Prof Jagdish Bhagwati on freedom, religion and the State

Prof Bhagwati writes:

• And now President Obama is doing just what he should not do. Yes, deal with the states that have Muslim majorities and are often theocratic rather than secular: Intellectuals can shun those they deplore, but foreign policy must deal with what is there. Do we really want to promote foreign policy negotiations with nation states grouped around religion?

Also read: Professor Bhagwati criticizes Obama for not appealing to the tolerant tradition within Islam itself, especially in Andalusian Spain, noting that intolerance was in fact introduced by the Catholics instead.