Islam Ophobia

I have been hearing a lot about “Islamophobia” lately, but the truth is, Islamophobia is a misnomer. The word implies a fear of Islam. Americans, for example, don’t have a fear of it necessarily, but more of a hatred. Then again, it’s not clear whether the hatred is for the people themselves or the actual religion. Regardless, no one wants to really speak about it for fear of being “racist,” though some certainly are. Let’s see if we can clear this confusing topic up a bit.

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Is Islamophobia bad?

Quick answer, yes, but not why you may think. Any fear of the unknown is somewhat bad. If we are too lazy to learn about something and understand it, and would rather wallow in fearful ignorance, then that would make us ignoramuses. Who wants to be that? Take the time to know what you’re talking about! And as a side note, research involves all sides of the equation, not just googling sites you already know will share your viewpoint, as they tend to ignore certain facts to make their cases.

Is Islam bad?

My OPINION is, yes. Aside from the terrorists (many of whom the leaders of Islam would hesitate to even call Muslim), the religion itself is patriarchal, archaic, and cruel. Instances like what happened in Germany certainly don’t help. Granted, there are “modern” Muslims who would call the religion peaceful, but by not standing up to the strict rules regarding women and their freedoms, by not standing up to the extreme punishments some face, by not standing up for separation of church and state, the modern Muslims are condoning these terrible aspects of the religion, and are, by their inaction, supporting them.

Is speaking out against Islam bad?

Yes and no. It depends on how you approach it. Calling anyone “sand monkeys” or “towel heads” certainly is no way to approach the subject. Speaking about specific aspects of the religion and citing specific sources is a better way of talking about it. In addition, don’t attack the people who practice the religion personally, unless of course they are guilty of crimes against humanity. Then, as far as I’m concerned anyway, they are fair game. Rather, speak about the religion itself. I can’t stress this enough: know what you are talking about. The fear that all Muslims are terrorists, for example, is an example of not knowing what you are talking about and will make people less likely to listen to you.

Does speaking out about Islam make you racist?

There are certainly groups of people that are racist. Others just don’t like religion and thus don’t like the people. These are examples of those who are discriminators. However, the first amendment clearly gives us the right to free speech and so no one should feel fear of speaking out against the religion, provided it’s not hate speech propaganda.

Ex. Of Islam Criticism… “I do agree with the concept of sharia law because...”

Ex. Of Hate Speech Propaganda… “Those refugees are terrorists sneaking into our country to bomb it!”

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Any last notes?

Yes. If you can dish it, be prepared to take it. Pretty much all religions have a dark side, it seems, and ignoring your dark past (Christians, I’m talking to you!) doesn’t erase it from being there and if you are going to use parts of the Quran to speak against Islam be prepared for others to use parts of the Bible to speak out against you.

You shouldn’t have to feel fear of speaking out against anything, provided you are doing so in a constructive, informed way.

The bottom line is to keep things factual and without emotion. This goes for any topic, not just talking about Islam. I just used it as an example because it’s unfair to label all people who don’t agree with Islam as phobic, when the actual group of ignorant haters who deserve the title is relatively small. I hope this helps clear things up. If not, too bad. It’s Madam’s Opinion.