Nothing wrong with rejecting immorality
Reader comment on item: A Madrassah in Bridgeview, Illinois

Submitted by Long-time Reader (United States), Jun 20, 2005 at 21:29

Dr. Pipes, another great article. Our media too often, out of political correctness that has become second nature, closes its eyes to the glaring deficiencies of knee-jerk multiculturalism.

However, I've got to take an issue with one of your comments. You write that a senior at the Islamic school who is struggling to overcome sexual temptation he encounters outside his Islamic community will "likely have difficulties adjusting to the mainstream of American life; he could end up isolated and perhaps violently rejecting the society around him."

There are many Christians and Jews about whom you could make the same comment. It is quite likely that, for instance, young men who are planning to enter the Catholic priesthood have to struggle with this issue as well. It is also quite likely that many Christian and Jewish parents are just as concerned about the corrosive effects of American popular culture on their families and children. These parents may in fact not want their children to accept the society they see around themselves either.

Violent rejection of the morals of the society one encounters does not mean that the rejectionist is likely to grow up to become a terrorist. A religious separatist, possibly. Yet, as long as such separatism is peaceful, self-imposed, and not intrusive upon the rights of others, I do not consider it harmful from a public policy standpoint.

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