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Overplaying the Race Card

The myth of Islam as an ethno-race.

Best to get this out of the way from the start: Islam is a religion and a religious ideology, not a race, therefore the recurrent charge that Islam’s critics are racist is nothing more than a thin smokescreen.

p>Yet this truism is repeatedly rejected by Muslim spokesmen. Visit the Islamophobia Watch website and you will find among the many attempts at a definition (e.g. “the fear or hatred of Islam”) this qualification: br> /p>
[T]he term “Islamophobia” does not adequately express the full range and depth of antipathy towards Islam and Muslims in the West today. It is an inadequate term. A more accurate expression would be “anti-Islamic racism” for it combines the elements of dislike of a religion and active discrimination against the people belonging to that religion.
br> Doubtless” active discrimination against the people belonging to [a] religion ” is repellant, but it is not racist. You may be anti-Islamic or anti-Christian or anti-Judaic, or like the journalist Christopher Hitchens anti-religion in toto , and still have a profound respect for all races. Indeed the equation of religion and race has long been the favorite hobbyhorse of genuine racists. Were not the Nazis adamant that Jewry was both a religion and — first and foremost — a race?

It is easy to understand this fixation with race. The race card is the most effective way to silence critics and undermine the credibility of one’s opponent. When legitimate debate fails cry racism. In this way Muslims piggyback on the legitimate animosity toward racial bigotry.

p>Definitions of Islamophobia seem likely to multiply until they encompass every activity short of looking askance at a Muslim. Here is yet another definition, this time put together by the Commission on British Muslims and Islamophobia: br>
Page: 1 2 3  

topics:
Religion, Islam, Law, Military, NATO

About the Author

Christopher Orlet writes from St. Louis.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (7) |

Pingback| 2.4.09 @ 7:12PM

You have GOT to be Frickin’ Kidding Me! - UK Police Adopt Hijab Uniform links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…begs the question if these are problems - just what do "devout" muslim women DO in the police and why they heck are they there to begin with??  Oops - guess that's just more of the (myth of) Islamophobia. That is how far the Islamization of Great Britain has gone - the hijab is mainstream. (One wonders when the full face veil - or niqab - will make it into the official British police uniform…

Pingback| 2.25.09 @ 6:18PM

Bosnian Serbs ordered to pay $41.8 million to rebuild mosques links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…quotes/information - go to :   The Systemic Destruction of Orthodox Christian Churches in Kosovo - Erasing the History of Christianity in Kosovo by Carl K. Savich Guess this is all more evidence of  (the myth of) "Islamophobia".   Add a Comment Name required, use real name Email required, will not be published Website address optional, your blog address Previous Post: SOMALI VS AFGHANI RACE WAR…

Pingback| 3.7.09 @ 5:07AM

Palestine, Kosovo, and the Third Islamic Invasion » Winds Of Jihad links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

Palestine, Kosovo, and the Third Islamic Invasion » Winds Of Jihad #page { background: url("http://sheikyermami.com/wp-content/themes/default/images/backwide.gif") repeat-y top; border: none; }

Pingback| 3.30.09 @ 10:09AM

Trained In Pakistan–While Our Qualified NHS Nurses Have To Ship Out–muslim leaves dyi links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…patient how the mainstream media would be crawling all over the story and printing front page headlines telling of the abuse of a dying muslim  - no doubt touting it as sign of muslim victimhood = (myth of) Islamophobia. Thankfully Muhammed Shakeel has been dismissed from nursing  (expect a discrimination lawsuit to follow). I’m posting the entire news article - as it is likely to soon…

Pingback| 8.24.09 @ 7:04AM

What Compassion Can Brownski Be Speaking Of_Attacks On Wife and Hubby_ Or The Priest? links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…hides most muslim against non-muslim violence – first by trying to obfuscate the identities of the perpetrators under the ambiguous term “Asians” – then by perpetrating the myth of Islamophobia and that muslims/minorities are the victims of race and hate crimes more than other groups. Which is totally false. The FACTS are: “The British Crime Survey reveals that in 2004, …..…

Acharya S | 11.29.09 @ 8:42PM

Please see my articles:

"Islam is not a race"
http://www.faithfreedom.org/content/islam-not-race
"Death to Islamophobes!"
http://www.faithfreedom.org/is.....lamophobes

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