Take This Test To Be Sure
The greatest danger is a closed mind and a finger-on-the-trigger. The minds are closing all over Europe; rather late in the day, a small resistance emerges. American minds have also been shutting down for many years. For example, one is really not allowed to talk about race or religion (gender is fair game–look at all the photos of naked women that still surround us). One cannot say “black” or “African-American” without raising a storm. One dare not say “Islam” or “Muslim” without raising an even bigger storm.
Americans (students, professors, journalists, film stars, media talking heads, left-liberal bloggers) are especially sensitive to the wrongs done to the Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims–and, no doubt, wrongs have been done. But these same Americans are a lot less sensitive to the sorrows, nay, the atrocities, that these very groups (Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims) have inflicted upon their very own and upon all infidels, for 1400 years.
Try to talk about this, try to raise the issue of Islam’s long history of colonialism, genocide, and gender and religious apartheid and you will quickly be demonized as a “racist” or as an “Islamophobe.” Google notes 616,000 references to “Islamophobia.” What is really going on? Why is “racism” not a good enough word to describe prejudice towards people with different skin colors, if that indeed is the case? Or is “Islamophobia” more complicated, or more specific in terms of Muslims and Islam?
Lorna Saltzman, a really good writer, an environmentalist, and once a Green Party Presidential candidate, has written a tongue-in-cheek Test Guide for all those who are worried about their own racism or Islamophobia. She writes:
Are you an Islamophobe? Here is a simple test.
Lorna Saltzman’s Test
Do you favor equal rights and treatment of women and men?
Do you oppose stoning of women accused of adultery?
Do you favor mandatory education of girls everywhere?
Do you oppose slavery and child prostitution?
Do you support complete freedom of expression and the press?
Do you support the right of an individual to worship in her chosen religion?
Do you oppose government- and mosque-supported anti-Semitic publications, radio, TV and textbooks?
Do you oppose the wearing of burqas in public places, schools and courts?
Do you oppose segregation of the sexes in public places and houses of worship?
Do you oppose the death penalty for non-Muslims and Muslims who convert to another religion?
Do you oppose “honor” killings?
Do you oppose female genital mutilation?
Do you oppose forced sexual relations?
Do you oppose discrimination against homosexuals?
Do you support the right to criticize religion?
Do you oppose polygamy?
Do you oppose child marriage, forced or otherwise?
Do you oppose the quranic mandate to kill non-Muslims and apostates?
Do you oppose the addition of sharia courts to your country’s legal system?
Do you disagree with the quran which asserts the superiority of Islam to all other religions?
Almost every single question on Lorna’s list relates to an item in the Koran or the Haditha. Every single item on Lorna questiones is INHEARANTLY part of Islam. (FGM, while not in the Koran, is very much a part of Islamic Practices)
I’m not an islamophobe, I’m an islamogynist
And proud of it.
I’m not affraid of muslims who are so ignorant of their own faith that they actually believe it is a “Religion of Peace” nor am I affraid of those that are well aware of the murderous nature of islam, yet they are so evil, they continue to practice the “religion of peace.”
Anyone remember Piss Christ and Piss Pope?
How about Piss Koran or Piss Haditha? Or Feces Fatima?
Another possible test question:
Do you think it’s wrong for Chavez of Venezuela and Kim Jung-il of North Korea to support Ahmadinejad?
Dear Dr.Chesler,
While this is a good idea, the setting up of a straw man here ruins it.
Let’s be clear. I’m a Jewish nationalist. I live in Samaria. I have no use for “peace” proposals emanating from the United States, Europe or the Thugdom of the ibn Sauds. They can all be stuffed where the sun don’t shine. Moslems live all around me, and sometimes they try to kill us – and I have no compunction about killing them if I have to. From my point of view, all of the Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people.
But at the same time to paint all of Islam this way is unfair and false. What Lorna Saltzman has done is to take the dominant and most militant force in the Moslem world – the fake religion of the Wahhabis – and call it Islam, and then called upon those who hate its tenets to proudly list themselves as “Islamophobes”.
This is akin to taking the Neturei Karta, listing their beliefs and practices and saying, “if you disagree with this, you are a Jew-hater”.
I’m not telling you to think that as it stands now, Islam is a force for only sweetness and light. I am no fool and I would not ask you or any other reader here to be such a fool.
I am telling you that what is truly hateful to you here is the hateful heresy of the Wahhabi; they have been able to hide under the thobe of Islam for 80 years because American bankers financed ibn Saud from his hell-hole in Nejd to conquer and control Makka and Medina, and from this power base to spread like a cancer in the Moslem world, replacing Islam with lies and falsehood.
I strongly recommend that you and others here read this denunciation of Wahhabism published in 1917 (before the Wahhabi seized control of Arabia) to see what Sunni Moslem would say if they were not afraid of the Wahhabi. It’s a hard read. To read this means entering the world of Moslem scholarship, a world totally foreign to most of us. But it is well worth the effort.
Islam has replaced Soviet Communism as the biggest threat to humanity. Yes, I greatly fear Islam even more so as a Jew, since we Jews have been singled out by the Koran for genocide.
Mark me down as an islamophobe.
Yep, I’m a full blown islamaphobe and proud of it. What’s more I’m well aware of the evil of the so-called ‘religion of peace’, mohammed and the koran. PS please people, don’t fall into the trap of wearing garments emblazoned with the word ‘infidel’ a slanderous word for non-muslims by muslims. I personally feel we are pandering to these evil people in going down this road. Far better to wear things that state our own religion and proud of it. Get my drift?
This piece reminds me of one of Abraham Lincoln’s stories. He raised the question, if a leg is considered an arm, how many arms would a person have. The answer is then 4. But, the questioner raises, calling a leg an arm does not make a leg an arm.
Either there is room for objective truth being communicated via ethics, or there isn’t.
One more thing, a fascist tends to a person winning an argument against a liberal. For,
in the eyes of the liberal, anyone who opposes
a liberal is benighted at best.
Beema said: PS please people, don’t fall into the trap of wearing garments emblazoned with the word ‘infidel’ a slanderous word for non-muslims by muslims.
I completely disagree. The Israelis named their top of the line Fighter Jet “KFIR” which means “Lion Cub” supposedly in Hebrew, but it means “INFIDEL” in Arabic
!!!
Wonderful.
Of course apologists would say that all of the above are misunderstandings of Islam, but there are an awful lot of Muslims misunderstanding their religion. And people who point this out are misunderstood to death.
This is brilliant. Does the author mind if it is copied, shared, and sent viral?
Ruvy is wrong. It ain’t just Wahhabism. Blaming it all on Wahhabism is one great big enormous red herring. Ruvy needs to read , just for starters, “The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism” and pay particular attention to all the stuff that dates from centuries before the Wahhabis, and from places far, far, far away from Saudi Arabia (such as Islamic India, and Islamic North Africa) and note the striking continuities in the sort of language used, the sorts of texts cited, and the kinds of deeds done, by devoutly pious Muslims..both Shiite and Sunni. There are things written by Sufis in India, in Persia, in North Africa, from well before the 18th century, that will absolutely curl the hair of any rational non-Muslim.
I answered “yes” to all questions; therefore, I am a vile Islamophile. Come and get me, I dare you!
ISLAMAPHOBE implies a diseased state of mind, as in phobic. FEAR is a rational state. YES, I FEAR ISLAM that proclaims intolerance and hatred of all but the ‘faithful’; intolerance and hatred of Jews, Christians, Hindus, Budhists, the less observant Muslim; in short, everyone not of their ilk. I FEAR ISLAM that enforces Shaaria’s harshest edicts against women, children and homosexuals. I DESPISE an order acting under the pretense of peace that tolerates, nay promotes “honor” killings, female genital mutilation and forced sexual relations. I AM NOT ISLAMOPHOBIC. I AM RATIONAL. I FEAR WITH GOOD CAUSE. Ergo cogito sum. Janet Lehr, Israel Lives 20,000 readers must be onto something good. To subscribe to our newsletter write SUBSCRIBE on the subject line and email janetlehr@IsraelLives.org
I answer “yes” to all the questions, but I am not an Islamophobe. A phobia is an irrational fear, that has no basis in reality. The fear of mainstream sects of Islam that I have is not irrational, it is well founded on a clear understanding of an intelligent and analytical person, who has experienced at first hand the mind stultifying cruelty and irrationality of Islam. Islam requires faith, that even though it appears unreasonable, it is right, and disallows the possibility of rational and intelligent analysis. When any of 71 of the sects get their hands on me they will try to kill me, not like Ken for being a Jew, because I have never been one, but because I utterly reject all superstitions and believe that our Creator included the possibility of “mind” in our make up for a reason. Most forms of Mohammedan Islam have no place in a peaceful, prosperous and varied society. They seek to make us like “borg”, all the same, without individuality of thought or expression. Their techniques are nothing but mind control that sets out to make each individual less that the putative creator gave each the possibility of being. Accepting Islam into your society is like letting a psychopath into your home. You need to speak carefully so as not to have him react with anger and God help you if he catches you trying to put him out.
Phyllis
Once again you are spot on. The dangers are real and manifest, and it is a sad fact that our media and government leaders around the world fail to see the larger picture, make the proper distinctions, and take the necessary steps to protect citizens and civilized values. Which leads us to the same old question: What is to be done? we cannot stand in the corner wringing our hands in despair or shaking our fists uselessly.
Norman
So she is a “greenie”?
I am almost as concerned about greenies as I am about Islam.
They are quite dangerous in their own right.
Anti-west, anti-civilization and anti- just about anything else.
Now they want to take over our world with carbon taxes and ruin our lives.
Why is it that greenie/marxist groups are allying themselves with Islam?
Same color? Yes!!
I think she is a hypocrite.
What Mary Jackson above said! People who point out how Muslims are misunderstanding Islam are sometimes misunderstood to death. I answered in the affirmative to every question, and am feeling wonderfully filthy and not at all guilty.
On a more serious note, it is depressing the way debate and free speech as pertains to Islam are being shut down. What’s more, the chill is being promoted by western institutions, universities, academics and even politicians when, in fact, one would expect them to do the opposite.
One more question:
“Do you support Israel’s right to exist within secure borders?”
As it happens, I have just posted on “Islamophobia” and why some folk on the Left push the concept.
I fully embrace islamomisia. I don’t fear islam, I hate it and everything to do with it.
The media has given us the term islamophobia in the hopes of scaring people into being silent on the topic of islam.
Looks like I’m an Islamophobe. As well as being a misogynist. Is there anyone I don’t fear or hate?
Hans Moleman:
One more question:
“Do you support Israel’s right to exist within secure borders?”
You could probably drop all the other questions and save time.
Ruvy’s comments about Wahabi distortions of Islam is a distortion of Mohammed and Allah as presented in the Qu’ran, the Sira, and the hadiths. Clearly, without ‘cherry picking’ the meaning of those books, are every bit as virulent, biased, warlike, submitting of all others as anything presented by the ‘wahabi’ doctirne, which was a return to what they perceived as the ‘original’ meanings, actions and of course, the actual history of the founder and his terrorists. And they were terrorists, and homicidists, and thieves and this is not some cherry picked unusal distortion: that was Islam, and it was presented as the authentic Islam, forever, everywhere, and for all time.
When Islam burned out, after conquering and destroying (colonizing) the christian, jewish, hindhu, buddhist, and any cultures in it’s way- they became weak and could not conquer or be ‘submitters’ any longer. Wahabi simply reinformed muslims that it was their task to do so, for ever and to gain strength in that awareness and theology.
The first attack against the US in 1789 took place before any Wahabi doctrine and as explained to Thomas Jefferson simply went by original Islam and their ‘prophet and god’:
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, then serving as American ambassadors to France and Britain, respectively, met in 1786 in London with the Tripolitan Ambassador to Britain, Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja. These future American presidents were attempting to negotiate a peace treaty which would spare the United States the ravages of jihad piracy—murder, enslavement (with ransoming for redemption), and expropriation of valuable commercial assets—emanating from the Barbary states (modern Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya, known collectively in Arabic as the Maghrib). During their discussions, they questioned Ambassador Adja as to the source of the unprovoked animus directed at the nascent United States republic. Jefferson and Adams, in their subsequent report to the Continental Congress, recorded the Tripolitan Ambassador’s justification:
****… that it was founded on the Laws of their Prophet, that it was written in their Koran, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as Prisoners, and that every Musselman who should be slain in Battle was sure to go to Paradise. ****
That is Islam. That was Islam. That will be Islam. And when we westerners- Judeo-christians and others are forced to believe that if we say anything that reflects poorly ( ie accurately ) upon the Qu’ran, and Islam that it means we are bigots, haters, racists, then that is a lie, a fraud, and worse.
For an intellectual rollercoaster ride, I recommend visiting her website: Lorna Saltzman.
She sees through a certain amount of the left’s craziness, such as Chomskyism, yet she is equally virulent towards the right, and she considers Obama to be a “centrist capitalist” masquerading as a progressive. Pretty wild!
You forgot one question: Do you oppose MALE genital mutilation (far more common)?
Islamophobia?!? There is no such thing as Islamophobia.
A phobia,by definition, is an irrational fear of something.
People have legitimate reson to fear Islam, not some vague irrational dislike.
Therefore, the term Islamophobia is a made-up, meaningless term used by moslem apologists to deflect investigation into their true actions.
Ich musste auf alle Fragen mit “ja” antworten.
Soll das heissen, dass der Islam zu all diesen Fragen “nein” sagen würde?
Wenn das tatsächlich so wäre, dann wäre der Islam krank!!
30. Devlin se Draak said: There is no such thing as Islamophobia.
I agree… we need a better term. Anyone know what the greek would be for “I loath all murderous islamocockroaches and the ignorant islamomorons that claim they’re not the ‘real’ muslims?”
Agree completely with MARK GOLDBERG in his critique of RUVY’s comments.
Wahhabism is in NO WAY a “heresy” of Islam…it is a return of Islam to its theological essence. The Sunni Muslim “denunciation of Wahhabism” that Ruvy cites is from a tract dated 1917, when the Muslim world was in the grip of the “bad old days” of colonialism, a period when religious and intellectual freedom were at their apex. It’s no surprise he couldn’t find a similar denunciation that was remotely contemporary.
Frankly, I think if you do not have a healthy fear of Islam then you are mental. I’ve seen it up close and personal, and it IS scary.
So, why is Obama bowing down to the Saudi prince, especially after he “converted” to Christianity? He should be afraid for his life, like that girl whom a Florida judge is keeping away from her father who wants to kill her for converting from Islam and embracing Christianity. Can it be because in return for his life, the Wahhabi’s sent him tons of campaign money on condition that he invites their “ism” into North America? He never did say where most of his money came from for the campaign, but we all know that the Arabs are making trillions from us in petrodollars. Few others have money to throw around these days.
And why is there no legislation instated in the United Nations as to the illegality of desecrating Christianity, or Judaism, or Buddhism, or any other religion, for that matter? THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO KNOW.
No I hate sharia law that allows muslims to shag your beautiful children, free from conviction, because it is the law. It is like making murder legal!!!
It is strange that while we all practice these religions we think we understand, leave out serious fundamental entities.
1) Loving God
2) Loving God’s creation
What law comes beyond that?
It is strange that people talk about peace and God so much, yet they are making other people’s lives miserable. There is no love in them… How will one love us if they hate thier lives so much that they wire themselves with bombs to take other people’s lives… To show such a person peaceful is obscene in itself.
Long live Israel! Long live descendants of Jacob
it’s not a phobia if the threat is real and not imaginary
I am an Islamophobe and proud of it! I believe in the Torah of HaShem and the Constitution of the United States of America-not the Shari’a of Momo the madman! Any culture that would advocate the marriage of a 10 year old to an 80 year old has to be mad! Any culture that would advocate the genocide of an entire people has to be mad! Any culture that would advocate the supression/submission of an entire gender has to be mad!
Islamism means submission! Does that give y’all a hint that Islam is insane?
Islam nicht beantworten kann nichts. Der Islam ist in der tat eines kranken welpen, schlimmer als Attila und Genghis Khan zusammen. Der Islam ist in der gleichen kategorie wie der kleine Korporal from Brannau Am Inn.
Islam kaputt, fu..ed up!
Well, actually, I read the list as if it had applied, instead, to the beliefs of Christianity in Europe 600 years ago (remember, Christianity has a 600-year start..). For ‘stoning’ I read ‘execution’… but otherwise I could see little difference between these ideas and medieval Christianity. Just because I dont approve of such practices (in some instances) or simply think they’re inappropriate now (as in expecting a woman’s body to be covered head to toe – save face) doesn’t make me Christianophobic. I daresay, though, that if I’d expressed such ideas 600 yrs ago, I would have been executed by Christians of Europe, too.
I don’t agree with most of the practices listed (btw is circumcision genital mutilation too), but I don’t hate the Muslim faith. I think we should speak of Islam as nationality, and ‘Muslim’ as the religion. Its the traditional confusion of religion and region of government (theocracy) which informs much of the trouble in this debate.
Is there any real reason an Islamic scholar *couldn’t* say (aside from the fact they apparently haven’t, or at least didn’t in the time of the Hadiths) that Allah is eternal and Allah is Truth, so Allah doesn’t change his mind and then say “do I contradict myself? Well then, I contradict myself!” So the Verses of the Sword were, maybe, Allah’s advice to Mohammed for a specific tactical situation? And the earlier “No compulsion in religion” verse was the eternal principle? Or am I just thinking like a Medieval Christian?
Do you favor equal rights and treatment of women and men?
Yes
Do you oppose stoning of women accused of adultery?
Yes
Do you favor mandatory education of girls everywhere?
Yes
Do you oppose slavery and child prostitution?
Yes
Do you support complete freedom of expression and the press?
Yes
Do you support the right of an individual to worship in her chosen religion?
Yes
Do you oppose government- and mosque-supported anti-Semitic publications, radio, TV and textbooks?
Yes
Do you oppose the wearing of burqas in public places, schools and courts?
Yes
Do you oppose segregation of the sexes in public places and houses of worship?
Yes
Do you oppose the death penalty for non-Muslims and Muslims who convert to another religion?
Yes
Do you oppose “honor” killings?
Yes
Do you oppose female genital mutilation?
Yes
Do you oppose forced sexual relations?
Yes
Do you oppose discrimination against homosexuals?
Yes
Do you support the right to criticize religion?
Yes
Do you oppose polygamy?
Yes
Do you oppose child marriage, forced or otherwise?
Yes
Do you oppose the quranic mandate to kill non-Muslims and apostates?
Yes
Do you oppose the addition of sharia courts to your country’s legal system?
Yes
Do you disagree with the quran which asserts the superiority of Islam to all other religions?
Yes
Oh crap, please don’t hurt me Osama!
There is only one thing I will say that I have in favour of Islam, the Archbishop of Canterbury said maybe we could look at some of the principles of Shariah law and implement some of these into British law and he got SLATED for it. However what did he really say? Let’s have a look, now how could that hurt? And one principle I’m aware of is equality, basically, you commit a crime, you have the same crime commited to you, within the realms of feasibility. One such example was in – I think – Saudi Arabia where a man threw acid in a woman’s eyes thus blinding her for refusing to marry him, his sentnece? Well, have a guess…
Diane (comment 45),
“btw is circumcision genital mutilation too”
You actually raise quite a good point there, I am sure many Jewish boys would rather keep their foreskin other than have it removed at the age of…13 if I’m right…in the name of religion, however for a lot of men it is a necessary procedure to help mainly with erectile dysfunction, I fail to see what advantages mutilation of a woman’s genitals would bring unless, again, there is a medical reason.
Basically I don’t think genital mutilation should be forced on anyone. The only ones who should have it are those who need it and those who want it doing – don’t ask why they would but I’ll bet there’s people out there.
Firstoff, I am a VERY religious Moslem, take a look at my answers.
Do you favor equal rights and treatment of women and men?
Yes.
Do you oppose stoning of women accused of adultery?
Yes.
Do you favor mandatory education of girls everywhere?
Only until the age of puberty. After this the girl has the right to choose if she wishes to be educated, and it is much better for her to choose to be educated.
Do you oppose slavery and child prostitution?
Absolutely!
Do you support complete freedom of expression and the press?
Not complete freedom: The press shouldn’t say things hurtful to any religion, nor should they be slandering or libeling any person or group of people. Otherwise they should have complete freedom.
Do you support the right of an individual to worship in her chosen religion?
Of course! “Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects Taghut (evil) and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trust worthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things. ” (Qur’an 2:256)
Do you oppose government- and mosque-supported anti-Semitic publications, radio, TV and textbooks?
No.
Do you oppose the wearing of burqas in public places, schools and courts?
No. You can where whatever you’d like to a public place, be it a burqa or a bikini, but it is better to choose the latter.
Do you oppose segregation of the sexes in public places and houses of worship?
No. I don’t support forcing it either, however.
Do you oppose the death penalty for non-Muslims and Muslims who convert to another religion?
Yes.
Do you oppose “honor” killings?
YES!
Do you oppose female genital mutilation?
Yes.
Do you oppose forced sexual relations?
Yes.
Do you oppose discrimination against homosexuals?
Yes.
Do you support the right to criticize religion?
I support the right to challenge religion, but remember to be respectful.
Do you oppose polygamy?
No. Polygamy is much better for society. It’s much better than taking mistresses, clearly, and if it is done it is done with respect (polygamy.) We notice that polygamy just makes things simpler.
Do you oppose child marriage, forced or otherwise?
Yes.
Do you oppose the quranic mandate to kill non-Muslims and apostates?
Quranic mandate to kill non-Muslims and apostates? “It is clear, therefore, that this verse is one of self-defense. The Muslims here are commanded to “slay the pagans” who are hostile towards them. It is not a carte blanche to “kill all infidels”. This verse is specific to a specific time, and it is not understood by the overwhelming majority of Muslims to be a general call for murder against all those who are not Muslim.”
Do you oppose the addition of sharia courts to your country’s legal system?
No. But the Sharia courts she be for Moslems only.
Do you disagree with the quran which asserts the superiority of Islam to all other religions?
The Qur’an asserts respect to all other religions.
lâ ilâha illallâh, Muḥammadur rasûlullâh.
If you went to a local mosque and asked these questions to Muslims, they would answer yes to at least half of these questions.
Why would one be afraid of them self?
The Qur’an, Islam’s revealed text, states: “Whoever kills a person [unjustly]…it is as though he has killed all mankind. And whoever saves a life, it is as though he had saved all mankind.”
In reality, Islam not only condemns terrorism and suicide missions, but also prohibits them completely.
9/11 Attacks are “injustice, oppression and tyranny”
TOO LONG, EDITED DOWN
Terrorism Forbidden in Islam
Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi Condemns Attacks Against Civilians: Forbidden in Islam
DOHA, Qatar, Sept 13 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – Renowned Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi denounced the attacks against civilians in the U.S. Tuesday and encouraged Muslims to donate blood to the victims of the attack.
In response to the bloody attack against civilians in the U.S., Sheikh Yusuf issued a statement Wednesday saying that:
“Our hearts bleed for the attacks that has targeted the World Trade Center [WTC], as well as other institutions in the United States despite our strong oppositions to the American biased policy towards Israel on the military, political and economic fronts.
“Islam, the religion of tolerance, holds the human soul in high esteem, and considers the attack against innocent human beings a grave sin, this is backed by the Qur’anic verse which reads:
“The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, is reported to have said, ‘A believer remains within the scope of his religion as long as he doesn’t kill another person illegally’,” the prominent scholar said.
EDITED FOR LENGTH, PLEASE PROVIDE LINK TO ARTICLE, NOT ARTICLE