On tolerance and arrogance

So Very Israeli posts a story:

A true story from Jerusalem:

A few weeks ago, I was walking through a Jewish neighborhood in Jerusalem.

An Arab deliveryman had parked his motorbike on a busy street. He layed out a mat on the sidewalk and began his prayers.

What happened next was shocking.

People started walking past and noticing him. They kept walking. Nobody bothered him. Not one comment, not one glare. 

This was in one of the most religious Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem.

This was during a war the media paint as a battle between Jews and Arabs.

And a Muslim man stops to practice his religion in public, completely confident in the knowledge that he's safe to do so.

Can you imagine a Jew in an Arab country? Would any Jew be safe to stop and put on tefillin in the middle of Turkey for example?

Jews are scared to show any signs of their religion even in cities like New York and London.

But Israel is different. Israel is one of the most tolerant countries in the world. A country where people of all religions feel safe.

Ship of Theseus follows up:

I was at the Shuk in Jerusalem on a Fri afternoon. Place is PACKED with people. Street is bumper to bumper with cars. Right on the sidewalk of Agrippa St an Arab guy laid out his prayer rug, prostrated himself and began praying. And the crowd just walked around him. No big deal.

These are nice stories, and they are perfect examples of Jewish tolerance in Israel that is not reported widely - but they are also stories about the arrogance of some Muslims.

Religious Jews in a city who are faced with having to pray before sundown never decide to pray in the middle of a busy sidewalk, There is always an alcove, a patch of grass, a corner of a public building, someplace that is unobtrusive. And there is almost always time to find such a spot. 

Even when Jews put together an ad-hoc minyan in airports or sports events they will attempt to get out of the way of the crowds. It is basic courtesy not to bother the larger public and force them to walk around you.

And this applies to Islam as well. 

IslamOnline says, "Basically, one can pray wherever it is clean. However, we should try to find a place that is relatively quiet and where people will not trip over us or be annoyed."

Egypt's Dar al Ifta says not to pray when "it is a public or personal walkway and holding prayers there obstructs the movements of pedestrians and harms public interest."

So when Muslims decide to make a public show of praying in the middle of a Jewish neighborhood, it is hard to escape the feeling that they are not humbly practicing Islam but arrogantly telling the Jews that they have no place on their own land and must accommodate the true Muslim owners. 

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