In the debate over Paul Berman’s Flight, it might be helpful to have the background on the debate, most of which goes back to 2007. Berman’s book is an extension of this debate between European intellectuals (this is a very European debate, by the way) in the English-language German website signandsight.

You can read all the major articles here, beginning with this fiery assertion by Pascal Bruckner:

“Ayaan Hirsi Ali, it is true, does elude current stereotypes of political correctness. As a Somali, she proclaims the superiority of Europe over Africa. As a woman, she is neither wife nor mother. As a Muslim, she openly denounces the backwardness of the Koran. So many flouted cliches make her a true rebel, unlike the sham insurgents our societies produce by the dozen.”

Ouch.