|
|
Monday, 1 October 2007
"Islamophobia"
 by Hugh Fitzgerald
“When the world is compelled to coin a new term to take account of increasingly widespread bigotry -- that is a sad and troubling development,” Annan said. “Such is the case with ‘Islamophobia.’ The word seems to have emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Today, the weight of history and the fallout of recent developments have left many Muslims around the world feeling aggravated and misunderstood, concerned about the erosion of their rights and even fearing for their physical safety.”
--- Former Secretary-General of the U.N. Kofi Annan
The “world” was not “compelled to coin a new term” -- it was Muslims who coined the word, and they did so deliberately. For that word so deliberately kept undefined is merely a weapon employed to deflect criticism, to label all those who may offer criticism of Islam and of its adherents, basing their criticism not on some blind prejudice, but on their own observations and study. Indeed, the entire Western world -- its political leaders, its media, its university departments of Middle Eastern studies -- have all been engaged in a massive effort to deflect criticism or disarm it. It is despite all that that Infidels everywhere are coming to some conclusions about Islam, and the more they study, and the more they observe, and the more “Interfaith” gatherings and little Muslim Outreach evenings they attend, all of which end up being dismal exercises in Taqiyya and Tu-Quoque argumentation, the more wary, and critical, and indignant, and sometimes more, they become. The game is up. From a Beslan school full of children to a Bali nightclub full of revellers, from Madrid subways to Moscow theatres, from New York skyscrapers to Najaf mosques (where Sadr’s bezonians tortured, killed, and stacked the bodies of Iraqis who had opposed their reign of terror), from Istanbul to India, the evidence just keeps piling up. And the evidence, too, of what is actually in the Qur’an and hadith and sira -- and how many Infidels, a few years ago, even had heard of the “hadith” and the “sira,” or had any idea what was really in the Qur’an, or had ever heard of the Treaty of al-Hudaibiyya -- now online, and it can easily be read. And all the excuses, all the nonsense, can no longer be offered up -- for we Infidels, fortunately, have the guidance of defectors from Islam, ex-Muslims such as Ibn Warraq (whose own guide to debating Muslims, and how not to be intimidated or snookered, will for many prove invaluable). more... Posted on 10/01/2007 7:25 AM by NER
Comments
2 Oct 2007
Craig Marsden
I absolutely agree with this article. It has articulated all of my doubts about Islam into a document that is quite easy to read, and does so in a manner that displays the author's passion, but does not turn into an unfocused bigoted rant. The author has used a variety of references from muslim texts and historical examples to construct a compelling argument against this venomous pseudo-faith. I am not so worried by suicide bombers as I was, than I am watching how the West appears to be so willing to accomodate an ideological system that could never reciprocate such efforts were the positions reversed. The thought of my own death as a result of jihad is no longer so worrying when I think of our self-inflicted civilizational death. It is even more depressing when I realise that it is not necessary, that we do not have to be in the position that we find ourselves in today. I do not want to live under the "infallible" guidance of the koran, and I certainly do not want to find myself at the thin-skinned mercy of islamic rule. Unfortunately an entire industry has sprung up that appears to be determined to ensure that anyone who does express reservations is howled down. Whether it is out of principled conviction, ingnorance or fear, the islamophobia industry has proven to be quite effective at accomplishing its goal.
Today, a salafist muslim in full 7th century regalia got on the bus I was taking, and I did not know how to judge my feelings of apprehension. Were they based out of an all-too-human fear of the "other", biogotry, ignorance, or were they based on an internally developed opinion? I then asked myself if the man sitting in front of me had such thoughts and I realised that he could not. He had made a choice to follow a system that not only condemns the practice of critical though within its own community, but also to extend that same condemnation to everyone else. That choice of submission was the last one he would ever make. Even worse, all of the bloodthirsty suras of the Koran were not artifacts of an earlier age, but instead timeless commandments that had to be followed if he had any pretensions of calling himself a muslim. The culture and the people around him were not only without value, but were active threats to his faith. I was a threat him, simply by exisiting, and there could be no rational dialogue, mutual respect or practical co-existence between the two of us. I was the kufar and one way or another I would have to submit to God's will. To add to my worries, I had finished reading a glowing artical in the Australian newspaper about female Australian converts to Islam, rhapsodizing about the niqub and its liberating effects. One of the women was quoted as saying that they were as Aussie as any other Australian, but that they could not compromise on issues of faith. If they are not willing to compromise on small issues such as clothing, what about larger issues like religious equality or the division between The House of War and The House of Peace? After all, the Koran makes its position on these issues very clear.
I am currently studying to be a teacher, and I hope to give my students the intellecual skills necessary to resist the clarion call of Islam. By giving them the taste of intelectual debate and scientific skepticism I can only hope to help develop a new generation that will prove to be more sensible than what my own is currently proving to be, and what previous generations have proven themselves to be. It may not be much, but since I am not elligable for national service (severe asthma) I will do what I can. Let's pray to God (or Richard Dawkins) that it is not too late. 8 Oct 2007
 alfred
Not to be "phobic" about the Muslim menace is "irrational," "unacceptable".
If you are not afraid of your approaching destruction, then you are either a fool, an ignoramus, or a leftist intellectual/academic eager for destruction of the civilization that affords you the right to be a fool, an ignoramus, or a leftist intellectual, etc.
Such as they shall, if worse comes to worst, no doubt nest comfortably in the Muslim dispensation for those preferring to submit humbly on their knees, their rear ends turned skyward, rather than stand fast proudly, with dignity, as free men and women.
Such shall be the fate of the accomodators. The temporizers. The ameliorators. The apologizers. All who be "non-phobic" about Islam. Sweets to the sweet.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Most Recent Posts at The Iconoclast
Search The Iconoclast
The Iconoclast Posts by Author
The Iconoclast Archives
RSS Site Feed
|
|
