[Serious] Book reports

[Belacqua]

I guess I don't understand why he makes showing disrespect for someone else's god a desirable thing. Irreverence is easy. 

He isn't making it a desirable thing, he's pointing out that it's a hypocritical thing.  I guess it wasn't as plain as I thought it would be, so here's the context:

Twain mentions a newspaper story about a gaggle of British and American tourists holding a picnic/dance party in the Taj Mahal.  No one seems particularly shocked by this (no Westerners, that is), so Twain asks the reader to imagine that a group of Muslims were to do with same thing in a place sacred to British or Americans, such as Westminster Abbey, or a Quaker meeting house.  His point is that it is hypocritical of someone to be shocked when their religion is disrespected or their sacred places profaned while at the same time they do the same thing to others'. Twain didn't see a lot of value in religion, but he was a right bear when it came to religious freedom.

I see now that it was hard to understand without the context.  Apologies.

Boru

Thank you! I really did read that the wrong way. My suspicious mind, I guess. 

Twain was a brilliant guy and obviously ahead of his time.