Religous Tolerance?

There was an article on BBC recently on the Pope's 80th birthday that got me thinking about the sensitivity issues that plague every country since religion was founded. His Lordship was hoping that reciprocity would play a big part in harmonizing relationships between all religion although he explicitly mentioned the relationship between Muslims and Christians as a whole. Come to think about it, it does kinda make sense when we ponder over it. Why do the Western worlds emphasize so much on religion tolerance where only meritocracy plays a better part rather than religion or culture issues?

This is going to raise some hackles but another issue that was bugging the Pope and probably other non-Muslim country leaders is why must they accommodate Muslims and ensuring that they do not get offended in any ways possible but they (the Muslim countries themselves) have not ensured that they actually do the same for us? Any sane person will tell you that the development and advancement of any country is all about the productivity and and efficiency of it's citizens rather than spouting religious rhetorics and making a fool of themselves in general (Just look at the Taliban and you know what I mean). I know I may not be fair in in generalizing everyone like this but what set me off was the fact that minorities in the majority of muslim countries are not allow to profess or spread their religion or culture in that country whereas we see that Muslims are allowed to do the same in non-Muslim countries.

Just this morning I was reading another article on BBC that Islamic hardliners have killed 3 people in a Bible publishing house in Turkey. You don't see that around in a non-Muslim country all the time do you? Of course we do see cases like this at certain times but I feel it is more of redneck-ignorance that contributed to the persecution of Muslims rather than any actual religious basis. Certain political parties in Malaysia are merely paying lip-service to Islam but they are actually more concern with the survival of their own swine-skin rather than the advancement of their own people. Although Malaysia has a higher tolerance level in terms of religion and cultural mingling, I fear it is not going to last for long as we can see how Germany ended up in the early 19th century.