The following is an excerpt from OpinionJournal’s “Best of the Web” at WSJ written by the editor, James Taranto.
Tommy Caldwell
Other Than That, the Story Was Accurate
- “An earlier version of this article misstated the name of the country whose army chased Tommy Caldwell’s kidnappers. As other references correctly noted, Caldwell was in Kyrgyzstan, not Kyrzbekistan, which does not exist.”—New York Times, Jan. 7
- “An earlier version of this article misstated the year of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. It was 2001, not 2011.”—New York Times, Jan. 8
In Defense of USA Today
Jan. 8’s column brought more than a few responses from readers who thought our misgivings about USA Today’s publishing of an op-ed by “radical Muslim cleric” Anjem Choudary were wrongheaded. Stuart Creque wrote:
Perhaps USA Today’s editors thought that their readers were unlikely to credit Choudary with the following belief unless they heard it in his own words. Choudary wrote: “Contrary to popular misconception, Islam does not mean peace but rather means submission to the commands of Allah alone. Therefore, Muslims do not believe in the concept of freedom of expression.”
There have been a number of Western voices that have pointed this out, but they’ve generally been dismissed as ignorant of Islam or outright distorting its tenets. Even someone like Ayaan Hirsi Ali is accused of ignorance of Islam. But Choudary has unimpeachable bona fides regarding the beliefs of Islamist extremists.
And Glen Hoffing:
I applaud the decision of USA Today to run Choudary’s op-ed. It is an island of clarity in a multicultural sea of mush. Insult my prophet and I will kill you. What could be clearer?
I would say I disagree with you but you seem to do an excellent job disagreeing with yourself in the penultimate paragraph of your item.
Hoffing correctly perceives our own ambivalence in the matter. To the extent that USA Today performed a public service by making people aware of Choudary’s views, we’re glad we could help.
Question and Answer
- “Are Islamic Terrorists Muslims?”—headline, PowerLineBlog .com, Jan. 8, 2015
- “Is the Pope Catholic?”—headline, Guardian (London), Sept. 20, 2013
[NOTE: The excerpts above are from the Jan. 8 & Other Than That, the Story Was Accurate9 BOTW archives.] For more “Best of the Web” click here and look for the “Best of the Web Today” link in the middle column below “Today’s Columnists.”
