Dinesh D'Souza (Konkani: दिनेश डिसूज़ा: born April 25, 1961) is an author and public speaker and a former Robert and Karen Rishwain Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.[1] He is currently the President of The King's College in New York City.[2] D'Souza is a noted Christian apologist and conservative writer and speaker. He is the author of numerous New York Times best-selling books. He was born and raised Catholic, but is now an Evangelical Christian.[3]
D'Souza was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, to Goan Catholic parents from the state of Goa in Western India.[4] He arrived in the United States in 1978, originally through a Rotary International program, attending Patagonia Union High School in Patagonia, Arizona, and then Dartmouth College, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in English in 1983.[5][6]
According to Boston Globe journalist Peter S. Canellos, in 1981, D'Souza published the names of officers of the Gay Student Alliance in an article for The Dartmouth Review, including the names of those who were still closeted.[7]
While at Dartmouth, D'Souza became the editor of a conservative monthly called The Prospect. The paper and its writers ignited much controversy during D'Souza's editorship by, among other things, criticizing the College's affirmative action policies.[8] He first became known as a writer for the Dartmouth Review, which was subsidized by several conservative organizations not affiliated with Dartmouth.[citation needed]
After his time in Dartmouth, D'Souza moved to Washington, D.C., where he served from 1985 to 1987 as an editor of Policy Review, an influential conservative journal then published by the Heritage Foundation (and since acquired by the Hoover Institution).[6] In "The Bishops as Pawns," D'Souza theorized that U.S. Catholic bishops were being manipulated by American liberals in agreeing to oppose the U.S. military buildup and use of power abroad and actually knew very little about these subjects to which they were lending their religious credibility, writing:
Interviews with these bishops suggest that they know little or nothing about the ideas and proposals to which they are putting their signature and lending their religious authority. The bishops are unfamiliar with existing defense and economic programs, unable to identify even in general terms the Soviet military capability, ignorant of roughly how much of the budget currently goes to defense, unclear about how much should be reallocated to social programs, and innocent of the most basic concepts underlying the intelligent layman's discussion of these questions.[9]
In 1988 D'Souza left the magazine to serve as an advisor in Ronald Reagan's White House. He joined the American Enterprise Institute in 1989, where he was the institute's John M. Olin fellow, before later joining the Hoover Institution as its Robert and Karen Rishwain Fellow.[6]
D'Souza is a noted conservative, and defines conservatism in the American sense as "conserving the principles of the American Revolution."[10] In Letters to a Young Conservative, written as an introduction to conservative ideas for youth, D'Souza argues that it is a blend of classical liberalism and ancient virtue, in particular, "the belief that there are moral standards in the universe and that living up to them is the best way to have a full and happy life." He also argues against what he calls the modern liberal belief that "human nature is intrinsically good," and thus that "the great conflicts in the world...arise out of terrible misunderstandings that can be corrected through ongoing conversation and through the mediation of the United Nations."[11]
D'Souza challenges beliefs and projects such as affirmative action and social welfare. In the book Illiberal Education, D'Souza argued that intolerance of conservative views is common at many universities.
He has attributed many modern social problems to what he calls the "cultural left". In his recent book The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11, he wrote that:
The cultural left in this country is responsible for causing 9/11 ... the cultural left and its allies in Congress, the media, Hollywood, the non-profit sector and the universities are the primary cause of the volcano of anger toward America that is erupting from the Islamic world.[12]
D'Souza's book What's So Great About America (ISBN 0-142-00301-8) (Penguin, 2003), defends his adopted country against the criticisms that have been directed at it in the last couple of decades. In particular, he argues against the criticisms leveled by the Islamic world, domestic multiculturalists, those seeking slavery reparations, and especially America's left wing. Instead, he contends, Americans themselves are too critical and take for granted the blessings bestowed on them by living within the borders of the United States.[13]
He also takes this a step further and challenges the notion that all world cultures are equal. "If one begins with the multicultural premise that all cultures are equal, then the world as it is makes very little sense," he says. "Some cultures have completely outperformed others in providing the things that all people seek – health, food, housing, security and the amenities of life."[13]
D'Souza has also criticised aspects of feminism in Letters to a Young Conservative, writing that:
The feminist error was to embrace the value of the workplace as greater than the value of the home. Feminism has endorsed the public sphere as inherently more constitutive of women’s worth than the private sphere. Feminists have established as their criterion of success and self-worth an equal representation with men at the top of the career ladder. The consequence of this feminist scale of values is a terrible and unjust devaluation of women who work at home.[14]
In an interview with Enter Stage Right, he claimed that same-sex marriage did not work because "Marriage does not civilize men. Women do. This point is even evident in the gay community: it helps to explain why lesbians are generally much better than male homosexuals in sustaining long-term relationships. The reason that society privileges marriage and gives it a special legal status is because marriage is the only known incubator for the raising of children."[15]
In a Christian Science Monitor article, he stated that "the moral teachings of Jesus provide no support for – indeed they stand as a stern rebuke to – the historical injustices perpetrated in the name of Christianity."[16] D'Souza often speaks against atheism, nonbelief, and secularism. The most elaborate presentation of his views concerning these topics can be found in his book What's so Great about Christianity, published in 2007.
D'Souza says "living creatures are the products of intelligent design," but is not a proponent of the organized Intelligent Design (ID) movement, as he does not consider ID to be a satisfactory alternative to the theory of evolution.[17] He argues that belief in the afterlife and in a supreme being are reasonable conclusions given the evidence available, and that atheists have misrepresented the case for Christianity on many fronts. He has argued for dualist Panentheism[18] which is in conflict with traditional Christianity.
In a Catholic Education Resource Center article, he shared his belief on the separation of church and state: "Groups like the ACLU, with the acquiescence if not collusion of the courts, are actively promoting a jurisprudence of anti-religious discrimination. In a way the Supreme Court has distorted the Constitution to make religious believers of all faiths into second-class citizens." D'Souza argues that by enforcing the separation of church and state, the government unfairly promotes secularism.[19] More clearly, D'Souza states, "Today courts wrongly interpret separation of church and state to mean that religion has no place in the public arena, or that morality derived from religion should not be permitted to shape our laws. Somehow freedom for religious expression has become freedom from religious expression. Secularists want to empty the public square of religion and religious-based morality so they can monopolize the shared space of society with their own views."[20] However, the ACLU states that it has a history of defending the free exercise rights of various religious groups, including those of Christians.[21][22]
D'Souza stated that he has studied radical Islam for three to four years[23] and read the Qur'an.[24][unreliable source?]
D'Souza debated Robert Spencer about Islam on March 1, 2007 at the Conservative Political Action Conference and labelled Spencer an "Islamophobe". D'Souza made the following arguments:
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In arguing his thesis Spencer locates all the violent verses in the Koran and all the hideous deeds performed by Islamic conquerors, especially in their early centuries of irredentist expansion. Then he links these to the words and actions of Khomeini, Bin Laden and today's Islamic radicals. Spencer is an effective polemicist.[25] |
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[Spencer's] historical argument is dubious. It emphasizes violent passages in the Koran, while downplaying the passages that urge peace and goodwill. It applies a moral standard to Islamic empires that certainly could not be met by the Roman empire or the empires established by the Portuguese, the Spanish, the French and the British. In the Spain of Ferdinand and Isabella, for example, Jews had three choices: convert to Christianity, leave the country, or be killed. No Muslim empire legislated or systematically enforced such a policy toward its religious minorities.[25] |
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Yes, the Koran says 'slay the infidels' but no Muslim empire actually did that. For example the Muslims ruled North India for two centuries before they were displaced by the British. The Mughal emperors could have killed the tens of millions of Hindus under their control, or at least forced them to become Muslims. They did nothing of the sort.[25] |
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While Spencer did not rebut several of D'Souza's talking points and ostensible factual evidence during the debate, he did address these immediately afterword, in an interview conducted by his ally, Pamela Geller.[26]
With regard to the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse, D'Souza asserted that the abuse to the prisoners was due to the "sexual immodesty of liberal America" and that Abu Ghraib reflected "the values of a debauched liberalism run amok." Dinesh also claims that had Charles Graner and Lynndie England been "professors at an elite liberal arts college, their videotaped orgies might easily have become the envy of academia. If they were artists staging these pictures in a loft in Soho they could have been hailed as pioneers and encouraged by leftist admirers to apply for a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts."[27]
At the conclusion of a commentary article for Forbes magazine about President Barack Obama, D'Souza writes: "...[O]ur President is trapped in his father's time machine. Incredibly, the U.S. is being ruled according to the dreams of a Luo tribesman of the 1950s. This philandering, inebriated African socialist, who raged against the world for denying him the realization of his anticolonial ambitions, is now setting the nation's agenda through the reincarnation of his dreams in his son. The son makes it happen, but he candidly admits he is only living out his father's dream. The invisible father provides the inspiration, and the son dutifully gets the job done. America today is governed by a ghost."[28]
D'Souza has appeared on CNN,[29][30] Glenn Beck, ABC's Nightline, CBS's Face the Nation, Fox News Channel's Hannity & Colmes, MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews, Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, Politically Incorrect, and CNBC's Dennis Miller.[citation needed] On November 30, 2007, he debated Tufts University professor Daniel Dennett at Tufts on whether or not God was a man made invention.[31]
During an interview on The Colbert Report on January 16, 2007, while promoting his book, The Enemy At Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11, D'Souza maintained that liberals were not without fault in the September 11, 2001, attacks. He says liberals’ "penchant for interference" had a decided affect in convincing the Carter administration to withdraw support from the Shah, which brought on Muslim fundamentalists control of the Iranian government. He also stated that the distorted representation of American culture on television is one source of resentment of the U.S by Muslims worldwide. D'Souza believes that traditional Muslims are not too different from traditional Jews and Christians in America. Towards the end of the interview he admitted that he and Islamic militants share some of the same negative beliefs about liberal Americans.[32]
On May 15, 2009, D'Souza debated atheist Peter Singer at Princeton University. The debate was hosted by the Fixed Point Foundation and was titled "Can There Be Morality without God?"[33] On October 7, 2009, D'Souza debated Bart Ehrman at UNC-Chapel Hill. The debate was also hosted by the Fixed Point Foundation and was titled "God and the Problem of Suffering: The Debate."[34] On April 7, 2010, D'Souza debated Christopher Hitchens at the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana. The debate was entitled "The God Debate at Notre Dame: Is Religion the Problem?"[35] On October 12, 2011, D'Souza debated David Silverman at the University of Pennsylvania. The debate was titled "Is Christianity Good for America?"[36]
In early 2007, D'Souza published The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and its Responsibility for 9/11, in which he argues that the American cultural left was in large part responsible for the Muslim anger that led to the September 11 attacks.[12] He argues that Muslims do not hate America because of its freedom and democracy, but because they perceive America to be imposing its moral depravity (support for sexual licentiousness) on the world.[37] The conclusion of the book, as stated by D'Souza in the introduction, is that "[t]he Bush administration and the conservatives must stop promoting American popular culture because it is producing a blowback of Muslim rage. With a few exceptions, the right should not bother to defend American movies, music, and television. From the point of view of traditional values, they are indefensible. Moreover, why should the right stand up for the left’s debased values? Why should our people defend their America? Rather, American conservatives should join the Muslims and others in condemning the global moral degeneracy that is produced by liberal values."[38] The book was criticized in major American newspapers and magazines and called, among other things, "the worst nonfiction book about terrorism published by a major house since 9/11"[39] and "a national disgrace."[40]
D'Souza's book caused a controversy in the conservative movement, invoking a barrage of attacks back and forth between D'Souza and his conservative critics who widely mocked the thesis of his book, that the cultural left was responsible for 9/11. In response to his critics, he posted a 6,500-word essay on National Review Online,[41] and NRO subsequently published a litany of responses from conservative authors who accused D'Souza of character assassination, elitism and pseudointellectualism.[42]
His latest book, The Roots of Obama's Rage, was released in September 2010 and explores President Barack Obama's past and D'Souza's theories about the reasons behind Obama's beliefs. D'Souza appeared on Glenn Beck on September 30 to explain some of his theories.[43] His Christian apologetics books, What's So Great About Christianity and Life After Death: The Evidence, were both New York Times Best Sellers.[44][45]
In 1992, D'Souza married Dixie Brubaker, whom he first met during his time in Washington, D.C. They have one daughter, Danielle, and resided in Fairbanks Ranch, California. They recently moved to New York City[6]
Books authored by Dinesh D'Souza include:
Dinesh D'Souza has also contributed to:
- 2008: Foreword to Conspiracies and the Cross by Timothy Paul Jones, Frontline Books (ISBN 1-599-79205-2)
Articles written by Dinesh D’Souza include:
- ^ "Hoover Fellow Dinesh D'Souza Discusses Cultural Differences". dineshdsouza.com. http://www.hoover.org/pubaffairs/whatsnew/2896101.html.
- ^ "The King's College, Press Release". Tkc.edu. 2010-08-23. http://www.tkc.edu/abouttkc/president_pressrelease.html. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
- ^ "The King's College, President's Blog". Tkc.edu. 2010-08-31. http://www.tkc.edu/abouttkc/president/dsouza/president_blog.asp. Retrieved 2011-11-17.
- ^ Profiles of eminent Goans, past and present (1997), J. Clement Vaz, Concept Publishing Company, ISBN – 9788170226192, p. 332
- ^ "About Dinesh D’Souza". Dinesh D'Souza. http://www.dineshdsouza.com/more/about.html. Retrieved 2007-11-12.
- ^ a b c d "Dinesh D'Souza". NNDB. Soylent Communications. http://www.nndb.com/people/810/000049663/. Retrieved 2007-11-12.
- ^ Peter Cannellos (2007-04-19). "Conservatives Sour on Rebel Media". Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/04/19/conservatives_sour_on_rebel_media/?page=full. subscription or fee required.
- ^ "Critical Monthly Rouses Princeton". New York Times. 1984-04-29. p. 52.
- ^ 20 years of Policy Review, Policy Review, July 1997
- ^ D'Souza (2002), Letters to a Young Conservative, p. 5
- ^ D'Souza (2002), Letters to a Young Conservative, p. 9
- ^ a b salon.com/news, January 20, 2007
- ^ a b Thomas Sowell (2002-06-07). "What's So Great About America?". Capitalism Magazine. http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=1639. Retrieved 2007-10-01.
- ^ D'Souza, Letters to a Young Conservative, pp. 105–6
- ^ Q&A with Dinesh D'Souza
- ^ Atheism, not religion, is the real force behind the mass murders of history, Christian Science Monitor, November 21, 2006
- ^ D'Souza, Dinesh (April 7 2008) The Failure of Intelligent Design
- ^ Daniel Dennett Debates Dinesh D'Souza Tufts University on November 30, 2007
- ^ "Discriminating Against Religion". Catholiceducation.org. 2006-06-28. http://catholiceducation.org/articles/persecution/pch0114.htm. Retrieved 2010-09-25.
- ^ D'Souza, Dinesh (2007). What's So Great About Christianity. Tyndale, p. 56.
- ^ ACLU Defense of Religious Practice and Expression. Aclu.org. Retrieved on 2012-05-20.
- ^ The ACLU fights for Christians. The ACLU fights for Christians (2012-04-16). Retrieved on 2012-05-20.
- ^ "Brian Saint-Paul: Knowing the Enemy – Dinesh D'Souza on Islam and the West". Catholicity.com. 2007-01-31. http://www.catholicity.com/commentary/saint-paul/00041.html. Retrieved 2010-09-25.
- ^ "Serge Trifkovic catches out Dinesh D'Souza", Jihad Watch, March 6, 2007
- ^ a b c d Dinesh D'Souza (2007-03-02). "Letting Bin Laden Define Islam". http://newsbloggers.aol.com/2007/03/02/letting-bin-laden-define-islam/. [broken citation]
- ^ YouTube clip of the interview. Youtube.com. Retrieved on 2012-05-20.
- ^ "Home:About US". Townhall.com. http://townhall.com/columnists/dineshdsouza/2007/02/26/rethinking_abu_ghraib/page/full/. Retrieved 2010-09-25.
- ^ Dinesh D’Souza How Obama Thinks (September 9) Forbes Magazine September 27, 2010 p.5
- ^ "Segregation now? Some still see racial divide on campus". CNN. May 30, 2000. http://archives.cnn.com/2000/US/05/30/campus.balkanization/index.html. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
- ^ "Distort D'Newsa" now a CNN analyst. Media Matters. Retrieved on 2012-05-20.
- ^ "Daniel Dennett debates Dinesh D'Souza". RichardDawkins.net. 2007-12-01. http://richarddawkins.net/article,1942,Daniel-Dennett-Debates-Dinesh-DSouza,Tufts-University. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
- ^ Dinesh D'Souza, The Colbert Report
- ^ "Can There Be Morality without God?" Retrieved 2010-11-29.
- ^ "Debating "God's Problem": Why We Suffer" Retrieved 2010-11-29.
- ^ "Is Religion the Problem?". Nd.edu. http://www.nd.edu/~cprelig/nddebate/. Retrieved 2010-09-25.
- ^ David Silverman Debates Dinesh D’souza, Richard Dawkins Foundation
- ^ Eyeing the Enemy. Nationalreview.com. Retrieved on 2012-05-20.
- ^ The Enemy At Home: The Cultural Left and It’s Responsibility for 9/11 | Dinesh D'Souza. | (2012-04-07). Retrieved on 2012-05-20.
- ^ Bass, Warren (January 14, 2007). "Incendiary". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/12/AR2007011200082.html. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
- ^ The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11 – By Dinesh D'Souza. – Books – Review – New York Times
- ^ The Closing of the Conservative Mind, Dinesh D'Souza, National Review Online, March 12, 2007
- ^ An NRO Symposium on ''The Enemy at Home'' on ''National Review'' Online. Article.nationalreview.com (2007-03-16). Retrieved on 2012-05-20.
- ^ Glenn Beck 9/30/2010 transcript. Foxnews.com (2010-09-30). Retrieved on 2012-05-20.
- ^ NY Times Bestsellers, 11/11/2007
- ^ Life After Death website
- Dinesh D'Souza Official Web Site.
- Dinesh D'Souza at NNDB.
- Dinesh D'Souza at the Internet Movie Database
- Q&A: Dinesh D'Souza on Life After Death by Paul Kengor
- "What's So Great About Christianity" Interview with Christian author Timothy Paul Jones.
- Audio interview with National Review Online
- "The Controversialist", San Diego Reader, April 14, 2005 (profile on Dinesh D'Souza).
- "Is Christianity the Problem?" debate between Dinesh D'Souza and Christopher Hitchens at The King's College, October 22, 2007.
- "Is Christianity Good for the World?" debate with Michael Shermer at Oregon State University, October 15, 2007, Part 1, Part 2.
- "God Knows Why Faith is Thriving", San Francisco Chronicle, October 22, 2006 (opinion article by Dinesh D'Souza).
- "Equal Opportunity: The American Dilemma," debate between Dinesh D'Souza and Tim Wise at The Evergreen State College, November 21, 1996.
- Booknotes interview with D'Souza on The Virtue of Prosperity, January 14, 2001.
- In Depth interview with D'Souza, February 4, 2007
| Persondata |
| Name |
Dsouza, Dinesh |
| Alternative names |
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| Short description |
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| Date of birth |
April 25, 1961 |
| Place of birth |
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Date of death |
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| Place of death |
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