The important line that Derbyshire wants us to overlook is his statement that one religion is not “…more or less likely to make us better or worse….” But that is exactly the point: in fact Islam does make people worse than does Christianity. That is not to dispute the fact that some people can appear to be made worse by just about anything; it is to argue that the teachings of Islam are unambiguously dangerous to all non-Muslims, while the Christian precepts are infinitely more benign. As a non-Christian, I acknowledge that as true, while I am critical of many Christian beliefs.
Derbyshire blithely ignores the fundamental role Islam’s holy book plays in making people worse, even though he says, “…Islam contains a far higher proportion of crazy troublemakers that does Christianity.” Why that is the case does not trouble him. It should.
The Koran is not simply another collection of fantasies and confabulations. It is a blunt raison d’etre for catastrophic bloodshed. This bitterly angry book burns with hate and bigotry; its predominant theme is the most horrible violence imaginable, both in this life and the hereafter. Its scenes of peace, tranquility and amity are restricted to the faithful and to a period after the universal caliphate is achieved. Mohammed demonstrated at the Battle of the Great Ditch how merciless and bloody the war to conquer all other faiths must be. When Al Qaeda slaughters innocents, it is following the fell, primitive teachings of the Koran.
Spencer wins this argument — almost by default.
