Are You an Islamophobe?

[SF-TX]

Yes, I am.

Are You An Islamophobe?

Posted By Phyllis Chesler On August 26, 2009 @ 10:17 am In Uncategorized | 41 Comments

Take This Test To Be Sure

The greatest danger is a closed mind and a finger-on-the-trigger. The minds are closing all over Europe; rather late in the day, a small resistance emerges. American minds have also been shutting down for many years. For example, one is really not allowed to talk about race or religion (gender is fair game–look at all the photos of naked women that still surround us). One cannot say “black” or “African-American” without raising a storm. One dare not say “Islam” or “Muslim” without raising an even bigger storm.

Americans (students, professors, journalists, film stars, media talking heads, left-liberal bloggers) are especially sensitive to the wrongs done to the Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims–and, no doubt, wrongs have been done. But these same Americans are a lot less sensitive to the sorrows, nay, the atrocities, that these very groups (Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims) have inflicted upon their very own and upon all infidels, for 1400 years.

Try to talk about this, try to raise the issue of Islam’s long history of colonialism, genocide, and gender and religious apartheid and you will quickly be demonized as a “racist” or as an “Islamophobe.” Google notes 616,000 references to “Islamophobia.” What is really going on? Why is “racism” not a good enough word to describe prejudice towards people with different skin colors, if that indeed is the case? Or is “Islamophobia” more complicated, or more specific in terms of Muslims and Islam?

Lorna Saltzman, a really good writer, an environmentalist, and once a Green Party Presidential candidate, has written a tongue-in-cheek Test Guide for all those who are worried about their own racism or Islamophobia. She writes:

Are you an Islamophobe? Here is a simple test.

Lorna Saltzman’s Test

Do you favor equal rights and treatment of women and men?

Do you oppose stoning of women accused of adultery?

Do you favor mandatory education of girls everywhere?

Do you oppose slavery and child prostitution?

Do you support complete freedom of expression and the press?

Do you support the right of an individual to worship in her chosen religion?

Do you oppose government- and mosque-supported anti-Semitic publications, radio, TV and textbooks?

Do you oppose the wearing of burqas in public places, schools and courts?

Do you oppose segregation of the sexes in public places and houses of worship?

Do you oppose the death penalty for non-Muslims and Muslims who convert to another religion?

Do you oppose “honor” killings?

Do you oppose female genital mutilation?

Do you oppose forced sexual relations?

Do you oppose discrimination against homosexuals?

Do you support the right to criticize religion?

Do you oppose polygamy?

Do you oppose child marriage, forced or otherwise?

Do you oppose the quranic mandate to kill non-Muslims and apostates?

Do you oppose the addition of sharia courts to your country’s legal system?

Do you disagree with the quran which asserts the superiority of Islam to all other religions?

If you answered most or all of these affirmatively, you are a vile Islamophobe and deserve to be beheaded as the quran instructs.

If you answered one third or more of them affirmatively, you are a borderline Islamophobe and need to receive brainwashing to become a full-fledged dhimmi.

If you answered a quarter or fewer affirmatively, you need a few private lessons in dhimmitude to scrub yourself clean of those remnants of Islamophobia.

If you answered affirmatively to NONE of these, Congratulations! You are a worthy observant (radical–PC addition) Muslim and have a bright future vilifying Jews, torturing women or, inshallah, becoming a suicide bomber.”

Thank you Lorna for laying it all out.

FYI: Lorna Saltzman has been a environmental writer, lecturer and organizer since the early 1970s and was a candidate for the US Green Party’s presidential nomination in 2004. Her articles on evolution, energy, Green politics and secularism can be found on her website:
www.lornasalzman.com

http://pajamasmedia.com/phyllischesler/2009/08/26/are-you-an-islamophobe/

[Peregrino]

I don't know how I could possibly have missed the signs. They've been there all along; I just needed someone to connect the dots on my behalf. I'll be eternally grateful to Ms. Saltzman for pointing it out to me. :rolleyes:

Amazing how when an alien culture that denies every one of her "sacred cows" becomes a real threat suddenly she's willing to ally herself with anyone who would resist, even the conservatives she's vilified for most of her life in the name of her "progressive ideals". I guess it's a good thing we both agree about the dangers of Islam. What's her motivation? Any port in a storm? Or is it "the enemy of my enemy"? Maybe she just realizes what will happen to her and everyone like her if Islam isn't stopped.

[SF-TX]

She may have just committed the 'ultimate sin' amongst progressives. She may even be a 'bit' late coming to that conclusion. But she has. I'll give her kudos for that.:)

[Richard]

...tongue-in-cheek Test Guide for all those who are worried about their own racism or Islamophobia...

Key phrases - tongue-in-cheek and all those who are worried about their own racism or Islamophobia - this piece is meant to be taken as sarcasm - much like one of those 'Are you a redneck?' type quizes.

And so it goes...;)

Richard's $.02 :munchin

[Irishsquid]

Am I an Islamophobe? I'll say that I hate the Islamic faith. I don't hate muslims, but I definitely HATE the Islamic faith. I didn't even have to read her smartassed quiz to answer that, by the way...

[Sigaba]

Or is she even a thoughtful writer?

MOO, Ms. Salzman is actually championing her one true cause: how the world would be a better place if people were more like her.:rolleyes:

FWIW, she articulates her view of America and Americans here (http://www.lornasalzman.com/collectedwritings/AHelluvaCountry.html).USA: A Helluva Country
by Lorna Salzman

Some people are giving a lot of thought to how to build a movement around global warming. This is a tough challenge but given American know-how, can-do, ingenuity, cojones, knee-jerk patriotic hubris, suspicion of foreigners, a staggeringly high 50% literacy rate, reliance on conspiracy theories, faith in one god or another, and unflagging belief in progress in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, I am sure it can be done. This is a helluva country. Here's why.

1. A commitment to representative democracy conditioned only on the necessity of belonging to one of two parties, Republican or Democrat. Republicans have the upper hand given that their 24th pair of chromosomes codes for Greed. Democrats' 24th chromosome codes for Deceit. It's Win-Win for either of them.

2. An abiding love for gambling, monster theme parks, shopping in giant malls, riding in huge vans, and family values that use churches and TV sets to bring everyone together. These shared values give a remarkable cohesion to American society even in the face of ecological collapse. No one wants to be a nabob of negativity as the world crumbles around us. Stiff upper lips are enough for the British but not for Americans, who need overstuffed credit cards to reassure themselves that they are the salvation of the world and if you don't like it you can go back where you came from.

3. A fervent belief in the right to cheap gas. After decades of paying under a dollar per gallon for gasoline - .35 cents in the 1960s - Americans are now getting really pissed off at the chutzpah of royal monarchs, royal leftist pains-in-the-ass and Royal Dutch Shell executives who think they have as much a right to make money as Americans do. What gives foreigners these privileges? Don't they know we can send in the troops anytime we want for any reason?

4. A high tolerance for ideological nitwits and fanatics such as marxists, trotskyites, stokhanovites, and their countless offspring, who condemn American aggression in the middle east but embrace islamist terrorism on grounds that Americans have it coming to them.

5. An indissoluble adhesion to religion in one form or another. It is undeniable that the existence of dissent, protest and freedom of expression causes discomfort to many Americans, sending them into the arms and shelter of various religious cults and institutions, who will, on their behalf, fight against these basic freedoms and rights so as to make them feel better. Generally speaking, they are cheaper than psychoanalysts depending on how much of your meagre salary you turn over to these delightful snake oil salesmen. (Nothing wrong with snake oil; lots of it, under different names, is sold in "Health food" stores to the conspiracy theorists on the left and right who think all doctors and medicine are poisoning them).

6. There is nothing like conspiracy theories, except maybe some stand-up comedians, to keep people amused and connected. We can thank the internet for making this political networking possible, since it ties up people who might be making serious mischief elsewhere.

7. An unprecedented web of multiculturalism, ranging from extreme Political Correctness which bans words like "beggars" and "midget", to Rambo Limbaughs, to posturing paleoliberals like Eric Alterman and The Nation, to New Age gurus like Deepak Chopra, to street-theatre rabblerousers like Al Sharpton, not to mention the mammalian diversity in the halls of Congress, where the promise of equal opportunity is fulfilled in the election of liars, louts and lechers every two years. This country can be rightly proud of its tolerance for dissent, where blacks think all whites are racists and whites think all blacks are arabs.

8. Only in America could the conundrum of disdain for government and politicians be so perfectly illustrated by the election-year digestion of the whole cloth of candidates' promises.

9. An adherence to the time-tested practice of misogyny, whether in the corporate glass ceiling, skewed pay scales, domestic violence, or the female slavery in Mormon religious brothels that condemns generations of girls and women to illiteracy, inequality and isolation. Let no one accuse Americans of forgetting the prejudices and practices of their pioneer ancestors.

10. A obeisant compliant media industry that, unlike their brethren in congress, are willing and eager to feed the demands, biases and fears of their readers and listeners. They cannot be accused of elitism or pandering to the select few; on the contrary, they faithfully bring,every hour of the day and night, the promise of prosperity, affluence and material success to hundreds of millions of people even as the country's political and economic leaders strive to deprive them of these things. Truly, they are a balm and salve for troubled Americans who are tired of being bombarded with the bad news about global warming, epidemics, food shortages and the prospect of parking their RV in their backyard indefinitely.

Given these conditions, who should be leading our country? The only people qualified to lead our country fall into at least one of these categories: atheists/secularists; women; libertarians; homeless. Atheists and secularists are independent rational thinkers and resistant to cult thinking and behavior. Women are obviously the more compassionate stable and social justice-oriented gender. Libertarians, though they have some peculiar ideas about guns and the environment, are highly tolerant of dissent and diversity, particularly in the area of civil liberties. And the homeless need to replace the corporate lobbyists and executives and be allowed to pursue their own self interest: getting a roof over their heads and a hot meal. (Note: I have left out gays and lesbians because basically they are really no different from the rest of society).

Here is my proposed list for the top positions in Washington:

President: Dennis Kucinich. A little guy with a big brain and heart.

Vice president: Weird Al Yankovich. Because we need another VP named Al.

Secretary of State: Christopher Hitchens. A gutsy smartass atheist with no ax to grind, who is hated by the left and the religious community...testimony to his value.

Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare: Ayaan Hirsi Ali. A reward for her moral witness and courage in facing down islamist extremism and PC.

Secretary of Commerce:Rev. Billy of the Church of Stop Shopping.

Secretary for the Environment: James Gustave Speth. For being a non-leftist fingering capitalism as the root of the world's problems. (If he declines, I nominate Dave Foreman).

Secretary of Labor: Ralph Nader.

[greenberetTFS]

Key phrases - tongue-in-cheek and all those who are worried about their own racism or Islamophobia - this piece is meant to be taken as sarcasm - much like one of those 'Are you a redneck?' type quizes.

And so it goes...;)

Richard's $.02 :munchin

Amen,Richard.............;)

Big Teddy :munchin