Religious Division in the Anti-Islamist Ranks

Nick Gillespie | March 23, 2006

The NY Sun reviews Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci's newly translated book, The Force of Reason, finds it full of errors, but concludes:

For all these flaws, Ms. Fallaci's book is an important one, because it illuminates a fundamental tension on the Western side of the war against the Islamist terrorists. American supporters of the war are led by a president who believes "freedom is not America's gift to the world, it is the almighty God's gift to every man and woman in this world."

Yet in Europe, one of the most prominent spokeswomen for the war is Ms. Fallaci, who proclaims herself an atheist, insults the patriarch Abraham--"Who wants a Founding Father who is ready to slit his own child's throat for the glory of some God?"--and manages to throw in insults to Mormons and Christian Scientists while she's at it. Not to mention declaring the dogma of Mary's virginity to be the formula of "a stupid brain." One gets the sense at times that Ms. Fallaci's opposition to Islam is just a subset of a broader opposition to all religion.

More here.

LA Weekly, which notes that the bestselling edition of The Force of Reason generated pending trials for the author in France and Italy for defaming Islam, cracks The Fallaci Code here.

Via Arts & Letters Daily.

Reason Online mentions of La Fallaci here.

Comments

R C Dean|3.23.06 @ 10:36AM|#

One gets the sense at times that Ms. Fallaci's opposition to Islam is just a subset of a broader opposition to all religion.

What's the saying? Something about the enemy of my enemy?

|3.23.06 @ 11:25AM|#

Shouldn't one expect her book to be full of, you know, fallacies?

Thank you, thank you. Don't forget to tip your waitress.

Ken Hagler|3.23.06 @ 1:57PM|#

RC Dean, that saying is rather foolish.

While it's certainly true that Muslim terrorists are the enemy of my enemy, I'd be foolish to consider them my friend--mostly because they've repeatedly demonstrated an inclination to hold me responsible for my enemys' actions.

|3.23.06 @ 2:01PM|#

One gets the sense at times that Ms. Fallaci's opposition to Islam is just a subset of a broader opposition to all religion.

Relgion should be opposed. It's stupid.

LA Times:
Though Fallaci now lives in New York, little amity has been extended to her by her peers since the post-9/11 publication of The Rage and the Pride, and she remains almost as much of a media pariah here as she does in Europe. The major difference is that we're not putting her on trial.

The MSM is comprised mostly of PC morons, so it's only natural that they're jealous of someone like Fallaci, who happens to have a functioning brain.

I wonder if the US would extradite her if she decided to blow-off her goofy trial in the Islamic Republic of France?

|3.23.06 @ 7:57PM|#

"One gets the sense at times that Ms. Fallaci's opposition to Islam is just a subset of a broader opposition to all religion."

Maybe Ms. Falucci's opposition to all religions is just a subset of a broader opposition to all ideas/explainations put forth without any credible evidence, like holocaust denial or flat Earth.

I know mine is.

|3.23.06 @ 11:19PM|#

"Relgion should be opposed. It's stupid."
- Mr Le Mur

http://www.mentalsoup.com/mentalsoup/basic.htm

you assume 'opposition' is paticularly intelligent?

What does that mean? ban headscarves? regulation of speech? ritual behavior? Yellow stars on jackets? repress believers to the point where they flee their homelands and form new nations elsewhere...?

whats intelligent opposition?

JG