tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6058072377999486184.post8558851709670505313..comments2023-12-29T18:13:21.495-06:00Comments on pink scare: Externalizing EvilUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6058072377999486184.post-72216002154029156512011-07-25T14:20:29.061-05:002011-07-25T14:20:29.061-05:00A final note (and I certainly wish we can do some ...A final note (and I certainly wish we can do some Socratic type shit here in real time so excuse any inaccurate assumptions I might make): <br /><br />I'm presuming you are trouble by "Islamophobia" in this country because it has deadly consequences: hateful violence towards American Muslims (and perhaps even a tolerance of state violence towards Muslim-majority nations).<br /><br />I'm also presuming that you find criticism of political ideologies that flow from Islam equally dangerous because of the likelihood that such criticisms can be misconstrued as all muslims sharing this political perspective.<br /><br />Does this extend to other religious groups? Does it also follow that criticism of political ideologies that flow from Judaism, i.e. Zionism, is also dangerous because it can be misconstrued and perverted into genuine antisemitism? Does this mean that when our society has crossed a threshold where there is a violent backlash against Jews that we should curtail (y)our criticism of Zionism? Are you aware that according to stats compiled by the FBI, over the past decade since 9/11 being Jewish meant being 8-10 times as likely to be a victim of a hate crime than being Muslim? Its almost as bad for Jews in this country as it is for gay men most years! Furthermore, hate crimes incidents against Muslims have dropped (from a spike after 9/11), even as the rhetoric has gone up. (In case you're wondering, Jews and Muslims in the US are approx the same proportion of the population if you believe Obama's #s during his Cairo speech). Based on quantifiable figures turns out statements by Helen Thomas et. al. to the effect that Jews "own" Congress or the White House are far more dangerous than statements by Robert Spencer et. al. that there are Muslims who wish to destroy our civilization from within (especially since the latter is a documented goal spelled out explicitly in internal Brotherhood memos: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/5084314.html)<br /><br />I'm not saying you should curtail criticism of Zionism, but be aware that when you conflate criticism of Islamism with "Islamophobia" it is far easier to conflate critism of Zionsims with antisemtism.-sfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16012410602872677911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6058072377999486184.post-63543870860240112262011-07-25T13:54:08.810-05:002011-07-25T13:54:08.810-05:00Sorry t, didn't see your response. I'm not...Sorry t, didn't see your response. I'm not insinuating any such things. In fact for all my ruthless critique of Islam, I make sure to make a distinction between the intolerant ideologies I find deplorable, and the broader Umma -especially American Muslims who I wholeheartedly and likely naively believe are here in this country precisely to escape that sort of intolerant ideology.<br /><br />I think its not useful to identify groups and people and say they are bad and then try to rationalize why they are bad. I prefer to circumscribe the ideology I find to be deplorable and see who falls into the circle. Islamism (or Islamofascism) is a blending of fundamentalist Islamic theology with a political imperative (which flows from the theology) and commitment to "struggle" for the supremacy of Islam. So who fits this mold? Right off the bat we can lump in Al Qaida and its offshoots, the Ikhwan, HAMAS/Hizbullah, and Wahaabism. We can also extend links to the leadership of the MSA, ICNA, MAS based on documents discovered in the Holy Land case that show these groups intend to "destroy Western civilization from within." This of course doesn't mean that all the rank and file members of these groups are bigots, but their leadership certainly is. <br /><br />Frankly I don't know how you made a leap to Israel, except maybe its clarifying as to why peace is so elusive when there are groups like HAMAS/Hizbullah who are religiously committed to the idea of all of "Palestine" being an Islamic waqf and Jews (those descendents of apes and pigs) are unworthy of sovereignty in Dar al Islam (and of course peace is further elusive because of religious Zionists who have similar sentiments towards PalArabs)-sfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16012410602872677911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6058072377999486184.post-91248809760822437462011-07-25T13:28:49.680-05:002011-07-25T13:28:49.680-05:00This is my favorite "political commitment&quo...This is my favorite "political commitment" derived from Islamic faith in the news these days: http://www.translatingjihad.com/2011/06/video-kuwaiti-activist-i-hope-that.html<br /><br />Although this one comes in a close second: www.jihadwatch.org/2011/07/raymond-ibrahim-new-saudi-fatwa-defends-pedophilia-as-marriage.html<br /><br />If these two examples don't fit the above description, I don't know what does.-sfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16012410602872677911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6058072377999486184.post-48679321617152735312011-07-25T13:25:24.507-05:002011-07-25T13:25:24.507-05:00"Islamists" is vague and you've yet ..."Islamists" is vague and you've yet to clarify it. It just seems to pick out this bogey constructed by sensationalist media, but has little concrete content (e.g. which groups? in which countries? etc.). Of course there are anti-Semites who are also Muslims (just as there are racist Jews). But you make the unfair and islamophobic insinuation that *all* Muslims are anti-Semitic, or, that *all* Muslims whose religion informs their politics are anti-Semites. This insinuation is little more than a rhetorical device for staving off any critical thinking about Israel.thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05268192967377248928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6058072377999486184.post-14131801013198882212011-07-25T12:41:40.313-05:002011-07-25T12:41:40.313-05:00Surely I do. You make it sound so benign with the ...Surely I do. You make it sound so benign with the term "commitments," when the commitment is for domination of Islam, subjugation of minority religions, and a gender apartheid system. Interesting word association between "Islamist" and "antisemite" though. <br /><br />"Islam ostracizes the nation of the unbelievers and creates a state of permanent enemyship between the moslems and the unbelievers." -Karl Marx-sfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16012410602872677911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6058072377999486184.post-37345399728629276512011-07-25T10:18:04.193-05:002011-07-25T10:18:04.193-05:00This certainly holds true of anti-Semites. But &qu...This certainly holds true of anti-Semites. But "islamist" is a pretty unhelpful term in my view. I'm not sure who we're talking about. Surely you wouldn't wish to say that by "islamist" you mean to include every Muslim who takes their religious views to entail political commitments.thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05268192967377248928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6058072377999486184.post-46690856717500867092011-07-24T19:57:32.065-05:002011-07-24T19:57:32.065-05:00"They are a violent, racist force that corrod..."They are a violent, racist force that corrodes the very possibility of having a just society, of living with each other terms of equality and respect. To tolerate such hate is to be complicit in its capacity to oppress marginalized groups."<br /><br />Exactly what I would say about Islamists.-sfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16012410602872677911noreply@blogger.com