Spencer, in his emailed response, says that:
Please note the abysmal ignorance of Rohan Gunaratna, and the influence that he has. Rohan Gunaratna rejected Abul Kasem's recommendations because he doesn't see the need for them--because he thoroughly misunderstands the nature of the problem.A reader of Camera Lucida responds:
Rohan Gunaratna is a charlatan who works the anti-terrorism circuit […] Spencer says he misunderstands the nature of the problem. What Spencer has not considered is this: Gunaratna works for a Singaporean university and is beholden to his paymaster, i.e., the Singaporean government, which does not tolerate any deviation from the official line[…] Approximately 25% of Singapore's population are Malay-Muslims and there were violent racial clashes during Singapore's pre-independence days in the 60's, […] The Singaporean government is understandably anxious to avoid a repeat of this history. Out of political necessity, they are propagating the lie that Islam is a peaceful religion that has been hijacked/perverted by a tiny minority of extremists. The Singaporean government is not stupid and understands perfectly well the situation. It's just that they cannot openly state the true nature of the danger. Gunaratna, who seems to want to keep his university job, is therefore toeing the official line and lying for the Singaporean government. In other words, he [Gunaratna] understands the nature of the problem but has to keep mum about it out of necessity. As a result, Spencer, who is not aware of Singapore's political reality, thinks that Gunaratna is ignorant.The reader continues here:
I don't see why anyone should expect Spencer to lead. Leave him to his awareness raising. Expecting "The One" to emerge in time to save the world only happens in movies. S/he may never come. If you or anyone has the inclination to lead, then go ahead and start something and keep it going until someone more capable comes along, at which point leadership can be transferred. That's a more realistic strategy than pining for the second coming of Churchill.What this reader is saying is that, like the covert, overt activities of Islamic institutions I was talking about here, Muslims around the world will use any method possible to distract their adversaries into thinking differently of them. What look like ignorant acts can actually be camouflages for hiding what is really going on.
I also discuss this camouflage activity where Muslims covertly start building their institutions, with full-fledged sharia and political Islam, unbeknown to the innocent and trusting host countries.
My favorite are the "Islamic Centers" which have popped up all over Toronto, some even daringly calling their centers by their Arabic names. No, they're not mosques, they're masjids!