Warning Times

Live life informed. News, history and all the good stuff.

The Distorted Lens of Islamophobia

by 63 Comments

We Need to Assess Islam Based on Reality, Not Rants.

Protesters have recently been rallying against a proposed Islamic educational center containing a mosque near Ground Zero, claiming that the proximity of anything Muslim to Ground Zero would contaminate a hallowed place. Protesters claim they aren’t anti-Muslim; they merely want the center and mosque to be built someplace else.

But it turns out that “someplace else” is not acceptable either. Protesters in Tennessee, Wisconsin, and California are fighting proposed mosques in their communities as well. Some of these mosques would be built in formerly used store fronts, others on vacant land. The New York Times reports that protests are going beyond concerns about traffic, noise, and zoning. They increasingly reflect fears that “mosques will be nurturing terrorist bombers, that Islam is invading, that civilization is becoming undermined by Muslims.”

Such fears run counter to the facts. A recent study by Duke University and the University of North Carolina found that community mosques actually deter radicalization and extremism through a range of efforts such as publicly denouncing violence, confronting extremists, providing programs for youth, and cooperating with law enforcement.

But factual reality doesn’t seem to be enough to stop conservative pundits and politicians—in fact, a whole cadre of critics—from fanning public fears with apocalyptic warnings about the spreading menace of Islam in America.

Anti-Muslim ranting puts our security at risk

Who knows whether Islamophobes like Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin actually believe their own rants. The sad thing is, they’re getting away with blatant nonsense. There are nearly 7 million hardworking, law-abiding Muslims in this country. They participate in virtually every sector of society and engage in vibrant interfaith efforts that bring together Christians, Muslims, and Jews to work for the common good. Yet most Americans know almost nothing about Muslims or Islam—not to mention the media, which loves apocalyptic battles, as long as the weapons of mass destruction are words.

But anti-Muslim ranting is more than a war of words. Hateful speech against Muslims and Islam puts our nation’s security at risk. Gingrich and Palin—and others like them—are playing into a dangerous “us vs. them” framework that terrorists use to prove the United States is fighting a global war against Islam. What better recruiting tool than Newt decrying Muslim civic engagement as a threat to American values? Or Sarah tweeting that a mosque near Ground Zero is a stab in the heart of 9/11 victims? (Never mind that Muslim Americans also died at Ground Zero.)

Anti-Muslim rhetoric is also a repudiation of America’s core values. Right after 9/11 President Bill Clinton walked through the Harlem neighborhood where his offices are. He pointed to nail salons, carryout shops, beauty salons, barber shops, restaurants—dozens of enterprises run by men and women from countries around the world who’d come to America for a better life for themselves and their families, and who were living and working side by side. That is what makes our country great, Clinton said—and what the terrorists wanted to destroy.

What if we saw Christianity through the same lens that distorts Islam?

Many people have persuasively argued over the past several years that Islamophobia weakens our security and threatens our values. The fact that Muslim Americans strongly denounce terrorism, prove their patriotism, and serve their communities and nation every single day has been demonstrated in ways large and small. Yet anti-Muslim hateful speech still thrives.

It’s time to look at this problem another way.

In order to truly see how distorted, offensive, and dangerously wrong anti-Muslim rhetoric is, it is useful to switch religions for a moment and substitute Christianity for Islam. This might seem hard to do at first because Christianity is so embedded in our culture and such a familiar part of our nation’s founding and heritage. But what if we knew nothing of Christianity except what we learned from extremist groups and critics of the religion? What if we viewed Christianity through the same distorted lens that is too often used to view Islam?

First, a few words about that lens and how it distorts Islam.

  • It sees the extremists as standing for the whole.
  • It sees someone who calls himself or herself Muslim and commits an act of terrorism as personifying the faith.
  • It sees extremist groups claiming to be Islamic martyrs as true religious martyrs.
  • It sees unfamiliar religious practices and beliefs as inherently suspect.
  • It sees those Muslims who speak out against violence and extremism committed in the name of Islam as naïve and deluded about the inherently violent nature of their faith.

So what do we see if we pick up this distorted, uninformed lens and use it to look at Christianity?

We see the essence of Christianity in a group like the Michigan Christian Militia, which was arrested by the FBI this spring for trying to kill local law enforcement officers with improvised explosive devices. Militia members call themselves Christian warriors and say they are preparing to battle the anti-Christ—an evil force described in the Christian Bible. One of their symbols is the cross.

We see the core beliefs of Christianity in a group called the Branch Davidians—a Protestant sect whose founder had 140 wives, some as young as 12 years old.

Searching for Christian martyrs, we find Eric Rudolph, a member of the white supremacist Christian Identity movement who bombed abortion clinics, including one in Birmingham, Alabama that killed a police officer and wounded others. Rudolph also bombed a lesbian bar in Atlanta and was the Olympic Park bomber during the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 that killed a woman and wounded over 100 people. Distilling the essence of Christianity from Rudolph would tell us that it is a religion that believes in violence, in the superiority of white people, and in spreading its rule to others.

What about Christian beliefs and rituals that are practiced by millions of Christians around the world? Are some of them sinister? Absolutely—if we view them through a lens of ignorance and distrust.

The first thing to worry about is the cross. It is a sacred symbol to Christians, displayed by many around their necks, inside their houses of worship and educational institutions, and even on public grounds they own. Christians persist in these public displays, despite the fact that the cross represents human sacrifice. Christians have commemorated this sacrifice for centuries and worshipped the one sacrificed. They have memorialized other acts of biblical violence in their paintings, sculpture, poetry, and song—heads served on platters, blood gushing from wounds, knives thrust into flesh, thousands slaughtered in the name of their God. Many of these gruesome scenes can be found in the stained glass windows of their churches.

One of their sacred rituals is to symbolically drink the blood and eat the flesh of the human sacrifice they worship. Some sects do this weekly (Episcopalians), while some in other sects (Catholics) do it every day. And they indoctrinate their children—some as young as seven—in this cannibalistic ritual.

It is true that many followers of Christianity—in fact, they claim to represent the vast majority of Christians—denounce groups like the Michigan Christian Militia and terrorists like Eric Rudolph. They say such extremists don’t represent their faith, and they point to the good work that Christians do. Millions devote themselves to the environment, health care, human rights, peace, antipoverty work, and more. And they provide shelter, food, and clothing to those in need. Christians point out passages in the Bible that promote love and mercy, justice and peace. They say the most important commandments in their Bible are to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself.

All that may be true. But if these Christians want to be listened to, they first need to get rid of their crosses and stop their bloody rituals. They need to speak out more forcefully against extremists in their ranks. They need to tackle the dangerous problem of fellow Christians who are being radicalized by extremists, especially those in the media and on the Internet calling on Christian patriots to take up arms to save their country and protect their faith. Once moderates clamp down on these radical elements and get all Christians to repudiate extremism and violence—maybe then we can begin to have a conversation.

Back to the real world

Such a blatantly malicious and ignorant diatribe doesn’t remotely reflect the true nature of Christianity or its followers and deserves to be attacked as biased, offensive, and untrue. This would quickly happen in America. Christianity is held precious by millions (including me) who would feel committed to set the record straight and refute such biased lies and prejudice.

What we need to do regarding Islam is make similar assessments based on reality, rather than rants. We need to be more informed about the religion and its followers and push back against hate speech and fear-based rhetoric that lumps one of the world’s greatest and most diverse faiths into a monolithic block.

It’s the right—and smart—thing to do. The vision of America that draws people to our shores—that prompts many Muslims to say America is the best place to live—is one of vibrant diversity, tolerance, understanding, and respect. Our nation is a lively hum of divergent views and beliefs, creativity and energy. Muslim Americans are part of this lively hum. They are religious and patriotic—just like Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, and millions of others. More of one doesn’t mean less of the other.

America has real enemies in the world—forces that want to kill us and destroy our democratic values. Some of them use the language of Islam in an attempt to elevate their violence to a holy cause and draw people to their ranks. We would be smart to refute their claims by more forcefully declaring and acting on what we know to be true—that Islam and democracy are wholly compatible, that Muslims were part of America before we were a nation, that they have fought alongside their fellow Americans in every war we have endured, and today are helping to strengthen our national security and fulfill our country’s promise of equality, liberty, and justice for all.

Comments

  4. I spent four years trying EVERYTHING in Online Dating, and through a huge amount of trial and error, I produced a system that I will share for you. This book will take you, step by step, through everything you need to know to double, triple or even quadruple the number of women you meet online.

    Reply

  6. I travel all around the world for work, and it used to be really lonely. Now I can go onto Tinder and have a date lined up in a new city before I even get out of the airport!

    Reply

  7. Hi there would you mind stating which blog platform you’re working with?
    I’m planning to start mmy own blg in the neasr future buut I’m having
    a tough time deciding between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal.
    The reason I ask iss because your layout seemss different then most blogs and
    I’m loking forr something unique. P.S My apologies
    for being off-topic butt I had to ask!

    Reply

  11. After I originally left a comment Iseem to have clicked the -Notify
    me whenn new comments are added- checkbox and from now on every time a comment is added I recieve 4 emails with the exact same comment.
    There has too be an easy method you arre able to remove me from that service?
    Many thanks!

    Reply

  12. Howry suplerb website! Does running a blog such as this take a lott of work?I have virtualply no
    understanding of coding however I was hoping to start mmy own blog iin the near future.

    Anyhow, if you have any ideas or tips for new blog owners please share.
    I understand this is off topic however I just needed too ask.

    Thank you!

    Reply

  13. Hey there just wanted to give you a quick heads
    up. The text in your post seem to be running off the screen in Ie.
    I’m not sure if this is a formatting issue orr something to do with web
    browser compatibility but I figured I’d post to let you know.
    The design look great though! Hopee you get the
    problemm resolved soon. Cheers

    Reply

  36. Недавно нашел замечательную книгу про Аргентину,купил в электронном формате, после прочтения сразу захотелось посетить эту удивительную страну,правда, возможности пока нет, но вот хотя бы уже многое знаю о ней и надеюсь еще побывать. Покупал вот тут , там и электронную и печатную можно купить.

    Reply

  44. Удивительное явление произошло в Австралии,озеро в одном городском парке сменило свой цвет и стало розовым!Увидеть озеро,прочитать как это произошло можно тут

    Reply

  45. Hi would you mind letting me know which webhost you’re working with?I’ve loaded your blog in 3 completely different browsers andI must say this blog loads a lot faster then most. Can you recommend a good internet hosting provider at a fair price?Thank you, I appreciate it!

    Reply

  46. In the depths of these very simple Buddhist ideas, I find a very deep and abiding peac.Example: if citizens believe that a particular restaurant should pay their staff higher wages, then work to pass a law to make it a requirement of ALL restaurants to pay higher wage.The contractions help make things seem more natural and the words flow better and sound more matur.Making me feel all colloquial-like, man dear, boys’o, it’s a queer bit o writtin…This is marvellou.I figured early on that I had to read it slowly, savour it, appreciate every moment of laughter and take time to recover from the hard punche.Although this is a pop up book and the children will probably be distracted by that, the actual illustrations really drew me in as wel. [url=http://www.m-m-m.dailycomfortchallenge.com/unicorns/decitre-42-850-soldats_de_napolC3A9on_l_C3A9popC3A9e_racontC3A9e_par_ceux_qui_l_ont_faite.pdf]She said he cherry picks, and[/url] I found the book to be very descriptive and it was easy to visualise the settings and the character.And teamed with her German shepherd, shes just as successful in her work with the K-9 Search and Rescue Team, finding people seemingly hidden from others eye. [url=http://www.online-free-reading-books.dreambigchasehardsportswear.com/download-freely/decitre-9-3085-annales_2013_de_la_banque_d_C3A9preuves_communes_ccip_sujets_et_corrigC3A9s.pdf]And I guess I won’t have[/url] Sometimes I can spend a stupid amount of time browsing through books on Amazon and I am always on the lookout for new authors with good write up.It is exactly as advertised — a story-like dive in to the very end of the Incan Empire, starting essentially with the arrival of Pizarr. [url=http://www.online-free-reading-books.dreambigchasehardsportswear.com/download-freely/decitre-18-2042-mon_ami_n_aime_pas_la_pluie.pdf]Now keep your hand raised if[/url] What can I say about “Getting Old Is Tres Dangereaux?” It was superb, magnifique! Oh la la…the Frenc.Their senses fly out of their bodies to watch over the island and carry messages back forth between the towns and village. [url=http://www.dragons.ainfinityllc.com/museums/decitre-44-2060-petit_traitC3A9_de_scissiparitC3A9.pdf]Petit trait de scissiparit[/url] But all of Blane’s fans will say the same thing about Kade so what can you do? I’m still firmly Team Kad.I was very happy to see all the characters embraced and continued onto the second book instead of dropped off or just having a few lines here and ther. [url=http://www.belgium.diegopaulsanchez.com/norman/decitre-16-4905-le_grand_livre_des_C3A9toiles_et_des_planC3A8tes.pdf]Le grand livre des toiles et des plantes[/url] There are moments of snickering, but for the most part, it’s about a family falling apart at the seams and trying desperately to put it back together agai.I’d heard about the dust bowl, the Great Depression of the 1930’s, the horrible drought that struck the midwestern states as my father was growing up in Iow. [url=http://www.online-free-reading-books.companyregistrationexperts.com/the-best-book-source/decitre-26-2394-les_derniC3A8res_enquC3AAtes_du_juge_ti.pdf]Les dernires enqutes du juge Ti[/url] I found it fascinating how he entered into a sort of survivor’s guilt phase where he didn’t want to ride, he just wanted to play golf, eat crappy food and be a bum, like he didn’t know how to go back to his life before cancer.If you’re into cycling obviously this is a must rea.There was SO MUCH detail that at times I found myself skimming a few pages to get on w/ it alread. [url=http://www.the-best-book-source.crabbylove.com/communications-ebooks-free-download/decitre-22-1139-voyage_vers_star_wars_episode_vii_tome_3_cible_mouvante.pdf]Voyage vers star wars episode VII – Tome 3, Cible mouvante[/url] Dean KoontzAcknowledged as “America’s most popular suspense novelist” (Rolling Stone) and as one of today’s most celebrated and successful writers, Dean Ray Koontz has earned the devotion of millions of readers around the world and the praise of critics everywhere for tales of character, mystery, and adventure that strike to the core of what it means to be human.Dean .The twists and turns as well as the interesting characters makes this a real page turne. [url=http://www.the-best-book-source.dennisyostandtheclassicsiv.com/download-ebooks-for-kobo/decitre-5-678-sonetos_de_amor.pdf]Sonetos de amor[/url] Dean KoontzAcknowledged as “America’s most popular suspense novelist” (Rolling Stone) and as one of today’s most celebrated and successful writers, Dean Ray Koontz has earned the devotion of millions of readers around the world and the praise of critics everywhere for tales of character, mystery, and adventure that strike to the core of what it means to be human.Dean .I totally enjoyed how the AngelWay team worked together and kept on until they found the answer to the zombie. [url=http://www.geography.boostrankapps.com/goth/decitre-8-3915-enfance_volume_54_n_1_2002_l_enfant_autiste_un_enfant_en_dC3A9veloppement.pdf]Enfance Volume 54 N 1/2002 : L’enfant autiste, un enfant en dveloppement[/url] Dean KoontzAcknowledged as “America’s most popular suspense novelist” (Rolling Stone) and as one of today’s most celebrated and successful writers, Dean Ray Koontz has earned the devotion of millions of readers around the world and the praise of critics everywhere for tales of character, mystery, and adventure that strike to the core of what it means to be human.Dean .The protagonist, Chief Inspector Chen Cao, is an earnest rather young man for his position; it is through him, a poet as well as a policeman, that we are introduced to ancient poetic couplets.[return][return]Because of all the subtext, the book is really rich, a marvelous introduction to the post-Mao era in China, when the reforms of Deng Xiaoping which included a market rather than state economy, started a loosening of the rigid restrictions the Communist Party had imposed on everyday lif. [url=http://www.online-free-reading-books.dreambigchasehardsportswear.com/download-freely/decitre-6-2952-french_grammar_you_really_need_to_know.pdf]French Grammar – You Really Need to Know[/url] I just wish I knew how to introduce this series to people, as the “first” book in the series is confusing, and in general, it’s hard to find a starting book to give peopl.Dean KoontzAcknowledged as “America’s most popular suspense novelist” (Rolling Stone) and as one of today’s most celebrated and successful writers, Dean Ray Koontz has earned the devotion of millions of readers around the world and the praise of critics everywhere for tales of character, mystery, and adventure that strike to the core of what it means to be human.Dean . [url=http://www.online-free-reading-books.dreambigchasehardsportswear.com/download-freely/decitre-22-2454-cucu_la_praline_n_a_pas_froid_aux_yeux.pdf]Cucu la praline n’a pas froid aux yeux[/url] *3.5 stars*Not bad, and I’m definitely intrigued enough to want to read the next book in the series; (hide spoiler)]Based on this, Ham calls the Church back to making the Bible the center focus and authority for life and ministry and to actively seek to wrestle with tough questions regarding the Bible.Overall, the analysis of the data and major points made is very goo. [url=http://www.fractured-fairy-tales.alyanna.com/lebanon/decitre-26-227-le_tour_de_france_en_100_histoires_extraordinaires.pdf]Dean KoontzAcknowledged as “America’s most popular[/url] I don’t think my review has done it justice! If there is one book that I thought would be fabulous as a movie it has to be this on.Equally, though, I am glad that it was not described as a coming-of-age story as it is so much more than tha. [url=http://www.online-free-reading-books.companyregistrationexperts.com/the-best-book-source/decitre-22-4031-windows_xp_edition_professionnelle.pdf]Windows XP – Edition professionnelle[/url] Rachel basically just whines all the time about how Tobias is unwilling to commit to being 100 human and how this totally sucks for her, and Tobias seems to be hung up on Rachel’s beaut.They arrive sliding across the sea, but not swimming, as if they were birds almost, and they bring death with frailty and graceful ferocityFrom the ashes of their cities emerged a unified legend: their conquerors possessed a mysterious artifact so powerful—so deadly—that it was known as the Death Reli.The “menus and recipes for any occasion” section in the back was a nice touch as well.That said, I suppose the resolution was probably closer to real life than most of the fiction books I read that have a tidy, if less than believable end.Klass’ protagonist, D.Dean KoontzAcknowledged as “America’s most popular suspense novelist” (Rolling Stone) and as one of today’s most celebrated and successful writers, Dean Ray Koontz has earned the devotion of millions of readers around the world and the praise of critics everywhere for tales of character, mystery, and adventure that strike to the core of what it means to be human.Dean .]

    Reply

  47. Hey, how’s it going?

    I want to pass along some very important news that everyone needs to hear!

    In December of 2017, Donald Trump made history by recognizing Jerusalem as the captial of Israel. Why is this big news? Because by this the Jewish people of Israel are now able to press forward in bringing about the Third Temple prophesied in the Bible.

    Jewish Rabbis have publicly announced that their Messiah will be revealed in the coming years who will be a leader and spiritual guide to all nations, gathering all religions under the worship of one God. They deny Jesus as their Messiah, and the Bible tells us this Jewish Messiah will be the counterfiet that will bring about a false peace, and ultimatley the great tribulation.

    They even printed a coin to raise money for the Temple with Donald Trumps face on the front and with king Cyrus'(who built the second Temple) behind him. On the back of the coin is an image of the third Temple.

    More importantly, the power that runs the world wants to put a RFID microchip in our body making us total slaves to them. This chip matches perfectly with the Mark of the Beast in the Bible, more specifically in Revelation 13:16-18:

    “He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

    Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.”

    Referring to the last days, this could only be speaking of a cashless society, which we have yet to see, but are heading towards. Otherwise, we could still buy or sell without the mark amongst others if physical money was still currency. This Mark couldn’t be spiritual because the word references two different physical locations. If it was spiritual it would just say in the forehead. RFID microchip implant technology will be the future of a one world cashless society containing digital currency. It will be implanted in the right-hand or the forehead, and we cannot buy or sell without it! We must grow strong in Jesus. AT ALL COSTS, DO NOT TAKE IT!

    “Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name” (Revelation 14:9-11).

    People have been saying the end is coming for many years, but we needed two key things. One, the Third Temple, and two, the technology for a cashless society to fulfill the prophecy of the Mark of the Beast.

    Visit http://WWW.BIBLEFREEDOM.COM to see proof for these things and much more!

    If you haven’t already, it is time to seek God with all your heart. Jesus loves you more than you could imagine. He wants to have a relationship with you and redeem you from your sins. Turn to Him and repent while there is still hope! God bless!

    Reply

  50. Just desire to say your article is as astounding.
    The clearness in your post is simply nice and i could
    assume you’re an expert on this subject. Well with your permission let me to grab your RSS feed
    to keep up to date with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and please keep up the rewarding work.

    Reply

  51. magnificent points altogether, you simply received a
    new reader. What could you recommend in regards to your submit that you
    made some days in the past? Any certain?

    Reply

  54. whoah this blog is fantastic i love studying your posts.
    Stay up the great work! You understand, lots of individuals are searching around for this information,
    you can help them greatly.

    Reply

  59. Hi there! Do you know if they make any plugins to help with SEO?
    I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I’m not seeing very good gains.
    If you know of any please share. Many thanks!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.