This is a very well written piece. One of the first articles I have read that truly discuses the links between the Osama assassination and growing Islamaphobia. Furthermore, the link to Native American Indians is brilliant - A point that should be highlighted much more!

As for idiot stevenlmeyer, thanks for the laugh! LOL @ you trying to claim the holocaust was about ethnicity, what ethnicity exactly? Semites you say? Did you know that Arabs are considered Semites also buddy? Please go and read a proper history book! Your justification was actually hilarious; trying to claim that the Jews were ethnically Jewish but religiously Chrisitan... LOL... Thats a new one!

The definition of a “Phobia” is “an irrational fear”. There is nothing irrational about fearing Islam. Islam is the only religion who’s own holy book, and the saying of its own prophet, incite its followers towards violence towards non Muslims.

Islam is a belief system, and it is no more immune to criticism than any other belief system, be it Christianity, democracy, fascism or socialism. And the Islamic faith has much to be criticized for. The way in which its own holy writ proclaims open hostility towards non Muslims is one, and its totally unacceptable attitudes to the status of women is another.

But the biggest problem with Islam, is that its culture is totally inappropriate to the values of a modern state. This guarantees that every Muslim country is going to be an economic basket case ruled by a secular or theological tyrant. Islam’s experiments with democracy are has only resulted in shaky regimes who’s continued existence is far from certain.

The most damning indictment of Islam, is that those countries most enamoured of maintaining its most fundamental tenets, are among the most backward and strife ridden on the planet.

ShelO – yeah, lets just pretend there are no problems; lets pretend that Islamic ideology is not responsible for much of the hate and violence in this world. Let bury our heads in the sand and all will be fine.

Zack – You say: “I never accepted the idea that there are people out there who just 'hate' us because we are not Muslim or hate our freedom.” I suggest you read the Quran and hadith. Guess who said “I am made victorious with terror”? Now guess who the Quran says is an example to follow if a Muslim wants to get to paradise?

Ulis. Pretty lame argument. We despise Islam, the ideology that causes so much sorrow and grief. As to those billion Muslims, only a fool would say they accept others and their religion. As to Allah, are you aware of the brutal tortures this god promises? Not just hell for unbelievers but Allah personally pours molten mental down throats and roasts the skins off nonMuslims (then puts it back so she can repeat the torture). You must be so proud.

There is no “Arab Spring”. Nothing is changing, or haven’t you noticed. Look at Egypt. The Army is in control; its 1952 all over. It is one group of despots being replaced by another. Islam doesn’t accept freedom of speech, equality and separation of religion and state, so there can be no human rights and democracy. Let me be brutal: as long as they preach hate and violence and practice intolerance, Muslims don’t deserve the blessings of freedom – because they reject these values. As Lego said, Islam is incompatible with human rights and freedom – or maybe it is a coincidence that in 50+ nations in the Organization of Islamic States, 50+ are human rights abusers. Maybe it is just coincidence that from Indonesia to Morocco, from Maldives to Nigeria, Islam is synonymous with discrimination and violence. This propensity transcends languages, race and culture.

That part about the rights of women under Islam was really funny. If you have a chance, visit planet earth some day.

Helena, the link between Osama and American Indians is stupid, or rather, there is none. I don’t hear my Apache friends complaining, only a few professional outraged PC-types. Or maybe the Native Americans are migrating to the Rest/West of the World, setting up ghettos and preaching hate and violence against all non-Native Americans in the name of their dear Prophet Mangas? Is that it? Or is it another group of people?

Osama is dead. He was a drop in the bucket in the ocean that is Muslim hate, violence and intolerance. Nothing changes. Muslims will continue to make kill, lie, make excuses, blame others and demand respect for themselves while abusing and exploiting others, and their sympathizers will mindlessly echo every word as they bow to the false gods masquerading as peace and harmony.

Oh yeah, there is nothing that upsets an Apache like reminding them they are great warriors and that Cochise, Geronimo, Mangas and others made the US Army look like monkeys until finally defeated by sheer force of numbers.

Since Yassir has been absent, perhaps another Muslim here or Muslim sympathizer might care to explain to this old infidel why I, or anybody else, should trust a person that says “Praise be upon him” after the name of Mohammed? Once again, I assume that people have read Islam’s own narratives of the actions of this man. Ulis, would you care to accept this simple, easy task? Would you enlighten us poor infidels?

You will notice that the writers ask nothing of Muslims. As I said before, Muslims are unable to reflect on Islam or change. In their view, it is non-Muslims that are always at fault and must change. How dare them say anything unkind about Islam; how dare them criticize Islam and Muslims! Everybody knows Islam is perfect. The horror of it!

Helena

I am well aware that Arabs too are considered Semites.

The term anti-Semitism was coined as a euphemism for Jew hatred. It does not actually refer to hatred of Semites.

The fact is that many of the “Jews” in Hitler’s death camps were hardly Jewish stands. In some cases they had a single Jewish grandparent who had abandoned Judaism before having any children. Their links to Jews – let alone Judaism – were tenuous at best.

They were there because of the Jewish, not “semitic” ethnicity. It had nothing to do with religion.

For a scholarly history of anti-Semitism I suggest “A Lethal Obsession: Anti-Semitism from Antiquity to the Global Jihad” by Robert S. Wistrich.

http://www.amazon.com/Lethal-Obsession-Anti-Semitism-Antiquity-Global/dp/1400060974

In his well-documented book you will find that all my claims are born out.

I do think you should take the trouble to learn more about the Holocaust before rejecting the claims of someone who, in his childhood, actually spoke to many people who were rescued from Hitler’s death camps. Much of what I write on this topic I have straight from the proverbial “horse’s mouth.”

I haven't been absent, I've just ignored incoherent attempts to shift the debate. Apparently for some the issue is, "is the prophet Muhammad evil?"

Get out of here! Only an idiot would take your bait. I'm not going to reduce Islam to justify itself against your little pigeon reasoning and selective gibberish. By all means feel free to think I'm scared of the truth. Whatever. Meanwhile ...

The article is about U.S hegemony, and how cultural narratives work to justify that hegemony. Hussein and Sahar might as well have just put their names attached to a photograph of Osama dripping in blood.

I thought the readers of online opinion might actually have an opinion, now I just think Australia is more racist than I first imagined.

I'm not here to respond to the islamophobes, I really want to know why the article is under "religion & Spirituality" when it is about politics