Here’s another pre-9/11 goldie oldie, this one from the well-placed and highly-regarded Anthony Lewis, in the March 12, 1993 New York Times:
The murder of a doctor in Pensacola, Fla., tells us the essential truth about most anti-abortion activists. They are religious fanatics, who want to impose their version of God’s word on the rest of us. For them the end justifies any means, including violence … In this country we have a constitutional bargain about religion. Individuals are guaranteed the right to choose their faith, but they may not compel others to accept their views…. The bargain is essential to our form of democracy, which requires compromise and does not work when there are ideological certainties. The anti-abortion activists are outside the bargain. They have all the certainty—the cold-blooded certainty—of an Ayatollah Khomeini.”
It is alarming to think what Mr. Lewis would have said were he less cautious, warm-hearted, and addicted to compromise and tolerance.
Implications for Muslim immigration
Would it be fair to infer that Anthony Lewis is opposed to Muslim immigration into the USA? Just based on a straightforward reading of his comments, of course.