http://iisca.org/knowledge/misc/islamophobia.htm
Islamophobia
Edna Yaghi
The negative image of Muslims and
Islam began as early as the Crusades when Christian and mercenary
soldiers marched to Palestine in order to "free" Jerusalem and the
Holy Land from Islamic influence and authority. Songs were the
sung by marching Crusaders characterizing Islam and Muslims not
only negatively but Muslims as infidels and idolaters. Ever since
the early Crusades, Islam and Muslims have been portrayed in a
derogatory fashion. But the ushering in of the twentieth century
brought a more energetic and concerted effort to demonize Arabs
and Muslims so that European and American Jews could herd
themselves in and invade Palestine after World War l and ll, and
occupy a country not theirs with the blessing and support of the
British and American governments.
With the declaration of the
Jewish state of Israel at the expense of the Palestinians in
1948,there has been a continuing, sometimes covert, oftentimes
obvious and blatant effort to stereotype Arabs and Muslims as
barbaric terrorists possessing no conscience or mercy in their war
against the civilized populations of the world. This negative
stereotyping is a Zionist ploy to further its gains whether in the
remnants of Palestine itself or through the savage merciless
bombing of the Iraqi people.
As a typical American child, I
was exposed to, and grew up on an overdose of Nazi war films and
the exodus image of thousands of homeless Jews helplessly and
innocently migrating back to their "homeland." At that time, I had
no inkling whatsoever that Palestine was indeed not their homeland
in any way and that the land they were migrating to with the aid
of the British and Americans was already populated by its
indigenous inhabitants who had dwelled there for more than 2000
years. The Diaspora, once Jewish, now is Palestinian and the
greater portion of Palestinians today live in exile outside the
boundaries of their own country. The continuing brutal and
inhumane occupation of Palestine and the fait accompli
establishment of the Jewish state is a prime example of propaganda
at its best.
Novels and encyclopedic
information either subtly and shrewdly or manifestly insert
defamatory statements about Arabs and Muslims in such a way that
the reader is unaware of these attacks. The American film industry
is even more effective in the portrayal of Arabs and Muslims in a
manner that creates hate and prejudice in the hearts and minds of
international viewers. Arab and Muslim groups living within the
United States have struggled to combat these negative images but
do not have the power, the means nor possess as effective a voice
as the billions of dollars that back the entertainment industry.
A United Nations special
investigator on religion, a Tunisian lawyer, Abdul Fattah Amor,
said on March 17, 1999, that a pervasive Islamophobia exists in
the United States and is fed by a "hate-filled" image of Muslims
presented in the media.
Amor, who compiled his report
after a visit to the United States in January and February of
1999, argues that, "The Muslim community can certainly flourish
freely in the religious sphere, but it has to be recognized that
there is an Islamophobia reflecting both racial and religious
intolerance." He went on to say, "This is not the fault of the
authorities, but of a very harmful activity by the media in
general and the popular press in particular, which consists in
putting out a distorted and indeed hate-filled message treating
Muslims as extremists and terrorists."
As the intellectual Professor
Edward Said, who is a renowned Palestinian American, pointed out
in an article about American's ongoing genocide against the Iraqi
people:…"First of all, there is a long, relatively uninterrupted
tradition in American History of exterminating without mercy
people who are considered to be savages and demons. This starts
with the native American peoples, 90 percent of whom were
massacred during the first two centuries of this country's
(America) life, all in the name of progress, doing God's work and
eradicating barbarians."
According to the great Muslim
thinker, Muhammed Kutub, the best way to counteract hostility to
Islam and Muslims is through faith. Faith is what let early
Muslims win battles against impossible odds such as 300 to 1. It
was the faith of the early Muslim warriors that defeated the more
politically sophisticated and better-equipped Roman Empire and
also the Persian Empire. Then, a Muslim soldier entered any battle
with the idea that he would either die a martyr or win a victory.
It is sad that some of the
greatest enemies of Islam can be found in the dictators of Muslim
countries. Examples of so-called Muslim leaders who want a secular
state at the expense of the lives and welfare of their people can
be found in Algeria and Turkey. They day-to-day massacres of
Algerian civilians are not carried out by true Muslims, but by
paid mercenaries wishing to turn the hearts of the people against
Islam. There are many other leaders of Muslim countries whose
prisons are full of those wishing to promote Islam and Islamic
governments.
The best solution to the
stagnation of the current Muslim Ummah (nation) and to
Islamophobia itself is to apply true Islamic principles based on
the Holy Koran and Hadith. A Western or secular approach will not
solve the current crisis, but a solution can be found with new and
brave ideas, regardless of their source as long as they follow and
adhere to Islamic principles. Imitating foreign cultures and ideas
will accomplish nothing if they are un-Islamic. However, any
effort cannot function or survive without the support and money of
rich Arab and Muslim countries. It is tragic and unfortunate
though that most of the leaders of Arab and Muslim countries are
corrupt, power-hungry and anti-Islamic themselves.
