Tag Archives: Islamophobia

Peter King and Other Islamophobes: Middle East Online

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In the Name of God, the Kind, the Beautiful

This was published today in the Middle East Online.

On Feb 10, NY Rep. Peter King, Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, held his first in a series of hearings over the “Radicalization of American Muslims” and what to do about it. Despite numerous voices urging the Republican from NY to broaden the scope of his probe into homegrown extremism and terrorism, King was undeterred, saying: “To back down would be a craven surrender to political correctness and an abdication of what I believe to be the main responsibility of this committee — to protect America from a terrorist attack.”

Most analysis of the hearing has concluded that nothing new was learned, and some have called it “political theater.” Rep. King has promised more hearings, and most American Muslims are bracing for more negative news in the months and years to come. Although King has never advocated hatred of Muslims, his lumping of the entire American Muslim community with the acts of a few terrorists (161 since Sept. 11, 2001, according to a University of North Carolina study) many American Muslims fear King will play right into the hands of those trying to demonize the entire community.

Indeed, there has been a steady and troubling growth of anti-Muslim hatred and fear ever since September 11, and it appears to have accelerated in the last few years. All across the country, people with clear anti-Muslim bias and even overt hatred are being proffered as “experts” on Islam. They are members of panel discussions on Islam; they appear on television programs; they are guests on radio shows; they even are recruited to teach college courses on Islam. All this despite their obvious anti-Islamic agenda.

It is imperative to see through the agenda of Rep. King and the other Islamophobic “experts.” If Mr. King were truly serious about the threat of violent extremism against the United States, he would have also examined the threat from right-wing groups whose rise, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, has been meteoric since the election of President Obama. In its Spring 2011 report, the SPLC states that the number of hate groups in the United States is over 1,000, a 7.5% increase from 2009. Moreover, according to a UNC study, there were more than 30 domestic terror plots in 2010; only ten were committed by Muslims. Thus, to focus solely on the Muslim threat, to the exclusion of all others, is playing politics in the worst manner ahead of the 2012 election cycle.

As for the Islamophobes posing as experts, many of them do not have even a cursory knowledge or understanding of the Arabic language, which is critical given that the sacred text of Islam is in Arabic. These “experts” continue to peddle old and tired Orientalist claims against Islam, the Qur’an, and the Prophet Muhammad and yet are not called out on it. These “experts” are open in their guile for Islam, yet they are still requested to speak about Islam and Muslims. They are either in it for self-promotion and enrichment, or are part of a concerted effort to disenfranchise the American Muslim community, again for short-term political gain. Contrary to their claims, the good of the country is not in their interest at all.

As I watched part of the King hearing, it was very disheartening and saddening to see the American Muslim community — my community — singled out as the cause of violent extremism and homegrown terrorism. Seeing and reading about the numerous attacks against Muslims and their houses of worship, despite the fact that they have nothing to do with terrorism, serves to dishearten me as well. But, I am not giving up on America that easily. My country is much better than the ignorant acts of a few of my fellow Americans. My people, the American people, are much better than the crimes of a tiny minority. I know that American Muslims will come to be seen as part of the American family. The sooner that happens, the better it will be for the country and the world.

Selective Outrage of the Islamophobes

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In the Name of God, the Subtle, the Loving

I am a big fan of the website LoonWatch and of writer Danios especially. His/her latest post is quite excellent, and I have re-posted an excerpt below…

Witch Hunts: A Muslim Problem Only?

Ali Hussain Sibat, a Lebanese national and fortune teller, was recently arrested in Saudi Arabia and charged with the “crime” of sorcery.  Many sincere human rights groups raised awareness about his case, and international outrage prompted the Saudi government to issue him a stay of execution.  Islamophobes, such as Robert Spencer, have chosen to exploit Mr. Sibat’s plight to demonize Islam and Muslims.  For those of us living in the West, the arrest of a “sorcerer” seems beyond insane, and it is quite easy for the Islamophobes to use this incident to reinforce negative stereotypes of Muslims: “wow, those Moozlems must be really backwards.”

Yet, few Westerners realize that witch hunts are now an international problem…and it is not an area of concern limited to Muslim majority countries like Saudi Arabia.  Would it interest the Catholic apologist Robert Spencer to know that witch hunts are much more prevalent amongst Christians than Muslims?  Some Evangelicals continue to take the Bible quite literally, following its commandment: “Thou shalt not allow a sorceress to live” (Exodus, 22:18), and “sorcerers amongst you must be put to death” (Leviticus, 20:27).  The Huffington Post recently wrote a piece on the upsurge of witch hunts in Africa brought on by hardliner Evangelicals:

African Children Denounced As “Witches” By Christian Pastors

…Nwanaokwo Edet was one of an increasing number of children in Africa accused of witchcraft by pastors and then tortured or killed, often by family members. Pastors were involved in half of 200 cases of “witch children” reviewed by the AP, and 13 churches were named in the case files. [Exodus, 22:18]

…The idea of witchcraft is hardly new, but it has taken on new life recently partly because of a rapid growth in evangelical Christianity. Campaigners against the practice say around 15,000 children have been accused in two of Nigeria’s 36 states over the past decade and around 1,000 have been murdered. In the past month alone, three Nigerian children accused of witchcraft were killed and another three were set on fire.

Nigeria is one of the heartlands of abuse, but hardly the only one: the United Nations Children’s Fund says tens of thousands of children have been targeted throughout Africa.

Saudi Arabia has recently arrested one individual for the “crime” of sorcery (it seems about five people in the last few years), and the Islamophobes like Robert Spencer have expressed their ardent outrage.  Yet, there were “15,000 children [who] have been accused…and around 1,000 have been murdered” by Christians in Africa…Where is your outrage, Mr. Spencer?  If we must conclude that Islam is the most dastardly of religions due to the persecution of a handful of people in Saudi Arabia, then should we not conclude the same for Christianity when there were 15,000 who stood accused and 1,000 executed recently?

Christian witch hunts are not limited to Africa.  In Papua New Guinea, a country which is 96% Christian, the government passed the 1976 Sorcery Act, which prescribes imprisonment for the practice of black magic.  An article written in 2009 details how one hundred “witches” were executed in Papua New Guinea in just the last year.  Witch hunts have in recent years taken place in Haiti, again by Christians (in this case aimed against non-Christians); a human rights lawyer told the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights that “literal witch hunts have been launched [by Evangelical Christians] against priests and practitioners of this [traditional Haitian] religion.” Similar witch hunts have been launched in Kenya, Nepal, and other regions, reaching a global stage:

Witch Hunts Are Now An International Epidemic

Yesterday a coalition of U.N. officials, NGOs, and representatives from affected countries addressed the United Nations asking for governments to face the full extent of witch hunts across the world. Far from being a localized phenomenon in “primitive” or isolated villages, witch hunts and witch killings are now global in nature and spreading.

“Murder and persecution of women and children accused of being witches is spreading around the world and destroying the lives of millions of people, experts said Wednesday … “This is becoming an international problem — it is a form of persecution and violence that is spreading around the globe,” Jeff Crisp of the U.N.’s refugee agency UNHCR told a seminar organized by human rights officials of the world body.”

According to some U.N. experts tracking the issue “at least” tens of thousands have died due to witch hunts, while millions have been beaten, abused, isolated, and turned into refugees. While economic hardship is given as a reason for the recent escalation in witch-related violence, experts at the UNHCR also claim that the rise can also be attributed to”religious practitioners” who exploit local fears and superstitions.

“Some religious practitioners make a living from exorcising alleged witches and charging exorbitant fees to those who request the ritual. In Foxcroft’s experience, the most vulnerable members of society – children and the elderly – are often the victims of these accusations.”

Who, exactly, are these “religious practitioners”? The IHEU is far more specific.

“Witchcraft is still widely practiced in many countries in Africa by witchdoctors who often use human body parts in their spells. Some witchdoctors employ gangs of young men to attack and kill victims, often young children, for their body parts, which are frequently removed while the victim is still alive. An estimated 300 people are killed each year in South Africa alone as a result of this practice. But horrific though this practice is, it is only part of the problem. In Nigeria, in both the Muslim North and the Christian South, witch hunts are not uncommon and this has led to a second form of abuse. Some unscrupulous pastors, many linked to Pentecostal churches, have a lucrative trade in making unfounded accusations of witchcraft against young children. [The pastors then agree to “cure” the witches for a substantial fee. Many children are being ostracized and abandoned by their parents as a result of these accusations.]“

These Christian pastors aren’t isolated to Africa, they tour churches in America bragging about their battles with the occult, and have established ministries in Ireland and the UK. Commingling with an increasing anti-occult fervor among some Western Christian groups. Meanwhile, actual modern Pagan communities in places like India and South Africa are facing the possible ramifications of intensifying witch-hunts and witch persecutions…

Reuters reports:

Reuters – Murder and persecution of women and children accused of being witches is spreading around the world and destroying the lives of millions of people, experts said Wednesday.

And community workers from Nepal and Papua New Guinea told the seminar, on the fringes of a session of the U.N.’s 47-member Human Rights Council, that “witch-hunting” was now common, both in rural communities and larger population centres.

The experts — United Nations officials, civil society representatives from affected countries and non-governmental organization (NGO) specialists working on the issue — urged governments to acknowledge the extent of the persecution.

“This is becoming an international problem — it is a form of persecution and violence that is spreading around the globe,” Jeff Crisp of the U.N.’s refugee agency UNHCR told a seminar organized by human rights officials of the world body.

Aides to U.N. special investigators on women’s rights and on summary executions said killings and violence against alleged witch women — often elderly people — were becoming common events in countries ranging from South Africa to India.

Read the rest of the article here.