I just read an amazingly irrational explanation of why terrorism should not be associated with Islam, even though the overwhelming amount of terrorism is committed by Muslims.
It's worth reading for yourself – so you can appreciate the mental gymnastics one must perform to conclude Islam does not have a very, very, very serious terror problem. I also want you to see for yourself that I am not exaggerating or distorting the absurdity of these claims. I would characterize is as "irrationalization" – beginning with the incongruous headline: "Terrorists target Islam's holiest sites, but people think they represent Muslims – Muslims suffer the most from global terrorism."
So, why shouldn't we even associate terrorism with Muslims?
1) Because Muslim terrorists kill a lot of Muslims, not just non-Muslims. It's indisputably true that Muslim terrorists target and kill a great many Muslims. There are many reasons for this. There are huge sectarian divides within Islam. For 1,300 years Muslims have fought one another, the most obvious clashes still continue today between Sunnis and Shiites. Both groups have their own terrorists and they often kill each other. More mosques are blown up by Muslims than by everyone else in the world combined. I know of no other religious force or political force in the world that conducts war on Muslims the way Muslims do. To me, that's slam-dunk proof Islam has a unique, systemic, institutional problem, not a coherent rationale against associating Islam with terrorism. I'm trying to imagine an analogy, and the one that comes to mind would be to suggest Nazis weren't really Germans because they killed a lot of Germans. Or, Nazis weren't anti-Semitic because they killed so many non-Jews. Doesn't compute.
2) Because Muslims suffer so much from global terrorism, the perpetrators can't possibly represent Muslims, is another claim. This would suggest that the world ignore the fact that the perpetrators of terrorism are universally apostates. Yet, Islamic terrorism is rampant among both of the two major branches of Islam – Sunni and Shiite. Occasionally, adherents from both sects, in uneasy alliances, even work together to attack non-Muslim targets. And on a few things they all agree – women are second-class citizens; Israel, "the little Satan," needs to be destroyed; the U.S. and the West, in general, are the real enemy, with the U.S. being dubbed as "the Great Satan." But we're supposed to ignore all that – engage in denial of what we see and hear with our own senses.
3) Because Islamic terrorists attack their targets more frequently and with more viciousness during the "holy month of Ramadan," this also suggests they are not Muslims at all. They just claim they are. No one else except Muslims even gives a thought to Ramadan. Yet, is accepted by all who can count that terrorist acts increase around that time every year. Why would that be so if the perpetrators were not really Muslims?
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4) Because the worst of the worst of these Islamic terrorists is embodied in ISIS, we're told to ignore the thousands of abominable violent terrorist attacks every year committed by groups like Hamas, al-Qaida, Hezbollah and dozens of others – far more organizations than all other terrorist groups not claiming any association with Islam. We're supposed to ignore that fact – or face being labeled an "Islamophobe."
5) Because "Muslims consistently condemn terrorism." But is that true? Of course not. Throughout the Middle East, Europe and even in the United States, we have seen a parade of fiery clerics defend violent jihad – or holy war. Where are these "consistent" condemnations? If Muslims universally and consistently denounced these attacks and gave them no support system, they would have evaporated at least 1,200 years ago. There would be no ISIS, no Hezbollah, no al-Qaida and no Hamas. The Twin Towers would still be standing. Tens of thousands of Christians, Yazidis, Druz, Israelis and Europeans would be alive today. Christians would not be facing genocide in the Middle East. Let's face it, while Muslims do kill a lot of Muslims, they kill far more non-Muslims and drive many more into genuine refugee status.
These arguments are so outrageous in their deliberate misrepresentations, it's hard to get your arms around them. But, because they are, you can recognize the genuine evil at work in their genesis. It's a tragic "blame the victims" scenario all the way. What more can I say? I'm almost speechless.
It's off-the-charts wholesale prevarication. You have to pinch yourself and ask, "Does anyone actually believe this stuff?"
And it compounds the argument that Islam, and its apologists, have a profoundly aberrant and dysfunctional grip on reality and self-awareness.
By the way, the publishing source of this incoherent Big Lie, StepFeed, describes itself as a modern digital platform that focuses on "media, technology and design for entrepreneurs, visionaries and disrupters" based in Dubai.
Yet, we hear these kinds of groundless statements and assertions every day from the Western media, politicians, pop stars, Hollywood icons – the very people who would at the top of the hit list of jihadis around the world. Do they really think they can escape the wrath of Islamic terrorists by apologizing for them and excusing them? Could these folks be the real "Islamophobes," trying to buy protection from attacks by disclaiming them?
I just wonder.
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