http://www.jihadwatch.org/
Oriana Fallaci has died
She was one of the most fearless and courageous defenders Western civilization had in these latter days, and the West rewarded her by hounding, persecuting and vilifying her.
Such is the state of the society and culture she loved and tried to save from itself.
I was surprised and honored when she named me as one of her "comrades in arms...pals...buddies" in an appendix to the English edition of The Force of Reason. Many times in her last months, after she did me the honor of calling me her friend, I spent time with her that I will always hold dear. Her apartment in New York City was a mesmerizing and unique collection of artifacts from her marvelous career and a monument to her erudition and avid interest in human civilization, human achievement.
One indelible evening she invited me there -- no, summoned me there, in her inimitable way -- and we spent hours drinking fine wine and discussing the state of the world, and her fascinating and hilarious reminiscences of her encounters with the Ayatollah Khomeini, Archbishop Makarios, Henry Kissinger, Deng Xiaoping, Pope Benedict XVI, and so many others.
She was weak and ill, but her mind -- and her observations -- were as sharp as ever. During the evening a prominent conservative writer who is soft on the Islamic jihad in the way many mainstream conservatives are (following the wishful-thinking Religion of Peace That Has Been Hijacked By A Tiny Minority Of Extremists line) telephoned. Oriana took the call, spoke with him for awhile, and then hung up, turned to me, and said: "I don't like him! He is stupid!"
She always told the truth, no matter how unpopular, no matter how politically incorrect.
And as she began to slip away, I often thought to myself, What can I do for Oriana? Of course, the only answer was to do exactly what I am doing here at this site, and in my books, and in traveling around the country speaking, trying to alert people to the reality and magnitude of the global jihad.
I invite you, then, on this day of sadness and loss, to pay tribute to Oriana. There is no way we can make up for what we have lost in her. But the best way we can pay tribute to Oriana is by becoming Oriana. Let there be a hundred new Orianas today, a thousand new passionate and articulate and absolutely unbowed defenders of Western culture and civilization, with a fine contempt for all the many weapons of physical and psychological intimidation that the jihadists and their non-Muslim allies and tools in the Western media and government establishments use to try to silence and discredit us.
Buy her books. Give them to your friends and coworkers. Explain to them why she said -- as is quoted in the obituary linked above -- that "Europe becomes more and more a province of Islam, a colony of Islam." Explain to them why that matters for so much that they hold dear. Enlist them also in the anti-jihad resistance. And fight the jihad and Islamic supremacism the way she did, with the fire and light of truth, with an untiring defense for the rights and dignity of the human individual, with good humor, with immense joy in living, and with a love for the elements of the good life that the jihadis are determined to efface: art, music, love.
And when we prevail, we will be able to memorialize her fittingly, as a light that shone in our darkest days.
I will never forget her. How could I? I even have a phone message from her that I keep saving so that it doesn't disappear -- just so that I can hear her voice.
Ciao, Oriana. I love you.
May her memory be eternal.
A courageous voice for Western civilization,
What then makes Oriana Fallaci's book of special value and meaning? For one thing she is a first hand observer, a European, an Italian journalist of worldwide reputation. Secondly, she has a personal story of the reactions to her previous writings on the subject, the attacks, the boycotting, the hatred, the efforts to silence her, the driving her from her native Italy to her current place of refuge in New York. A good part of this present book tells her own story and she is not shy about condemning those who sees as not simply attacking her, but betraying the West. As Fallaci understands it all the political forces of the West, the Left, the Right, and most surprisingly and painfully the Church have submitted to the Islamic onslaught. The Muslims speak openly about taking over Western Civilization, but anyone who dares to hint as Fallaci more than does about the superiority morally and culturally of Western civilization is called 'racist'. Defining herself as a 'Christian atheist' one who sees how strong a part Christianity has played in the development of Western Civilization she is appalled by the Church's apologetics and sniveling before Islam. From her new home in New York she sees the United States as the last hope of stemming the Islamic tide. At present gravely ill this book may be the swan song of one of the most provocative and courageous of modern journalists.
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490 of 520 people found the following review helpful: Impassioned Reason,
So who WILL like this book? Those who do deeply cherish Western culture as it has developed through the US constitution, who value the hard won freedom and autonomy of the individual, who believe that women are the equals of men and should be treated as so, and those who believe that humanity reaches its greatest heights when the human mind is left free. Make no mistake about it. Fallaci really really hates (my word) what is happening to her culture (an ongoing surrender to an immigrating, limiting Islam), because she really loves what Western Culture (via Locke and others) has been. And that passion comes in like a great blazing fireball. She is a real and authentic voice, with ragged edges, authenticity, fire, and conviction. The multiculturalists, pacifists, Islamists and others are doing everything they can to shut her up. But it seems that the strength of her fire only grows. The West is so lucky to have a woman like her. We need a thousand such voices, and even more. We need the passionate understanding of how wonderful our own culture is, and how it is worth preserving and fighting for. Read this book with While Europe Slept and you'll get a real education. Fallaci's The Force of Reason is a raw act of courage. And Fallaci is a great hero of our time. My heartfelt thanks and gratitude to her for the gift of her passion, as rare as diamonds and as precious as gold in a culture becoming as limp as milque toast.
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96 of 98 people found the following review helpful: a true heroine,
Reiterating the pact made with the arabs in 1973 when the Europeans sold their souls for oil Ms.Fallaci rails against the Muslim takeover of democracy where there is no longer free speech,free press,free thought or freedom of religion except for what is deemed politicaly correct which is islamophilic,anti american and anti christian. The media is targeted as well for their censorship of all things that might reflect badly upon islam and their hand wringing excuse making sob stories excusing any muslim of any mischief including polygamy,illegal immigration which is in the millions and last falls rioting in France deemed due to unemployment which somehow Hindu's,Buddhists,Atheists,Jews and Christians escape. This book is a warning not to be taken lightly by Europe indeed the world. For a Europe who ignored Mein Kampf I expect litle but hope much. |
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