Muslims should learn English?
This report in The Sydney Morning Herald talks about the recent controversy that's been swirling around Prime Minister John Howard's comments that immigrants should learn to speak English, and treat women with respect. The Muslim community have reacted angrily, believing that they were the target of the comments.
Whether they were or weren't, will learning English in English-speaking countries enable migrants to become more peaceable? Judging by the history of the English-speaking world, speaking English is no guarantee that the heart will become purer, kinder or gentler as a result.
I wrote to the SMH letters editor (but alas, to no avail!) suggesting that Muslims should learn about the Christ they revere as a prophet. That's a far better foundation both for peace and inter-religious dialogue, though you're unlikely to hear the Prime Minister of Australia (or the Prime Minister of anywhere) advocating it in a hurry.