Interesting that this sane and sensible discussion of "Islamophobia" was carried in Salon, usually an Islamopologist site....
Every once in a while, the faithful of one or another denomination collude to impose on us a spectacle ostensibly meant to be serious, but which turns out to be farcical. Pretty much all major evangelical gatherings or religious talk shows meet this description, hosted, as they inevitably are, by sanctimonious sermonizers who can be merely antiquated and ridiculous, if in a venomous sort of way (Pat Robertson comes to mind), or outright fraudsters (recall Jim Bakker), or even just plain old hypocrites (Ted Haggard). They reliably spout odious piffle, fleece their credulous flock and get off in most un-Christian ways. But for rationalists, at least, all this usually amounts to little more than something to be laughed at and quickly forgotten. Oh, the humorous ephemera of faith!In the United Kingdom, however, a different situation obtains, and it is no laughing matter. For the past 30 years, church attendance has been plummeting; one can almost speak of the death throes of Christianity there. But Islam is decidedly in no need of a requiem. Since 1982, at least 85 Shariah councils have dispensed their peculiar form of “justice” to an unknown number of the country’s almost 3 million Muslims. Islam has even begun extending its tentacles into British law enforcement. A body called the National Association of Muslim Police has worked tirelessly, says its website, to promote the hiring and promotion of Muslim officers, “tackle Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate crime,” and lastly, “assist with countering terrorism.” In theory, the keeping of law and order should be an objective, unbiased task; exactly how adding a confessional element will help the cause of justice in the U.K. remains to be seen.
But there’s more.... [here]
