Bartender Cabbie from Notes from the Cab (linked at this blog) has written a very thought provoking article on his own personal struggle with how he views Muslims. In it he concedes that he is an Islamophobe.
http://bartendercabbie.blogspot.com/2010/08/islamophobia-personal-struggle.html
Fousesquawk comment:
Actually defining Islamophobia is somewhat tricky as I have have previously pointed out. What is a phobia? Is it a dislike or hatred? Is it a fear? If you define it as a fear, your dictionary is likely to tell you it is an irrational fear.
Once you get past the phobia term, then how does Islamo- fit into it. Are you referring to Islam, radical Islam (which leads to a further discussion), or are you referring to Muslims as people?
What I take from Cabbie's post is that he does not hate Muslims. he recognizes that most are good people. Yet, he recognizes that a significant number of them are buying into-or leading and preaching a violent version of Islam. We cannot turn our backs to the fact that horrible crimes are being committed every day in the name of Islam. We cannot ignore the fact that many imams in many mosques are preaching a violent version of Islam. Much of that violence is directed against Americans.
We also cannot ignore the fact that many Muslim leaders preach that Islam must and will reign over the entire world under Shariah law. Finally, we cannot ignore what is happening in Europe and that there are a number of Muslims in this country who wish to do us harm-as we acknowledge that most do not.
If Cabbie has a certain fear of Islam, can we say that it is entirely irrational?
This is what the people at CAIR completely ignore. They lump it all together and call it Islamophobia hoping in the end it will have the same ugly and negative ring that the n-word has, thus, silencing those folks like Cabbie or me.
The sad fact is that as long as we don't lump all Muslims in one group and acknowledge that most Muslims should not be considered potential terrorists, there are legitimate outrages to report on, legitimate warnings to be issued and legitimate questions to be asked. For example, I have asked why so few innocent Muslims are willing to speak out beyond simply condemning terrorism in general terms. I think I know some of the answers; fear or an unwillingness to take a stand against the ummah (Muslim community).
I give credit to Cabbie for honestly examining his feelings. I imagine that millions of Americans and Westerners are having the same discussion with themselves over how they really feel about Muslims. I know I have been having this inner debate for years. I have come to the conclusion that I do not hate Muslims. I simply have met too many that I like. In addition, there are aspects of Islam that are worthy of respect. There are others that have no place in a free, democratic and tolerant society, such as shariah law. It is important that Islam, at least to me, represents both a religion and a political ideology. If you believe in the separation of church and state, as I do, there is no room for Islam as a political ideology in America. Where that fits in with Islamophobia is a complicated question. I guess each reader can draw his/her own conclusions.
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3 comments:
So on the one hand you say you don't paint with a broad brush. Yet in the post about Palestinians you do EXACTLY that, as Lance and I have clearly demonstrated.
Not exactly. I didn't say all Palestinians, I mentioned thousands. That's not all. Yet where are the Palestinians who cry out against these outrages? Where is that 99.5674% you are telling me about?
Cabbie and I don't often agree, although he sounds like a guy I could sit down for lunch with. He might even enjoy the chicken kabob at a local middle eastern restaurant, run by a homeowning conservative businessman who still has family in Jordan. It goes well with French Fries.
Cabbie deserves a lot of credit for this post. He's honest about his fears and concerns -- and no PC dilattente should rush to condemn him for it. We are what we are -- he reminds me a little of Mrs. Sherrod's honest assessment of her initial feelings when a "white" farmer came to her office for help. Further, he clearly recognizes that the cab drivers he works with, the family sitting in the park watching the fireworks, are good people and no threat to him.
If we can start with this kind of base line, we can all sit down and talk, and work out cultural stresses like this. Its when a mob mentality forms, condemning those "others" who nobody has actually sat down with at work, or over lunch, or whatever, that we have problems.
The most difficult Muslim communities are those that are completely insular, which often what exists in Europe. It becomes a mini-replica of "back home" rather than an addition to the blend. There is an Islamic Center where I live, not counting the "Black Muslim" storefronts. I've never been there. I don't know if they welcome visitors at worship, as some Christian churches do. I do know that most of the people there are local business owners, many are homeowners, they don't all live in the same neighborhood, they have reason to interact every day, all day long, with people of others faiths and ethnicities.
The owner of the restaurant has expressed one concern to me. He was quite upset that the rumor "Obama is a Muslim" had been played up. For him, it wasn't a matter of whether Obama is or is not a Muslim. He was tremendously appreciative of Colin Powell's public question "So what if he was? That's not what America is about." The fact that it was an issue at all, that was of serious concern to him as an American, with a very Americanized and devoutly Muslim) son in high school.
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