The heart of D’Souza’s book isn’t his libeling of the American left, but rather his libeling of the American right. D’Souza notes, correctly, that al-Qaida’s hatred toward the West in general, and the United States in particular, is animated to a great extent by America’s permissive culture.
From Dinesh D’Souza’s Mullah Envy – By Timothy Noah – Slate Magazine
D’Souza contends that the cultural left is responsible for 9/11 in two ways: by fostering a decadent and depraved American culture that angers and repulses other societies—especially traditional and religious ones— and by promoting, at home and abroad, an anti-American attitude that blames America for all the problems of the world.
The thing about D’Souza’s book that strikes me is its near blatant call for the appeasement of violent religious fanatics. His willingness to accept intolerance as a justification for violence is nothing short of shocking. Where should this end? Should we ban pork in the west? Adopt strict dress codes?
The second thing that comes to mind is OBL’s declaration of war and how much time he spends on American military actions and US oil interests and how he seems indifferent to western culture. Yet, D’Souza thinks that Osama’s genocidal aspirations are somehow linked to western acceptance of women’s rights.
