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Orianna Fallaci Dies
Italian news agencies are reporting that the writer Orianna Fallaci has died. Fallaci, who was formerly a war correspondent, rose to fame following uncompromising interviews with global figures including Iran's theocratic leader Ayatollah Khomeini. A lifelong leftist, she was reportedly so disgusted with the Ayatollah she ripped off her headscarf and threw it in his face.
In recent years she stirred a controversy with the publication of a series of essays attacking the influence of radical Islam and Islamist-inspired terrorism.
Her 2001 publication The Rage and the Pride became a bestseller and was translated into many languages. While her supporters saw it as the toughest polemic to date against Islamic terror, critics in some countries accused Fallaci of inciting hatred against Muslims. In several countries, including France and her native Italy, her books provoked court cases.
Fallaci was known to have been ill with cancer for some time: She was 76.
