Quote by Christopher Hitchens
Now is as good a time as ever to revisit the history of the Crusades, or the sorry history of partition in Kashmir, or the woes of the Chechens and Kosovars. But the bombers of Manhattan represent fascism with an Islamic face, and there's no point in any euphemism about it. What they abominate about 'the West,' to put it in a phrase, is not what Western liberals don't like and can't defend about their own system, but what they like about it and must defend: its emancipated women, its scientific inquiry, its separation of religion from the state. Loose talk about chickens coming home to roost is the moral equivalent of the hateful garbage emitted by Falwell and Robertson, and exhibits about the same intellectual content.
Summary
This quote emphasizes the need to confront and understand the true nature of the bombers who perpetrated the attacks on Manhattan. It dismisses the tendency to euphemize or justify their actions in any way. The quote suggests that these attackers represent a form of fascism with an Islamic facade, and focuses on what they despise about the West - its liberal values, liberated women, scientific progress, and the separation of religion and state. It criticizes any comparison that equates the consequences of such heinous acts to the hateful rhetoric of religious extremists.
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