Talk:Bernard Lewis

The link in the 40th reference

It seems dead. Cihan Bahran (talk) 22:17, 5 March 2010 (UTC)

Latest WP:BLP violations

Claiming in Wikipedia's narrative voice that Lewis has "conservative and biased opinions" and "is known as one of the leading figures that command anti-Islamic movements" is an violation of WP:BLP. So too is sourcing a series of "criticisms" to some Egyptian newspapers behind a paywall. Please review WP:BLP very carefully before editing this article. Jayjg ^(talk) 12:36, 10 August 2010 (UTC)

Primer on Islam

• Can someone please explain why the primer on islam section of this article was previously deleted?? It appears the RS and primary research arguments were used as justification, but quoting an individual's written words, in a reliably published work (that is readily available), on a topic for which he is a recognized expert is not against wikipedia policy. As long as it merely documents his written statement on the topic (which is exactly what that section did).

To quote wiki policy: Primary sources that have been reliably published may be used in Wikipedia, but only with care, because it is easy to misuse them... A primary source may only be used on Wikipedia to make straightforward, descriptive statements that any educated person, with access to the source but without specialist knowledge, will be able to verify are supported by the source. For example, an article about a novel may cite passages to describe the plot, but any interpretation needs a secondary source. Do not make analytic, synthetic, interpretive, explanatory, or evaluative claims about material found in a primary source.

I think based on this the primer on Islam can be added back, if there is disagreement I would welcome taking this to the RS board.

The original Primer on Islam section is pasted below for all to review. Notice all statements are quotes (with references to the exact page) and offered without further analysis. And clearly it is on a topic of interest and for which the author has extensive expertise.

Primer on Islam Lewis's latest book is called Islam: The Religion and the People.[15] From his research, Lewis draws the following conclusions regarding the history of Islamic culture:[16]: "At no time did the (Muslim) jurist approve of terrorism. Nor indeed is there any evidence of the use of terrorism (in Islamic tradition)." "Muslims are commanded not to kill women, children, or the aged; not to torture or otherwise ill-treat prisoners; to give fair warning of the opening of hostilities; and to honor agreements." "The emergence of the now widespread terrorism practice of suicide bombing is a development of the 20th century. It has no antecedents in Islamic history, and no justification in terms of Islamic theology, law, or tradition. It is a pity that those who practice this form of terrorism are not better acquainted with their own religion, and with the culture that grew up under the auspices of that religion."[17] "The fanatical warrior offering his victims the choice of the Koran or the sword is not only untrue, it is impossible."[18] "Generally speaking, Muslim tolerance of unbelievers was far better than anything available in Christendom, until the rise of secularism [and colonialism] in the 17th century."[19] "Unbelievers, slaves, and women are considered fundamentally inferior to other groups of people under Islamic law.".[20] (Kitkat21 (talk) 06:09, 15 December 2010 (UTC))

Lewis' views on Islam

Regarding the following passage

"Generally speaking, Muslim tolerance of unbelievers was far better than anything available in Christendom, until the rise of secularism [and colonialism] in the 17th century."

Sorry I don't have this book at hand. Are the words [and colonialism] Lewis'? Are these Lewis' square brackets, or is this a "clarification" from a WP editor? Is this passage actually Lewis quoting someone else?

Thanks Aquib (talk) 21:59, 23 December 2010 (UTC)

It was a garbled version of the passage in the book, which was not a quote. I do not know where the phrase "[and colonialism]" came from. Spacepotato (talk) 01:36, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

OK, thank you -Aquib (talk) 07:03, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Anders Behring Breivik

Bernard Lewis seems to have been a big inspiration to Breivik, as his manifesto is full of Lewis quotes. It should be mentioned in this article.--Aa2-2004 (talk) 11:44, 26 July 2011 (UTC)