Tolerance is often described as the art of accepting others, whether they are different in appearance, language, culture, religion or all of these at once. However, is tolerance truly an art of genuine acceptance or merely a performance of it? The word “Tolerance” is frequently heard in many contexts, especially in political and religious discourse. Yet, despite its widespread use, and misuse, it appears to have lost much of its essence, acquiring increasingly negative connotations. In such a climate, the fear of being labeled 'intolerant' can force a shallow compliance, as the alternative is often swift communal rejection.
Let us start by investigating why tolerance as a value or concept seems to have gained a negative connotation. With regard to definition, Collins Dictionary defines tolerance is “the quality of allowing other people to say and do as they like, even if you do not agree or approve of it”. Yet, UNESCO takes it to a higher level as it defines tolerance as “respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world's cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being human. It is harmony in difference”. It further stresses that “tolerance is not concession, condescension or indulgence. Tolerance is, above all, an active attitude prompted by recognition of the universal human rights and fundamental freedoms of others.”[1]
If we look closely into both definitions, we would find that tolerance, lexically, is accepting others’ differences even if one does not like them while, according to UNESCO’s version, it refers to the art of accepting another person’s difference, without force but out of respect, because all of us are humans living in the same world.
However, due to the over use of the term in the sense of being a good person accepted by the wider community, the word tolerance seems to have lost its essential significance. It is frequently used in political contexts as a necessity to bring peace and end differences. However, upon close investigation, one would realize that forcing acceptance in itself is against the core meaning of tolerance. It indicates respecting others’ differences without having to embrace or believe in them. For example, as a Muslim I respect other religions and religious practices out of my respect for the Creator Who created humanity in different shapes, colors, cultures and religions to know and learn form each other and create civilization in this world. However, this does not mean I will embrace any other religion; it is our strategy to live in this shared world in peace and harmony.
Imagine this whole world or even a small community without tolerance. It begins with a simple distaste of another person, his shape, culture, ethnicity, religion, religious practices, or anything else. This distaste surely leads to frown at him. This act of frowning on one’s face can develop into a bad word, a push and finally a crime to end the other person’s existence that is bothering. By examining numbers globally, it’s recorded that by the end of 2025 England and Wales reported 137,550 hate crimes[2]. In the United States, the FBI reported 11,679 hate crime in 2024.[3] As shocking as these figures are, they are equally revealing of the effect of hatred and rejecting the ‘other’; or may be of the need for a better understanding of that other, his different background and all other factors that need to be accepted even if I do not agree or like them, as long as they do not violate my own rights.
Beside hate crimes, intolerance also leads to ‘otherization’, or making people feel estranged inside their local communities because of their differences—a phenomenon that played a pivotal role in youth recruitment by extremist and terrorist groups. Those groups made a good use of this feeling of estrangement to give them false promises of finding people like them, and communities that speak that same language of life.
As such, tolerance is not just about forcing yourself into accepting others’ differences, it is about knowing that being different does not mean being a threat. Those who were born with a different skin color, language, traditions, religions and faiths are not a threat to “US” instead they are a gift meant by God to show how beauty can be found in various shapes. Being intolerant or unaccepting of these differences does not mean you will be shamed or hated by the society; it just means that you might have to live with your fears and doubts, a feeling that can negatively affect your peace of mind and bring a sequence of unhappy moments.
Be tolerant; be kind and mindful of “the other” who wants to live a happy and safe life just like yourself.