The New Criterion

That’s the current ratio of comments below D’Souza’s own post writing in favor of Johnson. Here they are:

Reader Comments
(Page 1)

1. Yikes! Let us all bow down to Mr. D’Souza’s worldliness as we worship his mastery of ad hominem.

Phil at 7:06PM on Feb 27th 2007

2. yes, but...

where’s the substantive rebuttal? This is a silly response, picking on a semantic dispute and trying to redirect readers from the actual content of Johnson’s post. This is typical of the dishonest and shoddy thought process of D’Souza...and, unbelievably, he claims that his aim is to understand the enemy...

take a look here (http://www.needlenose.com/node/view/3826) for a thorough debunking of both D’Souza’s conclusions and, more importantly, his "scholarly" methods, which are no more than an attempt to plaster an intellectual sheen on a partisan and unsupported thesis.

rick freedman at 8:52PM on Feb 27th 2007
3. The link to Mr. Johnson’s review is here.

Terrence at 9:44PM on Feb 27th 2007

4. Hmmm, second try. (No html tags allowed?)

http://www.newcriterion.com/archives/25/03/sjohnson/

Terrence at 9:45PM on Feb 27th 2007

5. I suggest Mr. D’Sousa read Dr. Bostom’s "Legacy of Jihad in India". The establishment of the Delhi Sultanite from 636 C.E. to 1206 C.E. was brutal, cruel and viscious. Hindus, Sikhs, and Buddhists were murdered mercilessly and their temples defiled. Their women and children were enslaved. All those who didn’t convert were either killed or forced into dhimmitude. The Koran is very clear on the purpose of jihad, convert or be put to the sword. Weren’t you taught Indian history when you grew up in Mumbai?

fred edwards at 10:01AM on Feb 28th 2007

6. Is this string of insults the sum total of Mr. D’Souza’s rebuttal? Dissapointing.

AOL Reader at 10:08AM on Feb 28th 2007

7. Goooooo Dinesh. I absolutely love your tart slap back at one member of the conservative echo chamber. I cannot claim to have reached any sort of definitive state of mind about Islam, but I do know that the drumbeat of seething, nativist, creepy culture mania is NOT good for us as a nation or as a party -- meaning the GOP. Full disclosure: I’ve walked a long piece down the road with the fear & hate brigades and it’s not a good or productive place to be. With 1.2 billion Muslims and counting on planet Earth, how could it be?

I’m intrigued enough now to order your book. Just the fact that you are willing to step outside the echo chamber, and that your ideas are eliciting such fevered criticism from elite "thinkers" is reason enough to hear you out. I’m very open to what you have to teach me, having finally tired of blind fear (masquerading as hate) and able to admit my own ignorance. May the Wilber force be with you...

SouthernGal at 10:53AM on Feb 28th 2007

8. "I thought the New Criterion went out of business years ago"

This guy brings to mind Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.’s comment about William F. Buckley, years ago:

"There is no one from whom I would rather take lessons in superciliousness."

Sorry to see you go, Dinesh.

billsykes at 11:38AM on Feb 28th 2007

9. Mr. D’Souza has beclowned himself.

Anon at 12:29PM on Feb 28th 2007

10. That’s it? That’s all? As Christopher Hitchens has said, the word "Islamophobic" is just stupid. Mr. D’Souza seems unfazed by the total rejection of his thesis by the right blogosphere. Some tried to be polite (see Stanley Kurtz at NRO), but in the end, Max Boot got it right: "execrable."

Dennis at 1:04PM on Feb 28th 2007

11. I look forward to seeing your "lengthy response to conservative critics like Johnson which will expose their errors of fact and logic, and their massive ignorance of Islam."

But what you offer above is simply petty and a poor prolog for substantive debate.

hgwells at 1:05PM on Feb 28th 2007