What Does The Erroneous Term Islamophobia Mean?
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
16 June
2022
Muslims,
Not Only Of India but From All Corners Of The World, Need To Introspect As To
What Went Wrong
Main
Points:
1. Whether it's
perceived Islamophobia or presupposed Islam-bashing, there's no denying the
fact that Muslims across the world are suffering from an ' imaginary '
Belittling/Dwarfing Complex.
2. Islamophobia
is a classic example of the Fallacy of Victimhood.
3. Muslims
across the world have suffered, esp. after 9/11, but they're NOT the ONLY
sufferers.
4. Religions
that advocate violence must be condemned.
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"The suffix ‘phobia’ implies a delusional
or irrational fear that is analogous to a mental illness. Attacking the person
in this way, rather than their argument, is a classic ‘ad hominem’ (attacking
the person) fallacy. A fourth problem is that we rarely use these phobia terms
to protect any other religion. We practically never describe atheists who make
jokes about Christianity as ‘Christophobics,’ or describe critics of
mindfulness meditation as ‘Buddhophobics.’ Both terms have almost never been
searched on Google in the past 17 years."
-Courtesy, ' European Academy on Religion &
Society ' (In short, EARS)
Whether
it's perceived Islamophobia
or presupposed Islam-bashing, there's no denying the fact that Muslims across
the world are suffering from an ' imaginary ' Belittling/Dwarfing Complex. In
other words, Muslims labour under the ' misconception ' that they're suffering
from the universal scourge of Islam-belittling, aimed at them by a partisan and
ever-vindictive world. Let's delve into this phenomenon in a dispassionate
manner to see whether it's imaginary or real.
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Also
Read: The
New Zealand Shootings Depict the Wide Reach Of the Islamophobia Industry And
Its Global Appeal
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Any
educated and thinking person will object to the term Islamophobia because it
suggests as if the rest of the world is perpetually at fault and on the prowl
to pounce upon 'poor and peace-loving' (!) Muslims and their innocuous
religion. Islamophobia is a classic example of the Fallacy of Victimhood.
Now the
million-dollar question is: Who's at the receiving end? Are Muslims the
perpetual victims and the rest of the non-Muslim world an eternal perpetrator?
If it's a black and white conflict of Islam versus Non-Islam then what about
the mutual opposition between Shia and Sunni Muslims? It therefore remains an
interesting question whether Muslims have actually suffered the most from the
‘Islamophobia’ of other Muslims (from different denominations).
Agreed,
Muslims across the world have suffered, esp. after 9/11, but they're NOT the
ONLY sufferers. If you look at the religio-anthropological
history of religions, all religions at some point in time, in the past or
present, suffered miserably. This is the age of much advanced communication and
connectivity, so the 'crying babies' (read Muslims) get far greater and quicker
attention and also sympathy. But what about the followers of Zoroastrianism,
the most peaceful among all major man-made religions? There's no prize in
guessing as to who were the tormentors who tortured (fire-worshippers) and
drove them out of Iran and Central Asia a millennium ago? Does any
fire-worshipper or Parsi still cry and condemn Muslims who kicked them out of
their motherland where they had been living for nearly 4,000 years? Have they
coined a stupid term like Zorostrophobia on the lines of Islamophobia? Do Jains
and Buddhists still dwell upon how badly Brahminical Hinduism treated them for
centuries? The point is: it's a term, coined and circulated by Muslims
themselves. Abdur-Rahman Muhammad, a former Islamist, claims he was present at
the meeting where members of the International Institute for Islamic Thought
(IIIT) decided to “emulate the homosexual activists who used the term
‘homophobia’ to silence critics (source: EARS).”
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Also
Read: Why
Would Anyone Believe In The ‘Islamophobia Industry’?
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Now when
the whole civilized world is witnessing how Muslims across the globe are
reacting and running amok over a woman's FACT (though disputed and
controversial) about their prophet Muhammad, can Muslims still say that the
world suffers from Islamophobia?
Who issues edicts to behead a person for condemning a revered figure in the
post-medieval times and post-modern ethos? I'm afraid, only MUSLIMS can stoop
to this level, yet wailing that the world is being unfair to them. How can
civil society be fair to you when you cannot go beyond your religion, messenger
and a book of the 7th century?
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Also
Read: How
Best To Fight the ‘Islamophobia Industry’
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Muslims,
not only of India but from all corners of the world, need to introspect as to
what went wrong. Why the rest of the world doesn't think of them as
collectively evolved? This is a quintessential Damascene moment (used in
reference to an important moment of insight, typically one that leads to a
dramatic transformation of attitude or belief) for the Muslims belonging to all
denominations, but especially to Sunni Islam. They should also learn from a
20-something Muslim boy, Saad Ashfaaq Ansari, from Bhiwandi, Bombay who
supported Nupur Sharma and wrote in his post that ' No one is above reproach.
Religions that advocate violence must be condemned. We all need humanity, the
essence of all faiths.' Such a meaningful post angered Muslims who attacked and
made him recite Kalma!
----
A
regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative
religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to
world's premier publications in several languages including Persian.
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The US
Islamophobia Network: Its Funding and Impact
Islamophobia in
the United States
URL: https://newageislam.com/muslims-islamophobia/erroneous-term-islamophobia/d/127257
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