behavior of the crowd was improper, and the police should have been called. The driver should not have run, and should have called the police. The man in the house should have called the police. The son should have called the police. The father should have called the police about his son's actions. The fact that this was not obvious, or that my suggestions were summarily rejected, demonstrates a complete misunderstanding of Western society and culture and the rule of law. Interesting...)

At this, I said this is an example of cultural differences; why we need to communicate more so we can understand each other better. These people do not understand the rule of law. Muslims riot after the Danish cartoons and kill each other, not understanding free speech and freedom of the press. Muslims expect Americans to welcome Ahmadenijad and not criticize him when he visited the US. These are all signs of cultural misunderstandings and vast confusion... (The good part of this story is that with modern communications and technology, parts of the world that were never before in contact are able to talk to each other and share views. This is a unique time in history, and it is a bit painful and uncomfortable at first, but in the long run I think this can only be good.)