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Falacci's November 2005 address
Reader comment on item: Appreciating Oriana Fallaci

Submitted by yonatan silverman (Israel), Sep 17, 2006 at 03:14

After reading your introduction to Oriana Fallaci from November 2005 I also clicked onthe link you provided to a review of her address. She was obviously an extraordinary journalist and an extraordinary person. There are two paragraphs from the revew of her address that seem right on the money to me.

In the first paragraph her statement that "truth inspires fear" leaped out at me, but for a different reason than in this paragraph. It seems to me that the world's Muslims are the ones reacting from fear of the truth when they demonstrate so widely and vociferously against the truthful statements of the Pope, against caricatures in Danish newspapers, and on other parallel occasions. This is the same Muslim world that persists in blaming the catastrophe of 9/11 on the Mossad or Zionists or whatever. Avoidance of the truth goes hand in hand with fear, it seems to me. And fear naturally evokes strong emotional reactions.

Secondly, Fallaci rightly (in my view) compares the Quran to Mein Kampf. I'm hardly an expert on either book. But from what I know of them they are indeed parallel in calling for the declaration of war against a sworn (and imagined) enemy. Both books are bibles for holy wars, as it were. It seems to me much could be gained by making Fallaci's comparison a greater fixture in the public debate about radical Islam.

Having said that, I don't believe that Muslims themselves see the nation of Islam on a spectrum from moderate to radical. So-called moderate Muslims are complicit in what the radicals do but they simply hold their tongues. It would be absurd it seems to me to talk about moderate Nazis, for example. Not every German during World War II was an SS storm trooper, but most of the country's people heartily saluted them and participated in such demonstrations as Kristallnacht and so on. Fallaci's comparison of the Quran to Mein Kampf has great resonance it seems to me. It crystallizes the nature of the battle in the same way as the phrase "Islamo-fascism" but even more well defined.


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Reader comments (45) on this item

Title By Date
We Shall Miss This Cassandra [79 words]Jerome KatchinAug 2, 2009 09:44
Amen, Jerome Katchin! [186 words]Paul MauriceAug 3, 2009 21:38
How to avoid a European Sept 11? It is all in "Rage and Pride" [296 words]Rafi PilosophMar 21, 2009 13:36
Fight with wisdom for Bosnian Kingdom [76 words]AlmirJul 31, 2009 02:30
Two years later the west is definitely losing and Oriana was right [243 words]GuidoMar 1, 2009 14:45
Appreciating Oriana Fallaci [43 words]S.C.PandaOct 8, 2006 12:33
Oriana The Warrior [22 words]Octavio JohansonSep 23, 2006 04:17
Oriana [44 words]LeilaSep 21, 2006 11:36
We lost a strong voice against evil [73 words]Michael KocianSep 22, 2006 14:37
Love a fighter for freedom and the west [68 words]MareeSep 21, 2006 00:23
Loving Life Versus Loving Death [171 words]lindaSep 19, 2006 15:42
Loving Life Versus Loving Death [178 words]lindaSep 19, 2006 09:01
La Maestra del Coraggio, la Padrona della Verita [882 words]Thomas Justin KazeSep 19, 2006 07:00
Truth or Perish [181 words]JaladhiSep 18, 2006 13:39
In Appreciation [181 words]Gary MullennixSep 18, 2006 13:25
Oriana & The Pontif [52 words]DaisySep 18, 2006 09:47
Appreciating Oriana Fallaci [43 words]Cheryl MavrikosSep 18, 2006 08:28
Who's Left?
[w/response] [592 words]
Right of Center FilipinoSep 18, 2006 02:27
Great Oriana [10 words]Gil VicenteSep 18, 2006 01:11
Fallaci [13 words]martin kesslerSep 18, 2006 00:00
A needed, brave soul [110 words]David W. LincolnSep 17, 2006 21:25
Salute to the Brave Lady [114 words]f.shakkiSep 17, 2006 20:17
Honoring Oriana [51 words]Hari IyerSep 17, 2006 17:14
That Wonderful Heroic Woman Who Wrote With Words of Flame [97 words]Persia Gran-FreelandSep 17, 2006 16:42
Shut up Bush : [85 words]danSep 17, 2006 15:53
on Oriana... [16 words]W.VandenbergSep 17, 2006 14:02
You are the best, you are our hero. [36 words]LenaSep 17, 2006 13:51
Force of Reason vs. the Love of Truth [254 words]MichaelSep 17, 2006 13:30
ORIANA FALLACI [71 words]ERNIE WELCKERSep 17, 2006 12:11
In Memory of Oriana Falacci [43 words]dhimmi no moreSep 17, 2006 16:24
A great woman with a clear eye - she will be missed [22 words]SullySep 17, 2006 11:39
If only Oriana had lived to see... [485 words]HomefrontSep 17, 2006 09:50
To O Fallaci, standing for her, standing for the freedom of thinking [144 words]Ram ZenitSep 17, 2006 09:49
Goodbye to a heroine [33 words]Maryallene OtisSep 17, 2006 09:33
Oriana Fallaci [66 words]Johanna StephensSep 17, 2006 09:22
We'll miss her [102 words]Allan GrantSep 17, 2006 09:02
I'll miss her. [296 words]concernedSep 17, 2006 08:28
Addio Oriana [220 words]ItalianSep 17, 2006 07:40
adieu orianna [59 words]eric mayFeb 2, 2007 16:28
In Memoriam [49 words]Rolfur JoSep 17, 2006 06:33
⇒ Falacci's November 2005 address [350 words]yonatan silvermanSep 17, 2006 03:14
Dear Oriana [9 words]Nemes MáriaSep 17, 2006 02:16
To Dr Pipes [12 words]alanSep 17, 2006 14:33
Courageous Oriana [27 words]Madeleine BeckeSep 19, 2006 15:55
Beautiful Oriana [53 words]BarbaraAug 23, 2007 20:37

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Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened for relevance, substance, and tone, and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome, but comments are rejected if scurrilous, off-topic, vulgar, ad hominem, or otherwise viewed as inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the Guidelines for Comments. For informational purposes, we identify countries from which comments are sent.

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