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The Forum > Article Comments > Prejudice is not a joke > Comments

Prejudice is not a joke : Comments

By Irfan Yusuf, published 12/10/2007

The parallels between the rhetoric and attitudes of yesterday's anti-Semitism and today's Muslimphobia are striking.

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Stevenmeyer

I didn't make those above comments. You made them, and then began arguing against your own comments

My post was in response to your incorrect comments that anyone who rejects racism are 'left ... communist' and all the other crap you were going on with to divert attention away from the issue being challenged ... racism.
Posted by Liz, Saturday, 27 October 2007 8:55:30 PM
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Liz,

I did NOT say that that "...anyone who rejects racism are 'left ... communist' and all the other crap..."

I hope that ALL sides of politics will reject racism.

What the left does is attempt to equate abhorrence for a GHASTLY belief system with racism.

My criticism of the Left is for their attempts to muddy the waters by equating legitimate critique of an imperial authoritarian ideology with racism. It has nothing to do with the Left's alleged rejection of racism.

Abhorrence of contemporary Islam is no more "racist" than is disdain for the policies of the Family First.

To sum up:

--There is no such thing as a race of Muslims.

--Contempt for contemporary Islam is not racism.

--Contemporary Islam as a belief system is as much a LEGITIMATE target for critique, analysis, satire and scorn as any other belief system.

--Attempting to equate dislike of contemporary Islam with racism is what the Left does.

The "issue being challenged" as you put it is NOT racism.

What is being challenged is the right to treat contemporary Islam in the same manner is any other belief system.

In other words, Irfan's article is yet another attempt to CENSOR comment about contemporary Islam.

Or do you believe that Islam deserves special treatment?

Bassam,

Thank you for your kind words.

General Comment:

I notice no one here is challenging the SPECIFIC reasons I gave for my abhorrence of contemporary Islam.
Posted by stevenlmeyer, Sunday, 28 October 2007 9:42:40 AM
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Stevenlmeyer

"I notice no one here is challenging the SPECIFIC reasons I gave for my abhorrence of contemporary Islam."

I abhor Islam also, in the same manner as I abhor Nazism. I don't think anyone can challenge your specific reasons for abhoring Islam, just as they could'nt challenge one for abhoring Nazism.

One can tell when people are apologising for Islam when they start using the "racism" routine.
Generally, there are two types of apologist. The non-muslim who is ignorant of Muhammed's teachings, yet equates him with the Buddha and Jesus. Claiming that all "religions" are the same and have produced violence. And then there is the muslim who is suffering from some sort of "cognitive dissonance", in the same manner as a child (the author) might refuse to believe that their father was a thief.
All are attempts to silence criticism and debate.

Why do seemingly intelligent people continue to defend and portray Islam as something fluffy and benign? The author is in the legal profession. Surely he would have learned the art of deduction during his study. Why continue to brush aside the cause of lot of suffering?

Lets keep challenging this insanity whilst we can.

Bassam
Posted by Bassam, Sunday, 28 October 2007 1:01:39 PM
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Bassam has noted: "One can tell when people are apologising for Islam when they start using the 'racism' routine".

Sadly this is true. Last year I observed an internet debate begun by the American academic Deepa Kumar on the subject of the Danish cartoons. Kumar, who is a member of the International Socialist Organization, tried to maintain the absurd line that, "The history of Islam is no more violent than the history of any of the other major religions of the world," all the while ignoring the centuries of conquest that were embarked upon in that religion's name after the death of Muhammad.

She then went on to discuss the Danish cartoons in this light: "The Danish cartoon of the prophet Mohammed with a bomb on his head is nothing if not the visual depiction of the racist diatribe that Islam is inherently violent. To those who can't understand why this argument is racist, let me be clear: when you take the actions of a few people and generalize it to an entire group -- all Muslims, all Arabs -- that's racism. When a whole group of people are discriminated against and demonized because of their religion or regional origin, that's racism".

Reading that paragraph again makes me wonder how on earth anyone of sound mind could actually write such tripe. After all Muslims clearly - like Buddhists and Christians - cannot constitute a 'race' that can be the victims of racism. But such clearly-laid out thought is beyond the ken of people like Kumar and others like her.
Posted by Snappy Tom, Sunday, 28 October 2007 9:54:25 PM
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Not sure I agree with you Irfan on this one.
I think friction between cultures is part of integration or finding common points for dialogue and co-existence.

There is a long history between Islamic and European/western civilisations. Ignorance and prejudice can't hide long in the time of the internet super highway. People perceptions of the 'other'change every decade due, in part, to the speed of communication.

To give an example on how today's media can bridge cultural divide: An American friend was telling me that 10 years ago no American he would know of would have supported the two state solution in the middle east.

Peace,
Posted by Fellow_Human, Monday, 29 October 2007 7:36:55 PM
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Irfan's got a real hide in writing this piece. Islam has been murderous towards jews (and christians, Hindus and anyone else who was in the way of their expansionist agenda) for 1400 years. Now that Islam is getting a bit of the bad press it deserves, Irf and co complain!
I'll tell you something - who first made jews wear a yellow star of david on their clothes? It was the Muslim rulers of the old (and by that time broken up) Persian empire. Around C10, I think. These were the jews whom the muslims allowed to remain alive - which usually were the minority of those they found.
I think the west will have to learn again the truth of the old saying, that in a liberal democracy anything will tolerated except intolerance. Islam is, by its own values, intolerant, and is not to be tolerated in a liberal democracy.
And it seems many in Europe are catching on, and saying 'No'to the Eurabia project. Ken Livingston and his supporters (or survivors) may sometime learn their mistake too.
Most Muslims are better than their religion would have them be on most issues most of the time - which is why when you meet them, sometimes they seem to be just like you. But scratch a bit, and you'll find out what Islam is like. Islam as political institution, which claims religious authority, is a chaotic, puritanical form of fascism.
Posted by camo, Friday, 2 November 2007 2:37:37 PM
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