When my parents came to Australia over 50 years ago, they came from a legacy of persecution where they were victimised for the culture and religion into which they were born. They came here because it was free, relatively tolerant and where people could do what they liked (pretty much) provided they didn’t impose their will on others or breach the law.
Over the years scores of cultures and religions have successfully migrated to Australia and have been absorbed into the Australian society without losing for a moment their ability to conduct their lives whichever way they liked provided it was within the law and within the social value system that we considered so valuable.
Muslims around the world are upset because a cartoonist breached one of their religious idioms. Fair enough, everyone can understand their upset. But to then argue that the cartoonist should not have breached that idiom assumes that he knows what that idiom is.
I for one, have no interest whatsoever in learning about Islam. Why should I? That Muslims live in Australia and are free to practice their religion without imposing their idioms on me or others is good enough for me (and something that I will argue strongly for).
But why should I have to know what does or doesn’t offend Muslims when I don’t know what does or doesn’t offend the 100 or so other religions that exist in Australia? What on earth makes Islam so special for non-Muslims? I know that if I abide by Australian law and do not impose my will, beliefs or idioms on others, then we will all live compatibly in one society. I don’t want to learn the intricacies of Islam and I’m sure that Muslims don’t want to learn the intricacies of my belief system.
This is a secular society that values personal freedoms of many kinds. One is freedom of speech (within the constraints of the laws of defamation), another is the freedom to practice one’s religion unfettered provided that it does not fetter others.
Quite frankly, if Muslims are unable to handle the sort of society that Australia is, then clearly this is a society that does not suit their religion and they should move to where their beliefs and their social environment are more compatible. Australia didn’t change to accommodate my parents and I’ll be dammed if I’m going to give up my freedoms lightly.