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Bennett's terrible exaggerations

Monday, 19th November 2007

There's a terrible piece by Ronan Bennett in the Guardian today, on Martin Amis' views about Muslims and Islamists.

It's made all the worse by the fact that Bennett's central thrust - that some of Amis' remarks about dealing with Muslim terrorism might verge of racism - is worth exploring. But rather than deal with the nuances or the issues which Amis has raised (whether Western civilisation is more advanced, whether Islam needs some kind of reformation, etc.), he makes a series of grotesque exaggerations and uses them to trot out the usual drivel about Islamaphobia:

Muslims who argue for Muslim schools are criticised by journalists who send their children to Christian or Jewish faith schools. Muslim women who choose to wear the niqab are upbraided by powerful politicians who claim to feel "intimidated". Those who point to the illegality of Israeli occupation are antisemites. Those who protest against the war in Iraq are al-Qaida sympathisers and moral relativists.

What drivel. I challenge Bennett to name one journalist who sends his or her own children to a faith school and who criticises Muslims who argue for faith schools.

As for the idea that anyone who argues against the war is routinely called an al-Qaida sympathiser: pathetic. I have been, and remain, one of the most passionate advocates of the war. I think the opponents of war were dangerously wrong-headed. And yes, it stands to reason that some of them are al-Qaida sympathisers - namely, er, those who, um, are al-Qaida sympathisers. But no one I know of thinks that the overwhelming majority of opponents were al-Qaida symapthisers. They were just plain wrong.

And, of course, he trots out the lie that anyone who criticises Israeli behaviour is labelled antisemitic. I'll tell him what does veer towards antisemtism - making up the lie that anyone who criticises Israel is attacked as an antisemite.

Bennett's piece is the perfect example of why the left is in so much trouble, and by extension why we all are. The thought process which refuses to engage with any critique of Islam or, even more so, Islamism, is the thought process which leads supposed liberals to ally with proponents of wife beating. And it is the thought process which leads to the defeat of Western civilisation.

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Lee Jakeman

November 19th, 2007 9:30pm

Spot on, Stephen. No-one has a more totalitarian mindset than these self-styled "liberals" who use racist and anti-semitic slurs as a way of suppressing legitimate freedom of speech.

Joshua

November 20th, 2007 11:19am

"And, of course, he trots out the lie that anyone who criticises Israeli behaviour is labelled antisemitic." -- I would advise all those of a delicate dispostion to sit down before reading on. Are you there yet? Good because what I am about to tell you is truly shocking. I mean who would ever guess that Rowan Bennett's partner is Georgina Henry, editor of Comment is free and assistant editor of The Guardian?

resistor

November 20th, 2007 3:21pm

I think the opponents of war were dangerously wrong-headed. And yes, it stands to reason that some of them are al-Qaida sympathisers - namely, er, those who, um, are al-Qaida sympathisers. What foolishness, al-Qaida were in favour of the war!