Commentary
At a time when even conservative imprints of corporate publishers are under pressure not to accept books too aggressive to awaken sensibility (against Penguin Random House’s deal with Amy Coney Barrett). Witness the widespread protests), the New English Review Press, based in Nashville and London, is a valuable cultural institution. In recent years, it has published books by leading authors such as Theodore Dalrymple and Phyllis Chesler.
NEP Press backlists two titles, Ibn Warak’s Islam in Islamic Terrorism: The Importance of Beliefs, Ideas, and Ideologies (2017) and Peter McLaughlin’s Easy Meat: The British Grooming Gang Scandal (2016). The news came that there will be two titles. , has been removed from virtual shelves on Amazon.com.
Wallack? Really? No way. Born in British India, raised in Pakistan and Britain, and now living in the United States, Warak (pseudonym) is one of the most eloquent, courageous, knowledgeable and important writers on Islam. A student of Arabic, he has written books such as ‘Origins of the Quran’ and ‘Defense of the West’. His 1995 work Why I’m Not a Muslim is a modern classic. and “Why the West Is Best” (2011) is a rich expression of Western appreciation for freedom.
And “Islam in Islamic terrorism”? As I wrote in my 2017 review, it provides a definitive answer to anyone who claims that ‘Muslim terrorists have hijacked the peaceful faith’. Problem, not motivated by US Middle East policy, Western imperialism, or Crusades. It is an essential part of Islam that has existed since its birth, and is “obligatory to all Muslims,” writes Wallach, “until Islam covers the entire surface of the earth.”
As for McLaughlin, I didn’t know about him or his book on gang grooming until I heard about Amazon’s ban. I have perused his book now. It is an invaluable study of the mass rape of thousands of British girls, most of them white or Sikh working-class children, by gangs made up entirely of Pakistani Muslim men. These rapes have been going on for decades, but until relatively recently, social workers, police officers, teachers, judges, journalists, charities, feminist groups, and politicians at all levels reported racism. He was ignored for fear of being labeled a denominationalist and sparking Muslim riots. , and/or undermine British multiculturalism.
McLoughlin covers his topics from multiple angles in a thoroughly sober and responsible manner. But it’s clear why his book offends some awakened sensibilities. McLaughlin refuses to use the standard British media euphemism “Asian” to describe a member of his gang who rapes him. He is outspoken about them being Muslims and the victims being non-Muslims. He denounced the blatant rhetoric and outright lies that the British media have used to obscure the geographic extent of grooming gang crimes, the number of victims involved and the length of time these crimes have been committed, Above all, the clear Islamic roots of the rapist’s popular belief that it is acceptable to sexually abuse pagan children.
Neither of these two NEP Press books are controversial. Both are solid, scholarly presentations of objective facts. And both face the widespread refusal of mainstream Western institutions to face the dark realities of Islam. It’s very ironic that both books were taken down by Amazon. Because by taking this action, online bookstores are doing the exact same kind of head-on denial that these books so vehemently criticize.
Amazon’s refusal to make these books available to customers is more than an affront to those who believe in free speech and open discussion. This is a slap in the face and even worse for those who have lost loved ones in Islamic terrorist attacks or whose children have been sexually exploited by Muslim gangs. As with many attempts at , this is another triumph of reality-denying progressive ideologies over plain and simple truths.
Views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Epoch Times.
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