To The Daily Telegraph
Max Jalil draws a parallel between the cartoons in Jyllands-Posten and those depicting Jews in 1930s Germany. The former ridicule beliefs, the latter demonise people. David Culm (Letters, 10 January) states that we “should observe sensitivity and respect for other cultures’ beliefs”. This is wrong. We should show respect for other people, not their beliefs. These should be fully open to criticism, ridicule and opposition; especially those that justify murder as a response to mockery.  (Mike Mahoney, Tetbury, Gloucestershire)

Some cock-eyed beliefs can be ignored as doing little damage.  With others that is not true. Mr. Mahoney is referring mainly to religion, but there are dangerous beliefs about race, science and politics as well (“Obama is a moslem”, for instance) that are the result of deliberately malicious propaganda. The people concerned denigrate both people and ideas, and get away with it because so much of the public is poorly educated, doesn’t think for itself and makes no attempt to be informed. Are we supposed to respect both rabble rouser and those who believe every word they say? That would mean be respectful of the majority of individual Hitler/Nazi supporters, who happily absorbed his messages. “Nothing is so firmly believed as what we least know”. (Montaigne)