Peace and Freedom: A different view

Hard to believe, sometimes, how differently things are viewed in the Arab/Islamic world. Here are two examples:

On the subject of Freedom of speech: At the end of an international conference on Islamic jurisprudence in Sharjah, the International Islamic Fiqh Academy issued a statement that avows devotion to freedom of speech in the following manner:

“Religious freedom is guaranteed to every member of society on the basis of a clear directive of the Holy Qur’an, which says: There is no coercion in religion,” .... non-Muslims [should] respect Islamic symbols and stop abusing the Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him), and called on Muslims to strive to overcome their differences.

... the statement warned against the tendency of some people to spread ideas that endanger the security and stability of the Ummah.

The statement also urged Muslim rulers to guarantee their subjects responsible freedom, food, housing, treatment, education and employment opportunities so they are not carried away by dangerous ideologies.

The statement stressed that freedom of expression should not be an excuse to attack the religion and its symbols...

On the subject of peace:

To the question, "What is peace?" we won't get an easy answer from Iranian Leader Khamenei's Representative in Syria Mojtaba Hosseini, though he makes it clear what peace is not:

"When we talk about peace, we must examine what we mean by peace. Does peace mean that there will be no Hizbullah or Islamic resistance? Does peace mean that Hamas and the Palestinians should give in to a cancerous tumor like Israel, and should officially recognize its existence? Is this what peace means? Does peace mean that America can deploy its forces in the Persian Gulf, in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere? Is this what peace means?

"If this is what peace means, we and America view things very differently.

This interview with Ahmadinejad somewhat illustrates the above point:

STEPHANOPOULOS: But if they choose a two state solution, if they choose to recognize Israel's existence, Iran will as well?

AHMADINEJAD; Let me approach this from another perspective. If the Palestinians decide that the Zionist regime needs to leave all Palestinian lands, would the American administration accept their decision? Will they accept this Palestinian point of view?

STEPHANOPOULOS: I'll ask them. But I'm asking you if Palestinians accept the existence of Israel, would Iran support that?....

STEPHANOPOULOS: If the Palestinians sign an agreement with Israel, will Iran support it?

AHMADINEJAD: Whatever decision they take is fine with us. We are not going to determine anything. Whatever decision they take, we will support that. We think that this is the right of the Palestinian people, however we fully expect other states to do so as well.

I'm afraid STEPHANOPOULOS is not quite up to the task of nailing the jelly that AHMADINEJAD feeds him. Rubin explains it.