Islam, Racism & Generalisations

Sorry, but after reading some articles on thereligionofpeace.com and (subesequently linked to) answeringinfidels.com I figured I had to point out some issues with generalisations and statistics...

without going into the plumbed depths of these websites too much... one basic statistic that I have the most issue with being the stupid counter on the first site that supposedly counts the amount of 'Islamic' attacks since 9/11...

basically... intercommunual attacks where by the instigators were muslim...

now that is not the same thing... especially when you look through the list and see how many were Chechen incidents (which if you know ANYTHING about the region isnt really a 'jihadi' thing anyway... the pro-moscow chap in power in Chechnya is probably more jihadi than a lot of the organised gangsters there at the moment) and also look at the sectarian violence in India and indonesia... both being long standing post colonial sectarian struggles which have very little bearing on 'world jihad', 9/11 or anything like that (interestingly the list only notes muslim attacks on Hindus in the Indian case... not the other way round... and not because they've not been happening for 100s of years or anything! Anyone know what radical hindu nationalism is? Amritsar anyone?).

So anyway... apparently the fault is with the religion itself:

FROM: www.thereligionofpeace.com...
Islam is a broad faith and it would be wrong for anyone to stereotype Muslim individuals. Most, in fact, are perfectly fine, either in spite of Islam or because of their interpretation of it. In fact, there are exceptional Muslims whose faith gives them character - the tiny handful of Muslim-Americans, for example, who choose to tell the rest of the world that America is not a legitimate target for terrorism. They stand in sharp contrast to American groups like CAIR and MPAC, which use their influence to complain of petty grievances and inflame hatred against a country that tries hard to accommodate their faith in spite of the violence.

On the other hand, however, Islam is clearly not a religion of peace. The ridiculous level of violence committed in the name of this religion is staggering, despite the many billions of dollars that are spent each year to prevent attacks.

Nor should Westerners continue to think that the solution to the violence is greater understanding and tolerance for Islam, as Muslim apologists often imply when commenting on high-profile terror attacks. It is the killers and their supporters who need to learn understanding and tolerance, not their victims

So what they're saying is don't generalise.. thats wrong... but then do because Islam is not a peaceful religion and good muslims are a minority often in spite of their religion, or just that they have a strange interpretation that doesnt call for them to kill infidels... err okay so that makes sense...

so lets not go out of our way to be offensive:

From the same site on the subject of a Muslim doll released in Jan this year:

Ay Caramba! Move over Barbie, there's a new Jihadi hottie in town! Meet Fulla, the new counterpart to the Western doll that's designed to appeal to Islamic sensibilities in the Arab world.

Apparently the original Barbie was deemed immoral by Muslim standards because she didn't wear a veil, had eye-popping chest formations, and didn't come equipped with an explosives belt accessory.

nice...

So anyway... how can I cry that any of this is at all culturally insensitive or even vaguely counter productive? People died... in wars/conflicts... involving muslims... so there you have it... statistics don't lie do they?

better watch them blacks then!

well, by the same logic, along with the terrorists in the Islamic abroad you'd better watch out for, what about all those criminals in the black neighbourhoods? After all, over 50% of people in the US prison system is black... ergo on average black people tend to be criminals... you would see this 'truth' a lot clearer if I put up a site listing each African-American that had been convicted of a crime since 9/11...

CAN WE SEE HOW FLAWED AND DANGEROUS THIS REASONING CAN BE?

Most people (I really hope!!!) could see that the figure about African Americans in prison is a more complex issue than simple criminality (social/political/economic/historical reasons for this terrible phenomenon), why can't the same thing be true of the argeument of the "anti-jihadi" websites? I mean, over a hundred years of complex intercommunual conflicts and sectarian wars cannot just be explained away in terms of Islam and 9/11 can it?

Q


[edit on 20-1-2006 by Qoelet]

[edit on 20-1-2006 by Qoelet]
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[edit on 20-1-2006 by DontTreadOnMe]

Yes, many of us can see how flawed and dangerous this reasoning can be (and is) and it IS the same reasoning bigots and racists use and have used over the years to maintain their hatred of black people, gays and other groups.

Islamophobes are the KKK of the new millenia. Of course they'd never admit that. Not publicly anyway.

The answer? Education and exposure, I think. And it takes guts.

It takes guts and strength of character to fight against the prejudices alive in the world today. It's easy to group all the people of one nationality or religion or sexual preference and label them as 'bad'. It takes a person who's willing to see through the first layer; who's willing to think logically and reason.

And, sadly, I see fewer of that type of person these days. Too many are far too willing to just jump on a bandwagon and take the easy way that requires little thinking but is filled with the reward of feeling like they have the problem figured out. Like they have the answer... which is to kill them all. Yeah... real complex minds at work there.

It might seem like bashing obviously racist websites.. but in this case I have seen the sites in question banded about this board and others as accurate non-biased sources for the war on terror and other such nonsense...

Education in vital, as is i think, countering the 'anti-education' (there you go, for all those making up new stupid terms like islamofascism et al. I made my own! ) of this kinda stuff... the subversion of statistics and topical news information for islamophobia and rascism is a conspiracy in itself...

Q