I’ve been aware of madness in the Islamic world. I’ve written about it. The madness of people who have fallen behind technically, and who do not have the will to make the intellectual effort to catch up. I was aware of the religious hatred, I was aware of the indifference to life. I was aware of the anti-civilisation aspect of the new fundamentalism. But I had no idea it had gone so far — the madness. The idea of their strength is an illusion. Nothing is coming from within. The terrorists can fly a plane, but what they can’t do is build a plane. What they can’t do is build those towers. I think people have spoken much rubbish about that event. The poor revenging themselves on the rich! It’s nothing but an aspect of religious hatred. And that is so hard to deal with, or even contemplate. You can deal with the poor striking out, but you can’t deal with the threat of a universal religious war.” Though he approved of the recent war in Afghanistan, he is keenly aware of the inherent absurdity of the current war on terrorism: “Your biggest enemy is your great ally — Saudi Arabia — and the foot-soldiers of the terror come from your other ally — Pakistan.”
This sums up the denial and defective thinking in the West regarding Islamism. It isn't "poverty-ism," it's Islamism.
He feels a definite antipathy for Islam’s fanatical role in India, past and present.
"I deeply condemn all fanatics except OUR fanatics!"
Two for my reading list. <* SIGH *> So many books to aquire...so few funds to aquire them with...story of my life.
Naipaul's description of the problems in Islamic culture appears to agree with my own conclusions, which can be summed up in two words : "cultural stagnation."
Even if he had never wrote these books, I'd like him for his rejection of the Cult of Victimhood and embrace of forward progress.
Leni
MEGA VS NAIPAUL PING!!!!
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Today's photo humor>
Thu Aug 8, 6:44 AM ET
A group of Ba'th party soldiers, who appear to have explosives tied to their waists, gather for a military parade in Baghdad in support of President Saddam Hussein August 8, 2002. Iraq's President Saddam Hussein said on Thursday that he was not frightened by threats from the United States and his country was ready to repel any attack. Photo by Faleh Kheiber/Reuters
Funny, we have come to expect the politicians and the media personalities to tell us the truth, when it's been writers, more often than not, fiction writers who have been struggling to uncover and present it throughout history. Why, even our enlightened, Volvo driving liberal bourgeoisie choose to hear what they like to believe is the truth from their celebrated Mayas, Tonis, Normans, Rabbits, Joyce Carols and from their vagina monologists. They get their easy-to-swallow baby food instead, of course. Having said that, I can't think of any current American writers other than Mark Helprin and in another way Bob Dylan who make attempts at getting at the truth in their works. (Please, we're not talking about bestselling drugstore novels and the celebrity hacks who churn them out!)
Just yesterday, the Bush Administration is covering it's eyes and ears by claiming that the Saudis are cooperating fully in the war on terrorism. Someone agreed, but asked 'On whose side?'
