I’m torn that two of my favorite bloggers are in a bit of a spat. On one side we have Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch. The other half is Dean Esmay of Deansworld. Dean is upset that Robert spends so much effort projecting a negative image of Islam. He thinks Robert is creating more problems than he solves. Robert is understandably standing his ground. The amazing part is neither seems read each other very much. Both are on the same side so to speak but have very different styles.

The subject of the discussion is more than relevant to The Jawa Report. We also engage in exposing the ideology of the terrorists. We also try and make as much fun of them as we can and have a good time doing it. Occasionally people get upset with us too. It’s a very difficult balance to take it to the ideology of terror and Islamic oppression and not upset at least some of the people Dean speaks of. In Howie’s opinion there is plenty of room for both of them. I’ve linked Jihad Watch and Esmay both. I enjoy Robert’s direct attacks and informative posts. I also enjoy Dean’s blog. Dean points to their Carinval of the Liberated as one aspect of his blog he is quite proud of. I agree and I should link that more.

I worry that we, at times, go a bit overboard. I also worry that without criticizing Islam itself we lessen the motivation for the advancement/reform of Islam. Islam is all about struggle and it is struggling to fit in a new world. The west has a duty to also struggle in order to achieve an equitable balance. We must stand against that which is intolerable to our values.

I can identify a few issues that westerners should push for regardless. One would be Robert’s main theme. The west should point out the aspects of Islam used by terrorists to justify their murderous crimes. But also there are more common yet still very important problems in Islamic nations. Traditional issues of freedom of religion, equal treatment and protections of women, political freedom and freedom of speech are all issues the west must raise with Islam in general. Credit Pope Benedict. We must hold Islam accountable on these issues in the same way we attacked Communism. We did not just attack the problems with communism we attacked communism itself to affect change with much success.

We need both Dean Esmay and Robert Spencer to keep doing what they do. Each has a role to play. Robert should take Deans criticism at face value. Also Esmay needs to consider Robert's concerns. The debate is a good thing. We can all be more thoughtful. But remember, we are human, we are limited by the amount of time we can spend on an issue. Most of us have no editorial help. We do the best we can. The blogosphere as a whole is a dynamic self policing entity. It’s not the Davids, it’s the Army of them that makes it work.

So come on you guys, bury the hatchet. Hopefully after the dust clears both Robert and Dean will be better at what they do because of it. At least that’s how it is supposed to work.

I'm sure Rusty would have his own opinion and I for one would rather he got to do this one.

Posted by: Howie at 09:10 AM | Comments (10) | Add Comment
Post contains 573 words, total size 3 kb.