Our crazy world: the New Zealand mosque attacks
Following the appalling New Zealand mosque massacres, I published here a blog post expressing my horror and unequivocal condemnation. Immediately I was plunged into a surreal storm of grotesque abuse, being held responsible for the atrocity (yes, really!) and blamed for hypocrisy. Why? Because over the years I have called out Islamist extremism for what it is, pointed out that Islamophobia is a term invented solely to silence criticism of the Islamic world and warned that the west was sleepwalking into Islamisation.
I have also consistently drawn attention to the fact that most victims of radical Islam are Muslim, that many Muslims are not extreme and that we should do everything possible to protect, support and promote courageous Muslim reformers. No matter. It’s apparently not permissible to oppose both fanatical Islamist hatred and fanatical anti-Islamist hatred. So I became the object of a Twitter frenzy and, along with others, attacked and smeared in newspapers and even in parliament.
I shall be writing about all this elsewhere in due course. For now, though, please join me below as I discuss with Avi Abelow of Israel Unwired the implications of both the mosque atrocity and the reaction.
