John Rentoul

John Rentoul is a British journalist and a biographer of Tony Blair. He describes himself as a Blairite and is an outspoken supporter of Tony Blair and his policies. He is a spokesman for Ban Blair Baiting, a campaigning website set up to deflect criticism of the former Prime Minister for alleged war crimes.

Iraq and the body count

In the wake of the 7 July 2005 London bombings, the Independent's John Rentoul commented:

“A Muslim friend of mine in the East End of London says that the sense of victimisation and injustice goes so deep among his fellow religionists that he sometimes despairs. 'This all goes back to the burning of The Satanic Verses,' he says. It was in 1988 that we should have realised that we were up against a culture - he doesn't like the term 'Muslim community' - that tended to irrationalism and self-pity. Salman Rushdie did not create that culture, but he provided a focus for it and fed its sense of grievance.

And:

“The Iraq issue serves much the same purpose today.” (Rentoul, 'Islam, blood and grievance,' The Independent, 24 July 2005)

Media Lens discussed these comments at length and pointed out the media tendency for ignoring or downplaying the victims of "our" violence.

Contact, References and Resources

Contact

Email: J.Rentoul@independent.co.uk