Juan Williams: Truthful Dissident?
“We would all be better off — Muslim Americans first and foremost —if we could have a more open discussion about Islam, Islamic militancy and what … it means to be Muslim.”
“Did journalist Juan Williams, who was fired Wednesday by NPR, show unacceptable insensitivity or unforgiveable stupidity when he expressed anxiety about Muslim airplane passengers during an interview with conservative TV host Bill O’Reilly? Free speech shouldn’t guarantee immunity from the standards of basic decency, but Williams’s comments were hardly a firing offense. We would all be better off — Muslim Americans first and foremost —if we could have a more open discussion about Islam, Islamic militancy and what Muslims, here and abroad, think it means to be Muslim.” “Some Westerners are having a more vivid debate about Islam’s travails than most Muslims are having.”
