Once again the bogus term “Islamophobia” is in the limelight. First, courtesy in the last few days of the complaints of baroness (“Lady”) Warsi. It was picked up by the BBC ad nauseam yesterday on the radio and then in The Telegraph, a somewhat muddled piece by Ed West (h/t RH). All the agonizing over how to handle it, how to control it – of course no debate as to where or not it’s a valid term, which of course it’s not. We can criticise the Catholic church for its kiddie-loving priests, just a little bit too loving, without being called “Cathophobes”. In any case, the statistics show that so-called “hate crimes” against Muslims are in fact down.[1]
To combat “Islamophobia”, I much prefer the formulation by Robert Spencer, the gist of which is: if you want to reduce “Islamophobia”, then concentrate on doing things that will reduce the need for people to be critical of Islam. In short, get your own house in order, Lady.
Ed West says the best way to overcome it is not to talk about it. I disagree; the best way is for Muslims like the good Lady to talk about it: to Muslims.
Below the post from Spencer:
The very concept of "Islamophobia" was invented by Islamic supremacists in order to claim victim status for Muslims and deflect attention away from the global jihad and Islamic supremacism.
If self-proclaimed moderate Muslims really wants to cure "Islamophobia," here is an easy way. They can:
1. Focus their indignation on Muslims committing violent acts in the name of Islam, not on non-Muslims reporting on those acts.
2. Renounce definitively, sincerely, honestly, and in deeds, not just in comforting words, not just "terrorism," but any intention to replace the U.S. Constitution (or the constitutions of any non-Muslim state) with Sharia even by peaceful means. In line with this, clarify what is meant by their condemnations of the killing of innocent people by stating unequivocally that American and Israeli civilians are innocent people, teaching accordingly in mosques and Islamic schools, and behaving in accord with these new teachings.
3. Teach, again sincerely and honestly, in transparent and inspectable ways in mosques and Islamic schools, the imperative of Muslims coexisting peacefully as equals with non-Muslims on an indefinite basis, and act accordingly.
4. Begin comprehensive international programs in mosques all over the world to teach sincerely against the ideas of violent jihad and Islamic supremacism.
5. Actively and honestly work with Western law enforcement officials to identify and apprehend jihadists within Western Muslim communities.
If Muslims do those five things, voila! People like me will no longer suffer from the illness of "Islamophobia"! [2]
[PF] Related: "CAIR Hate Crime nonsense", Daniel Pipes, May 18, 2005. Here.
