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The Muslim firebrands demonstrating against the British monarchy's decision to bestow knighthood upon Salman Rushdie are doing their best to exaggerate the importance of this honor. The honor has been bestowed not for his alleged blasphemy of the Prophet Mohammad but for services rendered as a writer of English literature.
Requesting citizenship, to me, implies readiness to accept the cultural, political and secular values of the country whose legal membership the applicant seeks. It involves seeking all the privileges defined under the law for citizens of France, as well as the obligation to respect its laws and conventions. France not only has five million Muslims, many of whom worship in French mosques, but also Buddhists from Asia who run their own temples in many parts of France. Some Buddhist priests I saw in France and the U.S. had their scalps shaved clean and wore long robes covering their entire body. Few people, however, found them so alien, oddly out of place or trying to cry out for attention.
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