It was good to see your editorial titled "From Copenhagen to the Hugue" (The Jakarta Post, March 27, p. 6) saying "that the Muslim world don't need appeasing anyway."

Yes, people of different religions and cultures need to relate to one another with tolerance and sensitivity.

You are wrong, though, when you say "Islamophobia is a problem for Europeans to deal with. The sooner they learn and accept the presence of Muslims in their own populace, the better it will be for them."

Problems arise for a multicultural society when a particular immigrant group disregards the long-established, unwritten rule that you are welcome to come and add your own piece of culture to the national total - but you don't have the right to reject the host culture.

Too many Muslim immigrants go round raving about jihad and the destruction of democracy, western free thinking and permissiveness and all that, and promising to make the host country Islamic.

That sort of behavior engenders massive fear and loathing in the host population.

In Europe, Muslims now make up over a million of the Netherlands' 16 million population, and about 54 million in western Europe all together--equivalent to a major country.

When these people don't mix socially and want to undermine the social and legal system of the host country, and call western women "prostitutes", it creates a backlash of anger and contempt from people who have every right to say "This is my country; and my culture."

Islamophobia is not just a problem for Europeans (or Australians) to deal with. The causes lie not with Europeans but with the immigrant community.

When Muslims get over their delusion that everyone else has to conform to Muslim theology; when they give respect and tolerance to other cultures and religions - then they can expect tolerance and respect back.

DAVID WALTER

Brisbane

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