Although I appreciate much of what guest columnist Youshaa Patel had to say in his editorial "Are Muslims fundamentally different?" (Jan. 24), I believe he missed the main point of Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks' Kenan ethics lecture. The lecture was mainly focusing on the radical, violent Islam responsible for the numerous terror attacks worldwide, not the religion in general.
Furthermore, the Chief Rabbi's remark regarding generalizations referenced in Patel's column was not an attempt to defend the use of generalizations, but merely illustrates the point that it is impossible to avoid all generalizations. I took this point to mean that while the Rabbi admits he, too, uses generalizations, he does so with the regret that such generalizations are imperfect.
Finally, Patel also inaccurately forwarded the Rabbi's message, for he failed to touch on what I thought was the essence of the speech: the need for listening.
Chief Rabbi Sacks urged all of us to listen to others so that we may better understand their values. Through listening we can learn who we can talk to about liberty and democracy, and who might be more interested in religion. He was not implying that no Muslims understand the value of democracy; rather he was saying that all people have different values, and we should also respect the values that we ourselves do not share.
If we can discern what values different cultures, religions and civilizations hold, we will all be able to interact with the Other in a more appropriate and respectful manner.
Joel Ribnick
Trinity '09
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