The argument to end Islamophobia
by Dave Alpert
The following comments by Rupert Murdoch were published in the Guardian on January 10, 2015:
Rupert Murdoch has been strongly criticized after tweeting that “most Moslems” – even if peaceful – must be held responsible for the religion’s “growing jihadist cancer” in the wake of the terror attacks in France.
The News Corp boss added his influential voice to the global discussion on terror that has convulsed social media since gunmen slaughtered 12 people at the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris on Wednesday.
Although I respect Mr. Murdoch’s exercise of his freedom of speech, I don’t think he thought about this idea thoroughly. Let us look at some of the consequences of such elaborate thinking by this wealthy sage of international affairs.
During WW2, over 6 million innocent people were killed for no other reason than they were Jewish, disabled, or did not fit the stereotype of the blond, blue-eyed Aryan. The perpetrators were Christians. Should we not condemn all of Christianity for these crimes against humanity?
Then we have the acts of genocide perpetrated against Native Americans by Christians. How should we deal with that?
But, it doesn’t end there. We must include the slave trade also perpetrated predominantly by Christians. Then there’s the Jim Crow era when hundreds, if not thousands of African-Americans were killed by white, Christian men and often cheered on by their women.
The killings were not limited to white on black violence. On April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Colorado, 2 white, Christian students went on a shooting spree, murdering 12 students and 1 teacher. On December 14, 2012, 20 year old Adam Lanza fatally shot his mother and then travelled to Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newtown, Connecticut, where he murdered 20 children and 6 adult staff members. On July 20, 2012, a mass shooting occurred inside of a Century movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, during a midnight screening of the film The Dark Knight Rises. A gunman, dressed in tactical clothing, set off tear gas grenades and shot into the audience with multiple firearms, killing 12 people and injuring 70 others. The perpetrator was identified as James Eagan Homes, a white, Christian American.
None of these mass murders was referred to as terror attacks by Christians but, I have to admit, it’s getting very difficult to avoid seeing Christians as a violent religion and one that promotes acts of terror.
However, I’m an equal opportunity person and would like to address Israel’s terror program.
In March, 2002 Israel initiated “Operation Defensive Shield”. During this operation, 55 children were killed. During the third day of the incursion into Nablus, the Shu’bi family home was demolished by an Israeli bulldozer; the mother, seven-months pregnant, and, three brothers, Abdullah, 8, Azzam, 6, and Anas, 4, were buried under the rubble, along with their grandfather and two aunts.
Another family, from Qabatia near Jenin, was similarly devastated when an Israeli tank fired at the family, as they were cultivating their land, killing the mother and her two children, Abeer, 3, and Basil, 4.
More recently, we have the Israeli attack against Gaza this past summer, labelled “Operation Protective Edge”. Israeli’s massacred more than 2200 Gazans, approximately 500 of them children with 7 weeks of bombardments.
Should all Jews be held responsible for the actions of the Israeli government and should Judaism be seen as a violent religion and a terrorist threat?
There are many more acts of atrocity perpetrated by Christians and Jews that I could include, but I think I’ve made my point.
Where it comes to Christianity and Judaism, we are able to separate the acts from the religion. Unfortunately, we do not offer the Muslim community the same respect. The acts of a small group of Muslim extremists are seen by the Western world as a threat to us all by the whole religion. All Muslims are experienced as potential terrorists while Christians and Jews, whose members commit as many, if not more atrocities, are never asked to suffer the consequences for the violence committed by some members of their communities.
This is known as racism.
The following comments by Rupert Murdoch were published in the Guardian on January 10, 2015:
Rupert Murdoch has been strongly criticized after tweeting that “most Moslems” – even if peaceful – must be held responsible for the religion’s “growing jihadist cancer” in the wake of the terror attacks in France.
The News Corp boss added his influential voice to the global discussion on terror that has convulsed social media since gunmen slaughtered 12 people at the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris on Wednesday.
Although I respect Mr. Murdoch’s exercise of his freedom of speech, I don’t think he thought about this idea thoroughly. Let us look at some of the consequences of such elaborate thinking by this wealthy sage of international affairs.
During WW2, over 6 million innocent people were killed for no other reason than they were Jewish, disabled, or did not fit the stereotype of the blond, blue-eyed Aryan. The perpetrators were Christians. Should we not condemn all of Christianity for these crimes against humanity?
Then we have the acts of genocide perpetrated against Native Americans by Christians. How should we deal with that?
But, it doesn’t end there. We must include the slave trade also perpetrated predominantly by Christians. Then there’s the Jim Crow era when hundreds, if not thousands of African-Americans were killed by white, Christian men and often cheered on by their women.
The killings were not limited to white on black violence. On April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Colorado, 2 white, Christian students went on a shooting spree, murdering 12 students and 1 teacher. On December 14, 2012, 20 year old Adam Lanza fatally shot his mother and then travelled to Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newtown, Connecticut, where he murdered 20 children and 6 adult staff members. On July 20, 2012, a mass shooting occurred inside of a Century movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, during a midnight screening of the film The Dark Knight Rises. A gunman, dressed in tactical clothing, set off tear gas grenades and shot into the audience with multiple firearms, killing 12 people and injuring 70 others. The perpetrator was identified as James Eagan Homes, a white, Christian American.
None of these mass murders was referred to as terror attacks by Christians but, I have to admit, it’s getting very difficult to avoid seeing Christians as a violent religion and one that promotes acts of terror.
However, I’m an equal opportunity person and would like to address Israel’s terror program.
In March, 2002 Israel initiated “Operation Defensive Shield”. During this operation, 55 children were killed. During the third day of the incursion into Nablus, the Shu’bi family home was demolished by an Israeli bulldozer; the mother, seven-months pregnant, and, three brothers, Abdullah, 8, Azzam, 6, and Anas, 4, were buried under the rubble, along with their grandfather and two aunts.
Another family, from Qabatia near Jenin, was similarly devastated when an Israeli tank fired at the family, as they were cultivating their land, killing the mother and her two children, Abeer, 3, and Basil, 4.
More recently, we have the Israeli attack against Gaza this past summer, labelled “Operation Protective Edge”. Israeli’s massacred more than 2200 Gazans, approximately 500 of them children with 7 weeks of bombardments.
Should all Jews be held responsible for the actions of the Israeli government and should Judaism be seen as a violent religion and a terrorist threat?
There are many more acts of atrocity perpetrated by Christians and Jews that I could include, but I think I’ve made my point.
Where it comes to Christianity and Judaism, we are able to separate the acts from the religion. Unfortunately, we do not offer the Muslim community the same respect. The acts of a small group of Muslim extremists are seen by the Western world as a threat to us all by the whole religion. All Muslims are experienced as potential terrorists while Christians and Jews, whose members commit as many, if not more atrocities, are never asked to suffer the consequences for the violence committed by some members of their communities.
This is known as racism.