Mike76

I read it ages ago, but I remember it as a collection of little stories without an ending, inconclusive. I didn’t like it.

Regarding the internal debate within Islam, take a look at the fascinating website faithfreedom.org run by ex-Muslims; it’s also translated into Italian. They are quite radical in their opposition to their former faith, practically comparing Islam to Nazism as fundamentally flawed and therefore uncorrectable. I have also formed a rather negative view of Islam thanks to (or because of) this site. However, I am a bit more optimistic than they are and believe it is possible to coexist with a secularized Islam. Anyway, if you have the time, give it a look.

I understand, but it is also the sudden leap from the Middle Ages to modernity that makes the Japanese so unique. I have never heard of the slum you mentioned; I thought you were referring to the homeless in general. My Lonely is from 2004, but it didn't seem to mention it. I don't know if the comparison with our grandmothers is accurate; anyway, polygamy is an aspect of the subordinate condition to which women are still subjected, a condition that fortunately seems to be disappearing in many Islamic countries and which instead we are not fighting hard enough against here in Europe due to foolishness. After all, many negative aspects of Islamic culture are already a matter of debate among Muslims. The problem is that here, out of fear of being seen as racist, we favor "the foreigner who wants to remain such" over "the foreigner who wants to integrate and live like us." A clear example is in Bologna, where Moroccan parents beat their daughter for behaving "too western" and were acquitted by judges because they acted "according to their culture."

That Japan is not a paradise on earth is easy to intuit, I saw the homeless too when I was there as a tourist in 2005, but my Lonely Planet guide highlighted their presence, emphasizing how they were "surprisingly numerous." Personally, I also prefer to engage with different people, but I believe that the charm and uniqueness of Japan stem precisely from its long closure to the outside world, and I think you appreciated that for this reason as well. A "uniform world" would indeed be boring. Infibulation is not a strictly Islamic tradition (although I specified it during my long aside), but religious elements are often used to justify it. The countries where it is highly prevalent are predominantly Muslim, though there may be some animists who practice it as well. I consider polygamy a problem primarily because it is often imposed on women and not chosen; furthermore, accepting it would create significant chaos because, in the name of equality, it would have to be recognized for all Italian citizens. Not by chance, the most progressive Islamic countries (Turkey, Tunisia, Morocco) have made it illegal, while in England they have gone so far as to pay child support for each wife...

I agree on the usefulness of "cultural cross-pollination," but our dear Japan is much less "pollinated" than Italy and yet, frankly, it doesn't seem worse for it.

@Psycho: fortunately no one is imposing anything on us for now; what scares me (but maybe I’m just being a coward) is the creation of mono-ethnic neighborhoods (we talked about Islam, but we can also talk about Chinese neighborhoods) which are isolated parallel worlds in relation to the country they are in and which are the exact opposite of the "cultural pollination" you mention. My hope is that what is happening recently in Malmo or Amsterdam with neighborhoods effectively escaping local legislation never occurs in Italy. As for Islam specifically (or rather, the traditions and customs brought by people from predominantly Islamic countries), I’m perfectly fine with them bringing us Kebabs and abstinence, while I have a certain aversion to polygamy and infibulation. What I fear is that here we might turn a blind eye or two for fear of being labeled as racists, as happens in Amsterdam where polygamy is legally prohibited but practically tolerated for the sake of peace, not to mention the rulings of some of our judges who, in an attempt to adopt the perspective of the "other," either do not apply Italian law or apply it lightly. But are we really sure we're protecting a "culture" when we tolerate certain things? In many European countries, there is still a debate about whether to ban the burqa, while in Tunisia they have made a law prohibiting the wearing of a regular scarf...

@Psychopompe: "We must try to mediate and take the good that exists in another culture, period," absolutely right psycho, but I believe you would agree that it is equally just to oppose what is NOT good in another culture.

@Syderus: without going too far to the Netherlands and Germany, just consider the megalomaniac (6000sqm) project of the mosque in Bologna, fortunately aborted. Mega-mosque with opaque funding that was supposed to be managed by the even less transparent UCOII, those who refused to sign Amato's "Charter of Values" because they considered it discriminatory against them.....

@macaco: surely, when it comes to "apology" for the worst examples of communism, even your Brazil, by refusing the extradition of Cesare Battisti, didn't exactly make a great impression.

Read about ten years ago and found it rather heavy and hard to digest. Maybe I should reread it now.