I do respectfully disagree with their assertion that “[i]t is not a clash of civilisations”; at the very least I think this is a prelude to such a clash. As I noted last night in the first post on my new blog, I fear – actually fear isn’t the right word; it’s more like I’m resigned to the idea – that future events in the “Long War” will make the so-called “cartoon intifada” look like a picnic. I’m also resigned to other great cultural institutions, including the one that’s the main subject of my debut post, either disappearing or being radically altered in the wake of this war even if the West ultimately prevails, as I believe it will.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali – Somali-born Dutch politician, friend of Theo Van Gogh, now living under constant guard, if not in hiding outright.

Bernard-Henri Lévy – French leftist philosopher who makes sense to Americans, even conservatives (but the Lake Woebegone guy hates him).

Irshad Manji – ex-Muslim Canadian woman, lesbian, whip-smart, funny, in-your-face, and also a frequent target of death threats.

Ibn Warraq – another former Muslim, who has written a book on why he left the religion. (Apostacy is punishable by death under the stricter interpretations).

Mehdi Mozaffari – Iranian scholar of Shi’ite jurisprudence and critic of the hard-line Tehran regime.

Chahla Chafiq – author of a scathing critique of the treatment of women in modern Iran.

Caroline Fourest – Has done heroic work in calling attention to radical Islamists preaching in France.

Maryam Namazie – another Iranian dissident living in exile in the West. A member of the Worker-Communist Party of Iran, like many on the list she is firmly of the left.

Taslima Nasrin – award-winning Bangladeshi writer whose novel “Shame,” which depicts Muslim persecution of Bangladesh’s Hindu minority, brought death threats and drove her from her homeland. The Bangladesh government banned her book.