Rioting across the Muslim world--in reaction to reports of our military's torture of Muslim prisoners by desecrating the Koranâ€"sparked condemnations of the victims and their religion in various letters to the editor of the Boston Globe last week ("Blame Islamists, not Newsweek," May 20, 2005, and "Rioting isn't a sane response," May 21, 2005, ).

I wrote this response (which was not published) to the Boston Globe:

Ms. Hayes, in "Blame Islamists," mischaracterizes as mere "madness" the outraged responses of Muslims who rioted in response to our desecrating their Koran. In contrast, I see their behavior as immediately communicating their intense sense of outrage and violation at what they perceived as a grave insult and threat to them, their values, their society, and their God. In disrespecting and dishonoring their central beliefs and values, we assault, threaten, humiliate, and offend them. That's what they're saying.

Why can't we just listen to, respect, and learn from what they're communicating to us? Why do we now have to "flush their response down the toilet," dismissing it as merely an incomprehensible madness?

The reason, I think, is our own narcissism, our own self-centeredness, which leads us to think only of our own responses and needs, and not of theirs as well.

Isn't this a form of irrationality on our part, that increasingly leads us into destructive conflict with others? Wouldn't a more constructive, rational response on our side be to look at our own contribution to this conflict, so we can then change what we can change on our side to set matters right?

Michael O'Brien