"Are You An Islamophobe?"
Thursday
THIS IS another in our series, Answers to Objections. I've answered this objection several times in previous articles, and I'll give you links to those in a moment. But first I'd like to hammer home something: The number one thing that needs to happen is for a far larger percentage of the population to know some basic information about Islamic supremacism.
We need your help. You have a sphere of influence. It may be forty people; it may be two hundred. But whatever your sphere of influence, we're going to try to help you be more effective at teaching your fellow non-Muslims some basic facts about Islam.
When you mention anything that sounds critical of Islam, most people will try to defend it, even if they know nothing about it. If you are unprepared for the hostile response you get, you will not make any gains toward the goal.
The purpose of this series is to help you deal with those responses successfully. We have a list of the 18 objections people make and this series will show you how to respond to them in a way that will open your listeners' minds. We'll publish the entire list at the end, with each objection linked to an article that answers it. This is number 8.
Now, here is some help in answering this objection (or accusation):
1. Robert Spencer's definition of Islamophobia.
2. This is an article that will help you clarify what you're doing when you criticize Islam. It articulates what is wrong with the term "Islamophobia."
3. This is an article written by Ali Sina, the famous ex-Muslim, writing about the term "Islamophobia" and what, specifically makes the term meaningless.
4. This is a video: Robert Spencer's simple plan to end Islamophobia. It's kind of tongue-in-cheek, but he makes some good points, and you might want to send it to anyone who accuses you of being an Islamophobe.
5. And this is an article I wrote to peaceful Muslims who often write to me and tell me I shouldn't criticize Islam. I talk a bit about "Islamophobia" in the article.
I recommend you study this material. Maybe even make an audio recording of the articles and listen to it in your car. When you're trying to educate someone and he brings up an objection like this, you should be overly prepared — so prepared that the objection doesn't bother you even a little bit. I want you to be so prepared that you are actually glad they gave you an objection you know how to answer so masterfully.
Citizen warriors are committed to perpetual training, just like every other kind of warrior. These conversations are where the battle is happening. Let's be prepared.
4 comments:
I must admit that I had... some unjustified fear of Islam before.
Then I met a guy who _constantly_ sh*t on anything that remotely could be related to Islam without ever giving an explanation for his hate.
In a way he has helped me overcome my prejudice. After hearing his prejudices year after year after year I asked myself "How often have I personally been mistreated by a Muslim ?". One should know that 10% of the citizens in my country are Muslim, I'm not, so... I should at least have some bad experiences.
After thinking long and hard I could only remember 1 small incident (in 44 years) which was solved to the satisfaction of both 4 hours later.
I'm still quite cautious when people use religion (or atheism) to justify an action, but I guess prejudice is a far more dangerous opponent.
I probably won't choose a religion soon, maybe even never..., but i'm very happy that i've overcome this part of my prejudice. The rewards are immense... I can now appreciate Muslim Art, Music, writings and see things from yet another perspective. A perspective which is far more refreshing as I believed possible.
By the way Warrior, why do you call yourself Warrior ?
Best wishes to all,
Bart Derks.
Bart, a Muslim can be perfectly nice to you and still be a dedicated Muslim, working to establish Shari'a law in your country as his religious duty. In fact, a Muslim can be perfectly nice to you and everyone he knows and still fly a plane into a tower full of people.
You seem to be implying that because you have met Muslims and they were nice to you, that means you don't have to worry. This is an objection we've answered earlier in the article, My Friend is a Muslim and He's Really Nice.
The reason this site is called Citizen Warrior is because in the war against Islamic supremacism, every citizen is on the front lines. This war will not be won by the military alone.
Bart, I question whether one should make judgments based only on personal experiences (you met a closed-minded jerk full of hatred for anything that seemed even slightly Islamic. You met many Muslims who never did you any harm. Etc.) As you know, beyond personal experiences, one needs to consider also several other factors one can only come to know through ideas, numbers, books. Specifically, one needs to know
1. The human rights situation in Muslim-majority nations around the globe; how do human rights in Muslim nations compare with human rights in other nations? Did you know that the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report names 13 countries in the world as being of "particular concern" and that 9 of those 13 countries are Islamic nations?
2. Core Islamic doctrines: (a)Koran, (b)canonical Hadith collections, and (c)the earliest biography of Muhammad by Ishaq. Are they totalitarian? Was Muhammad a totalitarian?
3. Is it true that demographic trends in Europe are leading rapidly toward a Muslim-majority Europe, perhaps within a few decades?
4. Will a Muslim-majority Europe do away with freedom as Europeans have come to understand it?
5. If Europe loses its freedom, will the United States be able to stand alone in the midst of what might be an almost entirely authoritarian world?
6. How is freedom of expression already being curbed within the United States in response to Islamic intimidation?
Answering the above items requires a little research. In my opinion, this website is a clear, accurate, and reliable resource to start with. But if one doesn't care that much about freedom, no need to study this issue, because freedom is what's at stake.
For example, in Sahih Bukhari, the most canonical of hadith collections, Muhammad said, "Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him."
Culturists can take down multiculturalists on this issue too.
Cultural diversity is real. Unlike multiculturalists, culturists affirm this fact. Some cultures are even violent. If we can accept this fact, we can accept that safety means defending ourselves from them.
Keep hammering away with the question, "don't you believe that cultural diversity is real?" And, "Couldn't cultural diversity include some negative behaviors?" So why is it so impossible to believe that a culture could be war prone?
BTW, were the people on the planes during 9 -11 Islamophobic? When someone is attacking you, it is rational to fear them. We've been attacked by Islam for 1400 years. Cultural diversity exists.
www.culturism.us has a debate guide.
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