Reference: Global Muslim fury following Mohammad cartoon reprint, Bangkok Post, February 16, 2008

The message in these cartoons for religious activists eager to behead those who insult Islam is that there are some who are equally eager to insult those who behead people as a way of settling disagreement. One would think that followers of any religion with enough faith in their beliefs, would be able to participate in a process of discourse and debate that does not involve murder.

In fact, those with unshakable faith would not need organized religion at all for their faith lies intact deep in their heart even if they are surrounded by non-believers. The function of organized religion is to provide strength in numbers to compensate for weakness in faith. The really weak may find that they must go beyond that and persecute non-believers to consolidate and defend their belief system and thereby to keep the faith. Intolerance is not a measure of the strength of faith but of its weakness.

Cha-am Jamal
Thailand