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Wednesday, May 07, 2008

How many responses will it take?

The right to respond? Is that really what the Canadian Islamic Congress Human Rights Complaint against MacLean’s magazine is about? I guess I am terribly confused by those who seem to think such a right exists. I wasn’t aware. So let me see if I have this right:
  1. If I don’t like what MacLean’s writes I have the right to respond and I can force MacLean’s to print that response?
  2. And this right is separate from the multitude of letters to the editor that MacLean’s (and most publications) already publish?
  3. And would this right mean that everyone who is offended has a similar right?
Because the one question that keeps popping in to my head is why these particular offended people get to demand a response? Do they represent all offended Muslims or just themselves? And if it is just themselves does that mean that the next group of offended Muslims can demand the same right using the same tactics? I am just so full of questions on this topic, I mean, how does one go about representing an amorphous community of co-religionists that can’t seem to agree on anything? Is this response only for Sunni Muslims or Shia Muslims? Or Sufis? Or fundamentalists, or moderates? How many responses must Maclean’s publish in order to satisfy all the offended people? I am soooo confused!