Michael Gerson
5/26/2010

Throughout history there have been times when respect for another culture clashes with universal human rights. A form of this is playing out now among traditional, burqa-wearing Muslims and a more liberal, European society. Seen as a sign of subjugation and oppression, some European leaders find the burqa unacceptable. But Gerson points out that banning or otherwise regulating the wearing of burqas is actually an assertion of European cultural identity that undermines the concept of religious freedom.

Gerson writes about politics, global health and development, religion and foreign policy.

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Bret Stephens
5/25/2010

The conservative blogosphere is buzzing with outrage over plans to build a 13-story mosque and Muslim cultural center just a few hundred feet from Ground Zero. As a resident of lower Manhattan, Stephens sees it differently. The center–to be known as Cordoba House if it is built–might yet serve as an excellent test case for Muslim tolerance. That is how the concept is being advertised by Feisal Abdul Rauf, the Kuwaiti-born imam whose brainchild this is and who sees it as as a step toward the Americanization of the Muslim community. Stephens questions the arguments of those who oppose the project and the consideration the would-be builders of the center have given to toleration themselves.

Stephens writes ‘Global View’ for the Journal.

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