Book Reviews


[Day Permalink] Thursday, October 11, 2007

[Item Permalink] West has failed to tackle Islam -- Comment()
I just read a thoughtful interview of Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Her deep analysis made me think differently about Islam. This is an example of what she had to say:
I think that we are at war with Islam. And there's no middle ground in wars. Islam can be defeated in many ways. For starters, you stop the spread of the ideology itself; at present, there are native Westerners converting to Islam, and they're the most fanatical sometimes. There is infiltration of Islam in the schools and universities of the West. You stop that. You stop the symbol burning and the effigy burning, and you look them in the eye and flex your muscles and you say, "This is a warning. We won't accept this anymore." There comes a moment when you crush your enemy.


[Item Permalink] Myyrmanni, five years ago -- Comment()
Five years ago today a bomb exploded at the Myyrmanni shopping mall. I was outside with my daughter at that time, having just before the explosion shopped for medicine at the pharmacy. I wrote an account of the bombing, which I just read through. I remember being shocked at what happened - but this happened afterwards when the details of the bomb revealed themselves.