I appreciate the fact that it may at times be very difficult to understand (or reason with) the conceptions of a different culture. Yet, for quite some time now, I have given up hope for a widespread mutual understanding between Muslims and the Western people for any foreseeable future. (I am not so sure about how it goes between other cultures and the West, but I am not very optimistic about it.)
Only very few people I have met in North America since 2000 were able to really understand and appreciate the rationales of the differences in question between the two cultures. Most, however, had a low view of our distinct cultural characteristics – be it religious or not. That unfortunately goes also for people who explicitly embrace multiculturalism and even acknowledge their sympathy for the coexistence and visibility of Islamic elements in Western societies. Yet what you “can live with” is not necessarily what you really understand and appreciate.
When certain actions or expressions tacitly imply that the person you are talking to attributes some sort of an inferiority to your identity, it can be highly disturbing. Yet Westerners do that all the time but hardly ever even notice it. This is very much like how a white left-winger strongly opposes racism, and openly acknowledges her distaste of discriminative behavior and practices, yet has a really hard time kissing a black kid without making a grimace – like that kid is a disgusting creature or something. The sad thing is that this white person does not do that intentionally, and is not really aware of what kind of a mentality and perception her behavior unveils. Numerous variations of this very attitude is what I find highly disturbing.
Such attitudes derive from a lack, will and pursuit of love and empathy. But although they do not strongly endanger “physical” coexistence, they definitely do not help build a more harmonious society. Therefore, in conclusion, I would like to express my deepest sympathies to the open-minded Westerners who occasionally made me feel more at home. Despite the fact that they are relatively way fewer in number, their existence keep alive our faint hopes for a better distant future.
On October 27, 2005, two Muslim teenagers of North African origin were electrocuted by a transformer in an electric substation, where they were trying to hide from the French police officers who mistook them for burglars and chased them. This event triggered a series of riots in French suburbs that lasted for more than three weeks.
The riots brought into question the French idea of republicanism.
