Sex, Not Faith, Drives Islamic Extremism?

Author and fatwa target Salman Rushdie offers a decidedly different take upon the source of Islamic extremism...

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

The West has failed to grasp the extent to which Islamic extremism is rooted in men's fear of women's sexuality, the British author Salman Rushdie says in an interview to be published today.

Rushdie told the German weekly Stern that his latest novel, Shalimar the Clown, dealt with the deep anxiety felt among many Islamic men about female sexual freedom and lost honour.

Asked if the book drew a link between Islamic terrorism and damaged male honour, Rushdie said this was a crucial point. "The Western-Christian world view deals with the issues of guilt and salvation, a concept that is completely unimportant in the East because there is no original sin and no saviour," he said. "Instead, great importance is given to 'honour'. I consider that to be problematic. But of course it is underestimated how many Islamists consciously or unconsciously attempt to restore lost honour."

Rushdie, 58, said that much of the Islamists' anger toward the West was provoked by that split on sexual issues.

"[It is] because Western societies do not veil their women. Because they do not defuse this potential danger," he said.

Oh that makes perfect sense...