Location: The Heritage Foundation's Allison Auditorium

Dinesh D’Souza provocatively posits that the cultural left and its allies in Congress, the media, Hollywood, the nonprofit sector, and the universities are the primary cause of the volcano of anger toward America that is erupting from the Islamic world. He argues that the cultural left is responsible for 9/11 in two ways: by fostering a decadent and depraved American culture that angers and repulses other societies – especially traditional and religious ones – and by promoting, at home and abroad, an anti-American attitude that blames America for all the problems of the world.

Muslims and other traditional people around the world allege that secular American values are being imposed on their societies and that these values undermine religious belief, weaken the traditional family, and corrupt the innocence of children. D’Souza contends that it is not “America” that is doing this to them, but the American cultural left. What traditional societies consider repulsive and immoral, the cultural left considers progressive and liberating.

Taking issue with those on the right who speak of a “clash of civilizations,” D’Souza argues that the war on terror is really a war for the hearts and minds of traditional Muslims – and traditional peoples everywhere.

DINESH D’SOUZA, the Rishwain Research Scholar at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, is the author of several bestselling books, including Illiberal Education, The Virtue of Prosperity, and What's So Great About America.