On the News Hour a few minutes ago they were discussing the trial of the Muslim extremist who murdered the Dutch filmmaker, Van Gogh. The extremist turned to Van Gogh's mother and told her "I killed your son, and I cannot feel your pain. You are an unbeliever." [A paraphrase from memory.]
I am speculating here. This seems to me to be a rural pre-modern characteristic. Urban modern people who have adopted attitudes from the Enlightenment have learned to deal with people who have very different values and beliefs. But from what I understand of the history of the Middle East, it is something the west learned from the Muslim nations.
Today it is a characteristic adopted by believers in fundamentalist religions. Those are not restricted to Islamic fundamentalists. It is also characteristic of Christian, Hebrew and Hindu fundamentalists. This lack of empathy for strangers and people with different values is also a major source of terrorism as a tactic. Fascists and Nazis also did not seem to have empathy for those who are different from them. That is a basis for anti-Semitism.
If true, I wonder what the sources of that level of lack of empathy are? Whatever they are, I'll bet that fear and lack of hope are large parts of those sources.
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