Thursday, January 18, 2007

Sensible Analysis of the Christianity/Islam Issue

To The Source has released an interview with Dinesh D'Souza on his new book, Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11. I first came across D'Souza around the time of his book Illiberal Education, which is a study of gender and race issues in American Universities. His arguments usually are solidly constructed and researched, even if one might take issue with his conclusions. Dinesh is an old-school conservative who sees the trends of modern western society as not merely at odds with Christianity and traditional American Values (which he generally equates) but as pointedly antagonistic to them.

In the interview at 'Source and, I would presume, his new book, he argues that the main unindicted conspirator in the 'cause' of the 9/11 attacks is the radical secular culture that has become synonymous with American society in the minds of many around the world. He correctly identifies (IMO) the decadence of the current cultural mindset and social trajectory of what passes as American culture as the real source of radical Muslim rage against "the Great Satan".

In the interview, he states, "The cultural left has fostered a decadent American culture that angers and repulses traditional societies, especially those in the Islamic world. It is waging a global campaign to undermine the traditional family and to promote secular values in non-Western cultures. This has provoked a violent reaction from Muslims who believe their most cherished values are under assault. The cultural left has emboldened the Bin Ladens of the world to attack us in the firm conviction that "America deserves it" and that they can do so with relative impunity."

While reviews for his books show that for many D'Souza is a polarizing author, his logic is cogent and his argumentation is written with enough detachment to be persuasive without resorting to hysteria. I would recommend checking out the interview. After that, reading the reviews at Amazon would likely help you decide if you wanted to read the book itself.

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