“Bin Laden has won,” says Richard Dawkins.
Strange headline! If (as Dawkins confidently assures us) God, heaven and hell do not exist - if this life is all there is - then Osama has broken even. On this point, Dawkins stands with Job and Mr Frisbee: “You come from nothing, you’re going back to nothing. What have you lost? Nothing!”
All right: maybe Dawkins means that by his death, Bin Laden has somehow gained kudos. In the same way, on hearing Captain Scott’s death, Amundsen said: “He’s beaten me.” It’s still not the kind of victory I can see Dawkins counting worthwhile.
Or maybe he won because he orchestrated the 9/11 murders, and because others have joined his murderous cause and are still active. That is the victory Osama himself might celebrate.
No: Dawkins has in mind a far more important and tangible victory. Forget the loved ones lost: Richard Dawkins is weeping for his honey. Airport security has responded to Bin Laden as Bin Laden intended: by confiscating infidels’ honey.
Some have found his reaction disproportionate. But I find it entirely consistent with his declared beliefs. Religion is said to have its eyes on jam tomorrow, although the Bible bangs on annoyingly about our neighbour's welfare: but Dawkins is concerned only with honey today.
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