:
|
What's so wrong with having to learn Arabic?
What's so wrong about respecting the practices of our neighbors?
What's so important and rigid about our culture?
|
Like what OddjobAbe said, it's a matter of principle over anything else. When you move away from your own country and you settle down in a completely different country it's only natural that you try and adapt yourself to the customs and standards of that country. The very last thing you should demand from the country that was nice enough to take you in is that they change everything to fit your needs.
Don't get me wrong, all those things are fine on their own.
There's nothing wrong with learning Arabic on your own initiative. But it is wrong if your government wants to make it a standard because the foreigners who came here 12 years ago simply refuse to learn the native language. Visitors adapt to the place they visit, not the other way around.
And in the specific case of Islam I don't think I want to respect their practices. It may be normal in Iran or where-ever that you use your wife as a slave all day long and order her around like a dog and treat her as such, but in the western world we actually have such a thing as human rights. When I hear about Islamic men refusing to shake hands with women and then complaining about how they can't find a job at a legal firm, I don't exactly feel sympathy for those people.
So yeah, it's principle. That doesn't mean one should leave his entire religion behind, but when things do start to bump heads it's the visitor who should adapt. If he doesn't like how things go in the country where he is a guest he's free to leave. Until then he should adapt.