I saw that statement. It was a hilarious bit of hypocrisy to accuse the west of being bigoted for opposing Qatar’s right to be bigoted. I’m not going to argue that the West is perfect or saintly or anything, but on this Qatar doesn’t have a leg to stand on.
But to your general question – culture and tradition are like alot of things. They’re not inherently good nor bad. I think coming up with general rules will get you in trouble. Islamic fundamentalists treat women and gays TERRIBLY. That’s a part of their faith and their culture. And it’s still wrong. The confederate states fought a war because slavery and domination of blacks by whites was part of their culture.
Saying something is part of your culture doesn’t create a moral ‘get out of jail free’ card. On the other hand, we should generally respect other culture’s traditions and let them live how they like. For example, we shouldn’t prevent a Muslim in the west from praying to Mecca 5 times a day.
But NEVER to the point of excusing people harming other people. If the Aztecs were still around, we should not ‘respect their culture’ to sacrifice people. That’s a cultural practice that SHOULD be disrespected. I dated a Chinese girl once who tried to claim that an authoritarian state was part of their culture. That’s not culture. That’s brainwashing by the authoritarian state, and I don’t feel any impulse to ‘respect’ that viewpoint.