Ian McEwan has insisted that criticising Islam is not racist and blamed left-leaning thinkers for “closing down the debate”. The Booker Prize winner said those who claimed judging Muslims was “de facto” racism were playing a “poisonous argument”. McEwan, 61, … Continue reading
The award-winning novelist Ian McEwan has launched an outspoken attack on militant Islam, accusing it of “wanting to create a society that I detest”. The author said he “despises Islamism” because of its views on women and homosexuality. The writer … Continue reading
“The more that the West demands change from outside, the more it makes such issues as women’s rights the litmus test of reform, the more difficult it makes the task of those pushing for change from within. The more it … Continue reading
“Certain remarks of mine to an Italian journalist have been widely misrepresented in the UK press, and on various websites. Contrary to reports, my remarks were not about Islam, but about Islamism – perhaps ‘extremism’ would be a better term. … Continue reading
Letter in today’s Guardian: “Ian McEwan’s defence of his friend Martin Amis (Letters, November 21) rests on two arguments, which are conflated. The first is the freedom of speech argument. But just because one has the right to express an … Continue reading
Letter in today’s Guardian, by Dr Anshuman Mondal of Brunel University: “Ian McEwan’s defence of his friend Martin Amis (Letters, November 21) rests on two arguments, which are conflated. The first is the freedom of speech argument. But just because one … Continue reading
“If the test of liberalism is how it confronts its illiberal adversaries, some of the liberal intelligentsia seem to have fallen at the first hurdle. Writers such as Martin Amis and Hitchens do not just want to lock terrorists away. … Continue reading
Well, that the claim made by ex-leftist-turned-Bush-supporter Christopher Hitchens, who rallies to the defence of his friend and fellow writer. Let us remind ourselves what Amis said in his September 2006 interview with Ginny Dougary: “There’s a definite urge – don’t you have … Continue reading
Martin Amis, Salman Rushdie and Ian McEwan dominate British literature – and they’re convinced that Islam threatens civilisation as we know it. Ziauddin Sardar writes in the New Statesman, 11 December 2006 Over at Harry’s Place Marcus writes that Sardar’s piece … Continue reading