September 28, 2010 Tuesday 20 Tishri 5771 14:08 IST
Candidly Speaking: Islamophobia
and the Jews
By ISI LEIBLER
27/09/2010
Jews who exaggerate the presence of the phenomenon become leading
proponents of the campaign to sanitize and understate Islamic extremism
It is surely high time for Diaspora leaders to stop living in denial and
get
their act together. Instead of competing with each other in oozing
political correctness,
they should display some backbone and call a spade a spade.
We are currently witnessing the greatest revival of global anti-Semitism
since
the Middle Ages. This permeates all classes of society, and, ranging from
academics
to illiterates and European leaders who retain office despite making
unabashed
neo-Nazi remarks about Jews to mobs at anti-Israeli
demonstrations carrying placards “gas the Jews.”
It encompasses the entire political spectrum, but is spearheaded by
liberals
and Muslims. Muslim radicals relate to Israel in a manner reminiscent of
the Church’s
medieval attitude toward the Jews. They promote popular TV programs
depicting
the blood of Muslim children being used for baking matzot, and have
revived
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion as a best-seller. They certainly
compare
favorably with the worst Nazi Jew baiting, with imams quoting genocidal
religious texts to the faithful, inciting them to murder Jews,
“the descendants of apes and pigs.” [ this is a direct quote from the
Qur'an ]
It is macabre to observe the alliance between liberals and jihadists who
represent
the antithesis of everything the Left purports to represent. The
extremist Islamists are
the most reactionary elements in the world. They reject fundamental human
rights,
proscribe freedom of expression and religion, promote the degradation of
women and,
to this day, implement barbaric laws including stoning of adulterers and
homosexuals
and the amputation of limbs for petty crimes.
More than 50 Muslim countries deny Judaism or Christianity equal standing
with Islam.
WHAT MAKES this situation even more bizarre is that over the past months,
there has been a concerted campaign claiming that Islamophobia
represents the
greatest threat to human rights in the world! In the US the controversy
over the mosque
at Ground Zero, where 3,000 Americans were murdered in the name of Islam,
has been
twisted into an attempt to deny Muslims equal rights as distinct from not
violating
the sensitivities of the bereaved families. Not a single mainstream
conservative politician
has ever denied the right of Muslims to build mosques throughout the US.
This is taking place at a time when the Muslims have the audacity to
promote
legislation at the UN and elsewhere which would make any criticism of
Islam
a criminal offense. The response of the Obama administration has been to
reiterate
the ludicrous mantra introduced by president George W. Bush describing
Islam
as “the religion of peace” and blatantly deny the reality that
present-day terrorism
is essentially a Muslim phenomenon, even though that does not mean
all Muslims are terrorists.
Taking political correctness to the ultimate extreme, US counter-terrorism
director John Brennan described jihad as “a holy struggle, a legitimate
tenet
of Islam intended to purify oneself or one’s community,” and urged that
those
indulging in terrorist acts never be described in “religious terms”
despite the fact that all recent terrorist acts in the US were perpetrated
by
Muslim extremists. Administration officials initially described
perpetrators as
demented people rather than Islamic terrorists. This even applied to the
Fort Hood killer,
who had been influenced by an American-born Yemeni imam and was shrieking
“Allahu akbar” while massacring unarmed American servicemen.
Alas, Jews who exaggerate the presence of Islamophobia become leading
proponents
of the campaign to sanitize and understate Islamic extremism. This is
especially bizarre,
given that Jews, especially in Europe, but also increasingly in the US,
are facing
far greater threats of violence than Muslims. It is also synagogues,
rather than mosques,
which are continuously being desecrated and vandalized, in many cases by
Islamists.
In that context, the relative tranquility which Muslims experience in
Western societies
is a great tribute to tolerance – a tolerance unlikely to have been
extended to Jews in similar
circumstances. Imagine the response if Israel had a track record like some
of the Arab states,
or if Jews in Western countries were blowing up their neighbors.
While genuine interfaith relations are to be commended, many Jews persist
in engaging in “dialogue” with Muslim organizations that refuse to
dissociate
themselves from hard-line Islamic attitudes.
Some of the leading Saudi groups promoting international interfaith
conferences are
directly engaged in the promotion of anti-Semitism, yet Jews
participating in these
bogus meetings naively babble on about love and coexistence and ignore
realities.
By doing so, Jews undermine the few moderate Muslims courageous enough to
speak up.
All religions incorporate texts and concepts which encourage violence and
aggression,
but it is the interpretation by religious leaders that determines actual
behavior. Judaism,
Christianity and Buddhism today are overwhelmingly supportive of peace,
and seek
coexistence while condemning extremists.
IN CONTRAST, only a few Islamic moderates have the courage to criticize
extremism
within their own circles. Those brave enough to do so are marginalized,
condemned
by their kinsmen, and their lives are frequently endangered. The
overwhelming majority
remains silent or defends the Islamic excesses of Islamic regimes.
On the other hand, when a lunatic American pastor threatens to burn a
Koran, President
Barack Obama personally intervenes and warns of global violence and
mayhem. This the
first time that an American president has called on the nation not to “
endanger our troops”
in order to placate extremists threatening violence in response to the
acts of a solitary
American eccentric.
Of course, burning a Koran or any religious book is a barbaric act. But in
these
times anything likely to offend Muslims, including cartoons or criticism,
is condemned
out of fear of violent Islamic responses. This contrasts with an absence
of Islamic respect
for other religions.
When some years ago, the National Endowment for the Arts contributed an
outrageously
insensitive, blasphemous image of a crucifix in urine to a New York
exhibition titled
“Piss Christ,” outraged Christians did not threaten to go on killing
sprees.
An example of the insane levels generated by fear of Muslim violence is
reflected
in the case of Molly Norris, a Seattle weekly newspaper cartoonist who
was forced
to adopt a new identity at the urging of the FBI because she had become
a prime target
for assassination after having drawn a satirical cartoon of the Muslim
prophet in her
local newspaper. This resulted in a fatwa being issued against her,
stating that
“bombings and acts of arson were appropriate responses to acts of
blasphemy.”
Yet Obama, champion of the First Amendment for Muslims, remained silent
about Morris’s ordeal.
There is indeed a desperate need to encourage moderate Muslims. But
appeasing
the extremists and groveling to Muslim bullies merely emboldens them.
There is not
a single instance in history in which appeasing religious fanatics of any
faith has
brought about progress. If we allow ourselves to be intimidated or fail to
confront
Islamist jihadists, they will succeed in destroying the
very tenets of our civilization.
This is an area in which Jews, who have the most to lose, must surely
stand up and be counted.
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(http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=189444#)
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