Many bellicose antagonists in this forum have disingenuously argued that
Islamophobia doesn't exist. They have said that the term Islamophobia is a
neologism invented by Muslim to avoid criticism of Islam and Muslims
themselves. A politically correct ploy. I wonder if any of these bigoted
apologists will respond to this incisive article about the practical
application of Islamophobia in the real world of "smear" politics?
According to this media re****t "Rattling the Cage: Islamophobia,
Obamaphobia" that appeared in the Jerusalem Post, an Islamophobia smear
campaign is being orchestrated by far-right neocons against Obama. Doesn't
this constitute, as I posted recently elsewhere, it's a slur to be called
a
Muslim? Or that to be a Muslim means that you are deemed automatically to
be
an anti-Semite. What do open-minded readers think? Full story is freely
available at this link:-
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1204127193517&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Extract:-
Some of the dirtiest attacks against Barack Obama are being carried out by
Jewish bigots in the US and Israel, and if Obama is the Democrat's
candidate
for president, which looks very likely, these smears are going to get a
lot
worse.
Marc Zell, co-chairman of Republicans Abroad in Israel, put his name to an
article in The Jerusalem Post's Web edition last week that brands Obama as
a
Muslim anti-Semite.
To reinforce the false impression that Obama is a Muslim, knowing that
many
readers, Jewish and Christian, will hate and fear him for that reason
alone.
Sorry, but Jews are ridiculously over-represented among the true-believing
neocons who pushed for the Iraq war; you don't have to be an anti-Semite
to
think first of names like Perle and Wolfowitz - or Feith and Kristol and
Podhoretz and Frum and Abrams and on and on. You just have to be
reasonably
well up on current events. ...
Yes, there is a problem of black anti-Semitism in America, but Obama isn't
part of it. There's a problem of bigotry among American Jews, but Joseph
Lieberman isn't part of that. If American blacks or Muslims were running
an
ethnic/religious smear campaign against Lieberman like Jewish extremists
are
running against Obama, what would Jews call it? We'd call it anti-Semitic.
The one against Obama is Islamophobic, with an undercurrent of white
racism.
It's the exact same sort of bigotry.
End extract.
But of course Islamophobia doesn't exist!
--
Peace
--
When a new word enters the language, it is often the result of a
scientific
advance or a diverting fad. But when the world is compelled to coin a new
term to take account of increasingly widespread bigotry, that is a sad and
troubling development. Such is the case with Islamophobia. [Kofi Annan]
Zuiko Azumazi
zuiko.azumazi@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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