A blog I subscribe to called Weasel Zippers asked a question recently that I thought was very interesting.
They wondered,
Why is “Islamophobia” such a serious threat while anti-Semitism isn’t?
The question is relevant because of the recent report issued by the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) Observatory on Islamophobia, which “dwelt extensively on the worrying trend of Islamophobia as a clear and present danger to global peace and security.”
It’s important to understand how they define “Islamophobia.”
In the report, the OIC says Islamophobia is “the contemporary proliferation of discrimination against Muslims and distortion of Islam and is partly due to the ignorance and lack of understanding of Islam in the West.”
They claim in their report:
The protagonists of Islamophobia comprise motivated individuals and groups, actively engaged in inciting violence and creating division among faiths and cultures by resorting to incendiary and inflammatory remarks, publications and broadcasts against most sacred symbols of Muslims, including Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the Holy Quran and by distorting the values of peace, tolerance and compassion embodied in Islam.
Unless I am mistaken, they are saying the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad, as seen here, are a “clear and present danger to global peace and security.”
Anti-semitic cartoons from the Arab countries, as seen here, here, here, and also found in the Washington Post, the Daily Kos ( you know, the site that hosted every Democratic presidential candidate at its convention), the University of Arizona’s student newspaper, Emory’s student newspaper and even the L.A. Times are not.
Why is that?
Just Google “killed over muslim cartoons” (click the link, I did it for you.)
Top links:
- BBC NEWS | South Asia | Muslim cartoon fury claims lives
- Christians Killed in Nigeria, Pakistan Over Muslim Cartoons
- Nigeria: Nine Christians murdered over cartoon drawn by a Muslim in Bangladesh
- 130 Christians murdered over cartoons – Muslim rioters rampage through Nigerian villages
- More Than 50 Christians Killed Over Muslim Cartoons
And don’t forget the obligatory fatwa:
Now Google “killed over anti semitic cartoons” (once again, I did the heavy lifting for you).
Where are all the rage filled murders of Muslims over the blasphemies? Not only were there no violent protests, but some Israelis started an anti-Semitic cartoon contest, to show that they could come up with much better anti-Semitic graphics:
Amitai Sandy, the publisher of Tel-Aviv, Israel-based Dimona Comix, and founder of the contest jokes, “We’ll show the world we can do the best, sharpest, most offensive Jew hating cartoons ever published! No Iranian will beat us on our home turf!”
In America, not only can you dunk a crucifix into a jar of urine and call it art, but the taxpayers will pay for it. No riots, no deaths.
The fact is simple. The term “Islamophobia” is a powerful tool used to silence critics of the Religion of Peace. It’s being used to shut down anything even remotely critical of Islam. While there is discrimination, by and large the term is overused to scare people into submission so they aren’t labeled a racist.
Make a video game of Muhammad fighting Buddha, it’s Islamophobic and gets shut down.
Upload some videos quoting the Koran to highlight its passages promoting violence towards infidels? Those are Islamophobic, and YouTube pulls them.
Accurately identify Muslims who commit violent acts in the name of Allah? That’s Islamophobia, and it’s condemned. Never mind the fact that most new agencies don’t find the religious nature of these acts important enough to mention until far into the article, if at all.
The true dangers to global peace are found in the rhetoric of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who continues down his nuclear path while “[paving] the way for the 12th imam.” The way for the 12th Imam, by the way, is a path of destruction and global chaos, ending in the establishment of Islam throughout the world.
And there is always his dedication to the destruction of Israel.
There is the march of the Taliban into a nuclear Pakistan. Is this not a bigger threat to global peace than Muhammed going all M. Bison on Siddhārtha?
There are the ever present threats of Hamas, Hezbollah and the other Islamic terrorist groups who target Israeli school buses for mass murder, who fire rockets into Israel from civilian population centers, who used children as human shields when they aren’t training them to be suicide bombers.
The threat to global peace is real, but it isn’t Islamophobia. In fact, antisemitism is a greater threat than Islamophobia. There have been over 13,000 terrorist attacks committed by Islamic terrorists since September 11, 2001.
How many of those were caused because of Islamophobia, compared with the number done out of a hatred of Jews and America?
Answer that and tell me Islamophobia is more dangerous than antisemitism.
