It’s probably happened to you before; you levy a valid point of criticism as Islam or its followers and are inevitably shouted down by an extreme leftist as a quote on quote “Islamophobe”. However, you’ll be quick to notice, these people have no problem criticizing and chastising Christianity and its believers for their misgivings. So why then, do we have this idea of Islamophobia on the extreme left and do they have a point? Are Islam and its followers being unfairly targeted? The reality is that the term “Islamophobia” is often used to cover up valid criticisms made toward Islam as a religious belief system. Thus, the use of this term by the left should be met with a significant amount of skepticism. As with all minorities and religious groups, Islamic peoples deserve respect and dignity and the ability to practice their religion in a free society. However, that does not mean that their belief system will also be made immune from criticism or be placed on a pedestal under the guise of “political correctness”.
In order to address the subject of “Islamophobia”, we must first properly define what the term really means. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, Islamophobia is defined generally as a ‘fear, hatred, and discrimination against practitioners of Islam or the Islamic religion as a whole” (Islamophobia, 2024). We see that this definition includes both discrimination towards Islamic people as well as towards Islam as a belief system. We can also see that, based on this definition, it’s application in the latter scenario may indeed be considered problematic. Islam, as with all religions, is a cult based off of a falsification of history and a misinterpretation of reality. In that respect, it needs to be criticized and deconstructed, the same as has been done with Christianity. Several works that can be recommended to this end include Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s Infidel as well as talks and lectures provided by the late Christopher Hitchens (Hirsi Ali, 2013; Best of Hitchens. 2017). One only needs to view the practical effects of Islam in society to understand why this is so important.
Statistics show that belief in Islam is inversely correlated with liberalism as it pertains to a myriad of issues, including feminism and gay rights. Along these lines, Islamic minorities present in Western countries consistently vote very conservatively when given the opportunity. For example, polling data indicates that up to 50% of British Muslims believe that homosexuality should be illegal and around 23% wish for the complete implementation of Sharia law in Britain (Perraudin, 2016). These statistics make the allegiance of the left with Islamic extremism all the more bizarre. For the left, Islamic people are seen as a minority that needs to be protected as with any other. However, they seem to confuse those who practice Islam with Islam itself as a belief system. Beyond these statistics, Islamist based terror attacks against civilians in western countries have become increasingly common in recent years. For example, just this past month, a Taylor Swift concert was threated in Austria (Gonzalez & Hur, 2024). Another famous instance of this type of attack was the Charlie Hebdo attacks in France in 2015, where a group of Islamic terrorists infiltrated the office building of a magazine after they had published a cartoon with “offensive” depictions of the prophet Mohammed (Charlie Hebdo, 2015). The goal of these attacks is often to inspire fear and prevent western governments and news organizations from criticizing Islam or its followers. One could say that in accusing others of “Islamophobia”, the extreme left is propagating the exact same goals as these fundamentalists. Thus, leftists are ironically defending values that are in direct contrast to many of the foundational pillars of the liberal movement.
All of this is not to say that there are not still those that have an issue with Islamic people and wish to do them harm, a serious issue that also needs to be addressed. One only needs to observe the myriad of hate crimes perpetuated against Muslims in the United States as an example. For example, recently, a young Palestinian American boy was stabbed to death in a hate crime stemming from the Arab Israeli conflict (Salahieh & Rose, 2023). Obviously, these kinds of tragedies are unacceptable, and every step should be taken to prevent these types of instances from occurring. However, that does not mean that at the same time, Islam as a belief system should be made immune from criticism, much as those levied at any other religion. The issue with the post-modernist movement as it pertains to Islam is that the Islamophobic label seems to consistently be applied to protect Islam itself and not its practitioners. For example, when prominent evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins referred to Islam as “greatest force for evil in the world today”, his events were canceled at several prominent universities for being, you guessed it, “Islamophobic” (Richard Dawkins’, 2017). However, what did Dawkins really say that is so offensive and violent? Nowhere did Dawkins incite violence or hate against practitioners of Islam, he simply stated that Islam as a religious belief system is a force for evil. If someone were to take Dawkins’s words and somehow apply them to intend to inflict harm on Islamic people, that would be their own prerogative, and not anything to do with Dawkins’s original statement. This example clearly demonstrates how valid criticism of Islam quickly becomes conflated with the idea of “hate speech” in the liberal agenda.
Christianity and its adherents have also historically promoted bigoted and antiquated ideas. However, as Christianity has now become much weaker, its influence has waned. Islam, on the other hand, is a much more prominent and dangerous force in the modern era. Therefore, as an intellectually community, we should be working to combat Islam with the same commitment and ferocity. In this vein, the idea of “Islamophobia” should not be used to shield Islam from answering for its horrendous human rights track record. Hopefully, through concerted effort and dedication, some years down the line we will also be able to say that Islam’s best days are far behind us.
References
Perraudin, F. (2016, April 11). Half of all British Muslims think homosexuality should be illegal, poll finds. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/apr/11/british-muslims-strong-sense-of-belonging-poll-homosexuality-sharia-law
Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (2024a, August 8). Background and beginnings in the miocene. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/human-evolution/Background-and-beginnings-in-the-Miocene
BBC. (2015, January 14). Charlie Hebdo Attack: Three Days of Terror. BBC News. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30708237
Hirsi Ali, A. (2013). Infidel. Atria Paperback.
YouTube. (2017, June 5). Best of Hitchens on Free Speech & Islam. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NO2c6C_Bcw
BBC. (2017, July 24). Richard Dawkins’ berkeley event cancelled for “islamophobia.” BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40710165
Salahieh, N., & Rose, A. (2023a, October 18). “I am not a threat”: Hundreds gather for Vigil Mourning 6-year-old Palestinian-american boy who was stabbed to death near Chicago. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/18/us/wadea-al-fayoume-death-wednesday/index.html
Gonzalez, S., & Hur, K. (2024, August 9). Swifties find solace in song and Solidarity after terror threat leads to canceled shows in Vienna. https://www.kdrv.com/news/national/swifties-find-solace-in-song-and-solidarity-after-terror-threat-leads-to-canceled-shows-in/article_7596d3a1-5746-5d0c-a345-6dc760604b03.html
Ok I read this, I'm confused about the title.