Atonement author Ian McEwan isn’t making friends with Islamists:
…McEwan has caused a minor uproar by saying that he despised “Islamism” because of its intolerance of homosexuality and its limits on women’s freedom.
…
[He] made the comments to the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera while defending his friend the writer Martin Amis from charges of racism. Mr. Amis has written that people who look as though they are from the Middle East should be strip-searched and possibly deported. Mr. McEwan said, “As soon as a writer expresses an opinion against Islamism, immediately someone on the left leaps to his feet and claims that because the majority of Muslims are dark skinned, he who criticizes it is racist.” He added: “This is logically absurd and morally unacceptable. Martin is not a racist. And I myself despise Islamism, because it wants to create a society that I detest, based on religious belief, on a text, on lack of freedom for women, intolerance towards homosexuality and so on – we know it well.” He called fundamentalist Christians with similar views “equally absurd…”
There’s one word for this: “Oy.”
Shabaka
Well hello Brigitte Bardot!!
Kieren
If Mr. Amis wrote that people who look as though they are from the Middle East should be strip-searched and possibly deported then that would be racism. Judgement based upon what one looks like is normally how racism works.
HOWEVER, to speak out against Islam (which has become an overly sensitive topic at the best of times) is mandatory. Any religious force that promotes inequality between gays and straights or men and women needs to be challenged (and challenged hard!). We’re so afraid to offend these days… I say, OFFEND AWAY!
Scott Berwitz
Kieren –
I agree completely on the first point…and completely on the second point. I think that’s a first on this blog.
I may not love the way it was said – but any anti-gay system that subjugates women should be denounced…BY THE VERY SAME LIBERALS WHO OFTEN REFUSE TO CONDEMN SHARIA AND THE RADICAL ISLAM THAT PROMOTES IT.
I will never understand that paradox.
Super Cat
LoL at us liberals. We keep trying to make a world where everyone has the right to live, work, and worship as they choose.
Truth is despite the sheer improbability of it we should continue to strive for that. Even though many Muslims don’t care about LGBT rights and many LGBT people don’t care about Muslim’s rights, we should protect both anyways.
Protecting a Muslims rights does not mean we want to let them “create a world where men are superior to women and gays are intolerable” because thier only right is to believe in that, making that a reality is NOT one of thier rights.
Besides there are many muslims who don’t believe in that sexist/homophobic stuff anyways.
fredo777
“someone on the left”
Meaning, he is on the right? Or, perhaps, the center?
I’m not sure about how racist Amis is, generally, but the racial profiling suggestion certainly sends off some sparks.
Scott Berwitz
Super Cat –
Point taken. But let me ask you this. Before we were in Iraq or Afghanistan – what mass movement was there on the part of the left to attack the viciously anti-female, anti-gay policies and propaganda generated by most Middle East governments? And I am not talking about intolerant – I am talking about hangings, honor killings, etc…sanctioned…even promoted by these governments. Were there anti-Sadaam protests? Anti-Ahmadenijad protests? Anti-Assad protests? No.
Since the War in Iraq, I’ve seen Bush and crew attacked a million times, often deservedly so in my view. But how many times do we see the same vitriol taken to attack those, who, for instance, made it illegal in Afghanistan for women to feel sunlight no their faces?
Or who kill non-Muslims for driving on Muslim-only roads in Saudi Arabia?
Or for even HAVING Muslim-only roads to begin with?
I don’t like his tone – because I do think it has more than tinge of racism to it. But let’s be clear and honest about where the left has stood on these issues…and why the left lost people like me to the Independent party years ago.
CTnSF
Scott, unlike the right wingnuts who believe it is there “moral obligation” to go invade sovereign countries when those countries have political philosophies different than the ruling elite in this country, the left does not see its role as conducting a “mass movement” and changing the religious or moral values of a foreign country (unless genocide or mass murder is occuring and then the UN should be used).
Now, the right wing here will invade Panama, Grenada, Cuba, Nicaragua, Iraq under the pretext of morality or “defending America”, but in the end the true purpose is to further expand the elite’s economic empire.
Of course the left will always encourage foreign governments to have more tolerant, open and free societies, but America cannot and should not impose its moral view of the universe on those countries. I think the best we can do is engage in constructive dialogue and offer asylum to those seeking to escape persecution. Are you sure the Independent Party seeks to change the values of foreign countries? BTW, the Middle East is not the only place where religion is used to treat women as second-class citizens or condemn homosexuality–go visit the Vatican.
hell's kitchen guy
“Besides there are many muslims who don’t believe in that sexist/homophobic stuff anyways.”
Where? What information gives you this statement?
Scott Berwitz
CTNSF – That is such a non-answer. For one thing, I was talking about a mass civilian protest, not bringing in the Marines. I was trying to see if there was any mass movement on the left to express the ideals they claim to promote when the target is not an American/Republican. I think you answered the question.
And what’s more, you revealed the real problem…moral relativism.
In Iran, young gay boys have been hanged in the public square. Is this neither superior nor inferior to our way of life? In Iran, a woman can be murdered for being raped. Is this superior or inferior to our way of life? I repeat, in Afghanistan, before we went in to “further our economic empire” – it was illegal for women to even feel sunlight on their faces. is this superior inferior to our way of life? If you can not make a definitive moral judgment on these issue – then there is nothing left to say.
I think everyone needs to have the balls to say what we all know is true anyway…killing people because they are gay is wrong. Not killing people because they are gay is right. And I don’t care what @#$%@#$ country you live in – this is as inalienable a truth as any can be. If you’re a gay man suffering in Syria – you can wait, quite literally, until you’re dead, for someone to help you. Because your philosophy states that we don’t act to save the innocent and helpless becuase, well, it’s not up to is impose our moral system on them…i.e., not up to us to save innocents from tyranny. Funny…this type of immoral isolationism used to be a conservative trait.
And as far as the Vatican – I am no fan of any bigotry…so I am not fan of comments from the Vatican about gays. But they are not promoting the murder of homosexuality. They don’t kneejerk deny the existence of homosexuality. And the Vatican – and the religous right gets its due daily in the American press (much to my delight I might add). I wish the same standards were applied to others…
todd
The only reason why the Christi-Nazis don’t hang homos and make women wear burkas is because they have had limited political power. They would given the chance – just like the Islamo-Fascists.
hisurfer
Guys, at least get your shit straight. “Islamism” is not the same as “Islam.” The first is a political movement, the second a religion.
hisurfer
(con’t) – Comparing the two would be like saying Opus Dei represents all Catholics. Some of you are taking one thing (Islamic fascism) and extending this to all 1 billion Muslims. It’s silly.
McEwan chooses his words carefully, so I’m relatively confident that he is, as he says, attacking right-wing fundamentalism and not, as some people seem to think, Islam as a whole.
abelincoln
I never knew that Middle Eastern was a race. Thanks for enlightening me.
http://library.thinkquest.org/C002738/cgi-bin/goto.cgi?language=eng&screen=Systemsofracialclassification
Super Cat
“Besides there are many muslims who don’t believe in that sexist/homophobic stuff anyways.â€
hell’s kitchen guy : “Where? What information gives you this statement?”
Yeah my statment there was probably not very accurate. I have met progressive Muslims, of course they were Muslims living in North America so I guess my statment probably doesn’t appy to “many” Muslims and only a few.