The Dutch - world leaders in Islamophobia

[TigerToMany]

4. We should never be tolerant of intolerance.

The Dutch aversion to Islam seems to be based on the fact that much of Islam is still very conservative and intolerant. Dutch society on the other hand is relatively open and tolerant. One of my friends, who is a gay African-American man, said that he was received much more openly in Amsterdam than in New York City, a fact that he said makes him visit the city often.

The Europeans fought off the tyranny of the Catholic Church for centuries. In the 20th century, the scourge of Nazism infected most of Europe, almost plunging the continent into a dark age. Perhaps with the die-hard religionism, the intolerance, sexism, racism, homophobia and classism that are exhibited in some Muslim communities, the Dutch truly feel threatened. And they have every right to express their intolerance of intolerance.

While I hold no brief for the right-wing anti-immigration parties in Europe or the Netherlands, of Muslims should be addressed as it is a problem.