Dinesh D'Souza: Exposed

"A national disgrace," "a childish thinker," who "hates America" and "insists on joining forces with the Satanists." Ever since he hit college in the early 1980's, Dinish D'Souza has faced criticism towards his disputable, yet not extremist views. "I came here because the United States gives me freedom to make the life that I could not have made in India." D'Souza sometimes comes off as a supporter of Bin Laden and his followers, but he argues that no man would chose to leave his family and community behind to migrate to a country that he hated. In this article, written in the Washington Post, D'Souza must once again clarify himself and his views published in his books and those that have caused controversy among many scholars. But this man is a high scholar himself, who poses great questions and only further explores the relationship between the Muslim community and the Americans, more so the "left" or liberals. 

This article goes in depth about the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center. D'Souza says that the build-up of actions from many presidents, such as Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, not just Bush, have angered the Muslims. After that day, people wanted to know why they hate us, but "no one wanted to comprehend the enemy -- only to annihilate him." I know I was only in third grade at the time, but I know that even now I can't comprehend how a person could do such things. Reading this article on D'Souza has really changed my views on this war we're in right now, but I still don't understand how a group of people could kill thousands of people, now matter their race or background. 

Many people argue that the Muslims hate us because unlike in many of their societies, Americans have a great amount of freedom. D'Souza uses the example of Planned Parenthood International, who went into Eastern countries giving contraceptives to young girls, and human rights groups, that "used their interpretation of international law" to make countries change their laws on abortion/homosexuality, to support his statement. When I think about it, being on the other side of this situation would really upset me. If I had people from the East coming into my home (or community) and pressuring my peers and me to change our views, I'd be annoyed. If a group of Muslims convinced all my friends to wear traditional clothes like the hijab, and they all looked down on me for not following, I'd blame the people who brought this into my life. This is a bad example, but since America is a relatively free country, I can't think of many things outsiders do that we take offense to. 

I respect Dinesh D'Souza greatly. "I have no sympathy for Bin Laden or the Islamic radicals. But I do respect the concerns of traditional Muslims." This Stanford graduate has found a way to balance his views and interpret both points of view. Reading this article has given me more insight on the Muslim culture and their reasons behind their feelings toward America.