Islamophobia
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[edit] What is Islamophobia?
"Islamophobia" is a politically correct buzzword used to stigmatize criticism of Islam. It purports to denote an irrational fear or dislike of Islam or Muslims; however it differs from genuine bigotry in that some degree of fear/dislike of Islam's teachings is generally entirely rational. As is the way with such terms, it is often used interchangeably with others such as 'racism' and 'xenophobia' in order to silence opposition. While Muslims can indeed be victims of bigotry, this is distinct from criticism of their religion, the depiction of their prophet and so forth, which are matters of free expression.
"Islamophobia", like its opposing term Islamophilia, is not found in most major dictionaries.
[edit] Islamophobia, and the Definition of Racism and Phobia
[edit] Racism
n.
- The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.
Islam is an ideology with followers from varying backgrounds. It is not a race and therefore the rejection of Islam cannot be classified as racism. Christians, Communists or Hindus do not accuse their critics of being racist; the mere thought of that happening is ridiculous, yet Muslims and their supporters do this all the time. Criticizing the failings of an ideology or claiming one ideology to be inferior to another, does not make someone a racist. A race cannot proselytise others into their fold. A race does not have any pre-determined beliefs or set laws to follow. Furthermore one cannot one day decide to become Afro-Caribbean, Caucasian, Asian, or Hispanic. So labelling someone whose opinions of Islam, and its effect on its adherents, are negative as a racist is a fallacy. It also worth noting that the majority of Muslims are not Arabs.
[edit] As for Antisemitism and its comparison to Islamophobia:
The study, conducted by scientists from Yeshiva University and New York University, used genetic analysis to study and compare 237 Jews and 418 non-Jews.
The Los Angeles Times reports: The study, which was conducted primarily to further medical knowledge of genetic diseases, rejected a highly controversial idea that Ashkenazi Jews are descended from Khazars in Eastern Europe who converted to Judaism -- an idea that has recently been used in an attempt to discredit the idea that Jews belong in Israel because it is their historic homeland.
The study shows that there is "clearly a shared genetic common ancestry among geographically diverse populations consistent with oral tradition and culture ...and that traces back to the Middle East," said geneticist Sarah A. Tishkoff of the University of Pennsylvania, who was not involved in the study. "Jews have assimilated to some extent, but they clearly retain their common ancestry."
The study also found that Ashkenazi Jews, who hail from Europe, are "all as closely related as fourth or fifth cousins would be."
The study appeared Thursday in the American Journal of Human Genetics.The Huffington Post, June 4, 2010
This scientific study proves that Jews, unlike Muslims, are genetically identifiable as a race, many of whom also share a common language and culture. Religion has little to do with the accusation of Antisemitism, as the Jewish sacred scriptures and Jewish beliefs are ruthlessly criticised through the criticism of the Bible and Christianity, yet you never hear of Jews screaming "racist" at people who criticise the religion of Judaism. On top of all this, many Jews hold no Jewish religious beliefs whatsoever and are atheists and agnostics.
[edit] Phobia
n.
- A persistent, abnormal, and irrational fear of a specific thing or situation that compels one to avoid it, despite the awareness and reassurance that it is not dangerous.
Again, Islam is an ideology and likewise, the rejection of an ideology cannot be classified as phobia. To call the opponents of an ideology phobic is a fallacy. All ideologies have their critics and opponents but we do not hear Christians calling the critics of Christianity Christianophobes, Communists calling their critics Communistophobes or Hindus calling theirs Hinduphobes. The term "Islamophobia" is both technically and logically incorrect and misleading.
According to the definition of Phobia given above, the neologism "Islamophobia" implies that Islam is not dangerous and the fear of it is irrational.
This claim has not been established and it is not universally agreed upon. There are many who argue that Islam is indeed a dangerous ideology and they have their logical arguments to prove their claim. Irrespective of whether the critics of Islam are right or wrong about whether Islam is dangerous or not, calling them “phobic” implies that their criticism has been already refuted and the irrationality of their fear of Islamic threat has been established. Therefore their disagreement with Islam is not logical but a mental disorder.
[edit] Here is a short list of actual phobias:
- Achluophobia or Lygophobia (fear of darkness)
- Acrophobia (fear of heights)
- Androphobia (fear of men)
- Aviatophobia (fear of flying)
- Chiraptophobia (fear of being touched)
- Claustrophobia (fear of confined spaces)
- Coitophobia (fear of coitus)
- Decidophobia (fear of making decisions)
- Agrophobia or Demophobia (fear of crowds)
- Eleutherophobia (fear of freedom)
- Gynophobia (fear of women)
- Hadephobia (fear of hell - incidentally, one phobia that afflicts many Muslims)
- Hylophobia (fear of forests)
- Insectophobia (fear of insects)
- Isolophobia (fear of solitude, being alone)
- Necrophobia (fear of death or dead things)
- Neophobia (fear of anything new)
- Phasmophobia, (fear of ghosts)
- Philophobia (fear of falling in love or being in love)
- Xenophobia (fear of strangers or foreigners)
How can criticism of Islam fall into this category? These are all irrational fears that require therapy. Are the defenders of Islam suggesting that the critics should receive therapy?
[edit] Criticism of Other Beliefs
Phobia is an irrational fear of things, people or situations but not beliefs. You can't be phobic of a belief system. Beliefs per se are not frightening. It's people who follow nefarious beliefs that become dangerous and frightening. As one can see, the very term "Islamophobia" is stupid because Islam is a belief system and it is not possible to be phobic of a belief. From whichever angle you look at Islam you find its stupidity glaring at you.
All ideologies have their opponents. It is sheer arrogance to call criticism of any ideology phobic. As has been mentioned, this implies that the truth of that ideology is already established and anyone opposing it is adopting an irrational position and is in need of psychological help.
Only a brainwashed fool is capable of this much irrationality and arrogance. We all recall Muhammad Abdullah, the Afghani man who converted to Christianity and who was facing execution. When the government of Afghanistan was pressured to release him, to save face they accused him of being insane and not fit to stand trial. In the mind of those Muslims only an insane person would disagree with Islam. This is sheer arrogance.
Buddhism is usually regarded as a peaceful religion with non-violence at its core. Despite that, Buddhism has its critics and we never call then Buddhistphobes.
Thus, the neologism "Islamophobia" makes absolutely no sense. It is derogatory and is used in a pejorative way to discredit the critics of Islam from the outset.
[edit] Muslims and their Fear of Jews
Many Muslims suffer from an irrational fear of the Jews. Some Muslim children are taught that the Jews are evil, that they eat Muslim children and make pastries with their blood. Jews are caricatured in derogatory and demonized ways, depicted as bloodsucking monsters. In a television show aired in Palestine a three year old child was interviewed and asked what she hates most, and when she responded "the Jews", the journalists praised Allah upon hearing this stupid remark (videos: 1 2 ). So the neologism Judeophobia (fear of Jews) is legitimate, because the irrational fear of Jews is inculcated in Muslims since childhood. Many Muslims gravely suffer from this disorder.
If children anywhere were deliberately taught to fear Muslims, the way many Muslim children are taught to fear Jews, then the neologism Muslimphobia would have made sense. But that is not the case. Those who defend Islam constantly attempt to blur the line between the criticism of Islam and the criticism of Muslims. But Islam is only a belief system, and it is a human right to disagree with any belief. Calling that disagreement a “phobia” is a logical fallacy. Islam is the only ideology whose followers try to discredit their opponents by effectively diagnosing them with a mental illness.
Islamophobia thus makes no sense at all. It is as meaningless as "Fascistophobia". Of course people have the right to disagree and criticize any ideology, whether good or bad. The goodness of an ideology is in the eyes of the beholder. Stigmatizing criticism of an ideology infringes upon basic human rights, particularly freedom of speech.
The absurdity is that many Muslims think it is okay for their scriptures to incite hate against non-Muslims in general, and the Jews in particular, yet it is not okay for others to criticize their ideology of hate. Indeed, one might wonder whether kuffarophobia is more apposite.
[edit] The Inability of Muslims to Counter Valid Criticism
What is behind this paranoia and phobia of criticism? It is the inability of Muslims to counter the valid criticism of Islam. Failing that, they resort to ad hominem and try to discredit its critics by undermining their character. By classifying the criticism of Islam as a disorder, Muslims absolve themselves from responding to valid criticisms against their faith.
The neologism “Islamophobia”, is therefore the symptom of the intellectual bankruptcy of Muslim clerisy to come up with logical arguments and defend Islam against criticism in a rational way. "Islamophobia" is an ad hominen. It is a logical fallacy and an insult hurled at the critics of Islam. It highlights the fact that Islam is a lie, unable to withstand criticism. That is why Muslims need censorship and must eliminate the truth by brutal force (law suits or violence) to protect their lie.
The very existence of this neologism is a tacit confession that Islam is a hate-filled lie, which can't be defended logically and that ad hominem, tu-quoque and censorship are the only ways to defend it.
[edit] The OIC's view of Islamophobia
According to the Organisation of The Islamic Conference:
The fact is that the more Westerners learn about Islam, the more afraid they become. The public attention has turned to Islam only after the many attacks Muslims have made against their fellow human beings in the name of Allah and his cause. The more Westerners read the Qur'an the more they discover the destructive evil hidden within its incoherent, repetitive, angry ramblings. What bit of good that can be found in the text can easily be derived from the earlier sacred scriptures of the Jews, Christians, Hindus, and Buddhists.
The OIC is attempting to pull the wool over the eyes of the West with such a ridiculous notion as the one that fear of Islam is unfounded.
- Islam has been linked to terror since its very beginning.
- Islam has been intolerant of other religious beliefs since its very beginning.
- Islam's values and practices are certainly not democratic which Ayaan Hirsi Ali explains well:
- And Islam certainly favors repression of freedom of expression, and it undermines human rights by sanctioning and institutionalizing slavery and denying equal protection under the law to ex-Muslims, non-Muslims, women, homosexuals, and children.
[edit] See also
- Islam and Freedom of Speech
- Manifesto: Together facing the new totalitarianism
- Phobia - A hub page that leads to other articles related to Phobia
[edit] External links
- The Phobia List - A comprehensive list of medically recognised phobias
- Defining Islamophobia - By Denis Schulz
- Islamophobia - Exposing the Islamophobes
- Race, Racism (and Islam) - TROP's Case against Race
- Islam is an ideology, not a race - The Equal Opportunity Division of the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal recognizes the obvious
- Cry Islamophobia! - By Clifford D. May, National Review Online
