The problems of religious (in)tolerance
I find deeply disturbing the observation in the article «Vartholomaios backs mosque» (May 2) that: «The Orthodox Church has expressed its support for a mosque in Athens, arguing that the country should display tolerance of the Islamic religion.» Does Vartholomaios really believe that by being nice to the Mohammedans who for centuries have committed heinous crimes against us and other Christians, that they will, in turn, be nice to us? Will it benefit the Patriarchate in Istanbul or the few remaining Greek Orthodox Christians in Turkey? Does he believe it will benefit the ethnic Greeks of Cyprus? Perhaps he thinks it will appease the thousands of Albanian Muslims entering Greece so that they will not turn Greece into another area of ethnic and religious conflict like Bosnia and Kosovo. An example of «Islamic religion» [in]tolerance can be found in Kosovo where all vestiges of more than a millennium of Serbian culture, language, society and religion are being eradicated today while the world remains silent. Appeasement never works. STELLA JATRAS, Pennsylvania, USA.
