The anti-Israel, pro-“Palestine” protests that are popping up on college campuses and elsewhere throughout the country are infuriating enough on their own. Seeing these young radicals in their keffiyehs — and don’t forget the masks — chanting in favor of a terrorist group against the only freedom-loving nation in the Middle East is enough to make one angry.
But there’s the added element of cognitive dissonance. These radical protesters, many of whom affect an androgynous look and persona, wouldn’t last long among the terrorists they march, chant, and sometimes commit violence for.
Groups like “Queers for Palestine” willfully blind themselves to the truth that radical Islamists don’t hesitate to kill gays. Run-of-the-mill gays and lesbians who are minding their own business aren’t compatible with Islam, much less agenda-driven radical “queers.”
Yet somehow these two disparate groups find themselves on the same side against Israel. What’s the common ground? Texas pastor Josh Howerton released a video on Instagram in which he discussed the cognitive dissonance of leftists supporting Islam. He muses on why those who claim to be for women’s rights side with Islamists who oppress women and jokes that “Queers for Palestine” is equivalent to “Chickens for KFC.”
Howerton is right to point out that progressives and Islamists both hate Christianity. I would add Judaism to the mix as well; after all, they’re specifically targeting Israel. Does the theory that radical Islamists and radical progressives unite in their hatred of Judeo-Christian values hold water? I turned to PJ Media’s experts on Islam to find out.
Scroll through Robert Spencer and Raymond Ibrahim’s well-reasoned and thoughtful columns, and you’ll find plenty of examples of the hatred of Judaism and Christianity that drives both secular progressives and violent Islamists. These men know their stuff, and you’ll learn a lot from both of them.
Raymond told me that the anti-Israel protests aren’t the only place we see leftists and Islamists finding common ground.
“As just one example, all throughout the world, churches are under attack — literally, every day maybe a dozen or so churches are vandalized, torched, desecrated, etc,” he said. “Initially, it was almost always Muslims. Increasingly, however, especially in places like Canada, etc., the culprits are ‘leftists.’ So here are two diametrically opposed peoples — Muslims and leftists — engaging in the same exact anti-Christian behavior.”
Robert suggested that there’s even more to the strange bedfellows of Islam and progressivism. “I’d add that they both hate the U.S. and free society and are both authoritarians who hate free speech and free expression,” he told me.
There you have it. Leftists and Islamists hate freedom and don't want people to think for themselves. Hamas and "Queers for Palestine" don't want you to experience the sweet spot of moral order and personal liberty that the Judeo-Christian ethic offers. The protesters and the terrorists don't want any opinions that differ from theirs to see the light of day. This is why they come together to hate Israel and America.
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