"should americans fear islam"??.. this is not an easy one to answer..
should the world fear any organized religion . we all know each one of them have their extremists.. should christianity be feared because of hitler or nazis.. ?
was islam feared before september 11??
maybe what should be feared.. is the number of people who are manipulated in to the "extreme" or political islam .. that number scares me..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoGJP02CtPAon a personal note.. i wouldn't want anyone fearing my family members who are muslim.. the islam they practise only affects them and not anyone else....they wouldn't hurt a fly..
I think we need to establish what there is to be fearful of. It seems that most apologists for Islam like to paint critics of Islam as bigots who think all Muslims are potential suicide bombers or moustache twirling evil masterminds. Thats not the case. Just because some of the far-right fuckheads oppose Islam for the wrong reasons does not mean there are not right reasons to oppose it. There is ignorance on both sides, and the ignorant are getting all the attention.
For me, the most dangerous thing about Islam are the subtle things - the strict emphasis on gender roles, the intolerance for expressing sexuality and free thought, the over-reaction to criticism and the special treatment expected. Even civil and familial matters path the way for this discrimination, the Islamic inheritance and divorce laws, for example. Surprisingly few 'moderates' I know actually oppose these things. Many actually think they are a good thing. These particular things may seem harmless at first glance but they make up the cornerstones of discrimination and oppression, particularly against women. These are the foundations that need to be uprooted. These principles are underestimated and overlooked while everyone is still bickering over 9/11. Its easy to argue over suicide bombers and 9/11, its a big old target to bash with blunt instruments. But both sides have used it to their advantage. If all the attention is on the images of planes flying into buildings and wild-eyed, rabid idiots on both sides, all the subtle stuff slips under the table unchecked and unnoticed.
Besides these little things, Islam has a lot to answer for. And Muslims in the media are too quick to lay the blame on western imperialism, because in the current climate of bigot vs bigot, its an easy target, and there are plenty of self-loathing lefty pussies who use moderate Muslims as allies to bash on the far right reactionaries. This is just a stupid and pointless distraction for political gain and any idiot can join in with that. Neither side actually give a shit about Muslims. It just so happens that Islam is the flavour of the week.
Lets be clear though - Sharia is not a military occupation. Honour killings are not casualties of war. Women in burqa are not prisoners of war. Executions and public scourging are not collateral damage. Thousands of daughters murdered each year, or faces disfigured by acid, child marriage and rapists protected by clerical authority. How many thousands have felt the Muslim whip for the heinous war crime of... having sex? Or having a beer? How many homosexuals have swung in the noose? How many are on death row right now? Lets stop pretending the systematic execution of homosexuals and adulterers, the regular butchery of thieves, the customary scourging of lovers and drinkers, the routine murder or imprisonment of blasphemers and apostates, the hundreds of acid attacks against women who refuse arranged marriage, and the thousands of honour killings, every year, throughout the centuries, are anything to do with 9/11 or war, or imperialism, or western foreign policy. This is the shit we need to expose - the dirty and ugly underbelly of Islam. We need to bring it to light, call it what it is, stop apologising for it and instead figure out ways to overcome it and wipe it out completely. Islam needs to own up to its shit fair and square. The moderates would do well to realise that when they are sat on their arse playing the victim.
Topic: Should Americans Fear Islam?