Islamophobia

[Dean]

Dutch Islamophobia (http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/DBA6F1A2-E0B1-4E1E-BA92-6E19BFCEE98B.htm)

We hear this story every day: "there are good muslims and bad muslims." A vague indictment of Islam, that even makes people warm to think it: "I recognize that they aren't all bad! I'm tolerant!".

I recently was discussing our morbid foreign policy with a woman who agreed with Madeline Albright that the 90s economic terror was "worth it." And yet, she knew not what "it" was. It was just a jingoistic affirmation of our nation's foreign policies.

I wanted to hear stories from people here about what anti-Arabism and Islamophobia they have encountered in their lives, and how they responded. Sometimes such blatant bigotry makes me shake with anger - I hardly know how I control myself.

[BobKKKindle$]

I've heard many people use the word "towel head" to refer to Muslims, in reference to muslim garments - when I've encountered this, I've confronted them about it, asked them to explain what they felt it was necessary to use the term, and how they would feel if someone used a racist/chauvinistic word to refer to them.

I also find [in relation to the above] that many people also have a misunderstanding of why women wear the hijab - they assume that, in every case, women don't have a choice in the matter, they are forced to wear the hijab by the men in the community so they can be kept under control.

There are of course a range of reasons for wearing the hijab, in some cases it is worn as a result of coercion [through the threat of force, or intimidation] but many muslim women are capable of making choices, and so the hijab can also be seen as a symbol of liberation, because it forces men to interact with women as human beings, not as objects that exist only to satisfy their sexual desires.

Yes, Islamophobia is a serious problem, and it needs to be confronted by all socialists.

Good to see you unrestricted Comrade.

[Raisa]

Dutch Islamophobia (http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/DBA6F1A2-E0B1-4E1E-BA92-6E19BFCEE98B.htm)

We hear this story every day: "there are good muslims and bad muslims." A vague indictment of Islam, that even makes people warm to think it: "I recognize that they aren't all bad! I'm tolerant!".

I recently was discussing our morbid foreign policy with a woman who agreed with Madeline Albright that the 90s economic terror was "worth it." And yet, she knew not what "it" was. It was just a jingoistic affirmation of our nation's foreign policies.

I wanted to hear stories from people here about what anti-Arabism and Islamophobia they have encountered in their lives, and how they responded. Sometimes such blatant bigotry makes me shake with anger - I hardly know how I control myself.



When youre clothes are hijab from head to toe and you ask a place with a big red sign that says hiring "so i heard your hiring"....and the manager wont look you in your eye and goes "well...we are actually just accepting applications!" you know whats up...

[Salabra]

...and so the hijab can also be seen as a symbol of liberation, because it forces men to interact with women as human beings, not as objects that exist only to satisfy their sexual desires.

Yes, Islamophobia is a serious problem, and it needs to be confronted by all socialists.


Sorry, I must disagree with this. Underlying the need to "force men to interact with women as human beings, not as objects that exist only to satisfy their sexual desires" is an assumption that men can only see women as objects, never as human beings. Such a deterministic view of human interaction is not something I’d expect from a Marxist.

Islamophobia may be a problem, but the Islamophilia of some “socialists” is what is truly frightening (I have already posted on this in the thread called Islamophobia In “the Anti-Theist group”).

[Kukulofori]

more like that some (even a lot) of men DO only see women as objects, or at least see me as an object in the small amount of time I spend talking to them.

[Merces]

Certain Islamic individuals and groups bring upon themselves this Islamophobia by their threatening protests and ignorance in the 21st century. By speaking with Muslims and reading the Koran the whole idea of submission and the lowering of humans and discrimination against women's rights, homosexuals, attitudes on infidels proves its inaccuracies for modern society. I may hate Islam with a passion, but never its people, and it really saddens me to see individuals reduced to a dogma such as that.

[Salabra]

I may hate Islam with a passion, but never its people, and it really saddens me to see individuals reduced to a dogma such as that.

That's exactly the point. We DON'T hate the people - we spurn the religion, just as we spurn ALL religions as relics of less enlightened times which hamstring human progress.