I'm almost too disgusted to say anything. But therein lies the point. It needs to be said. Hypothetically speaking, how seriously do you think most people would take a chain letter or article or news segment about the evils of Christianity? Even if they cited a million examples of the horrible things people have done in the name of Christ (and frankly, a million is a drastic understatement in that regard), most people would smirk and shake their heads at the crazy nutjob extremists who expect us to believe that an entire people could be evil just by nature of believing a certain religion. Doesn't that sound like something the Nazis would do?
If such a letter or article were released, the backlash would be swift and it would be harsh. This holds true for practically any religion, except one. One people are exempt from being dealt with with courtesy and understanding: Muslims. Condemning Islam has become a national pastime in this country (and in several others in the Western world). People cite a number of absurd reasons for this distinct prejudice: the oppression of women and gays, the "violent" nature of the Muslim people, the overwhelming number of terrorists who kill in the name of Allah. Today I was sent a chain letter with the urgent message to "spread the word!" The entire thing was comprised of fanatical ignorance and astounding overstatement. One point in particular nearly made me lose my breakfast: "In the Muslim faith a Muslim man can marry a child as young as 1 year old and have sexual intimacy with this child." Really? Could that sentence contain any more paranoid delusion?
You may say "well of course that sounds crazy, but that's just the wacko fringe." Except it's not. It would be one thing if this sort of behavior were shunned or condemned by the general public, but instead it's encouraged. All you have to do is look back at recent events to see that Islamophobia isn't a concoction of the liberal agenda, but rather an established American institution. That is the frightening part. There will always be crazies with wild eyes who accost you on the street to tell you that judgement is at hand, but it becomes a serious problem when those madmen are the ones running the country, the media, the hospitals and schools.
If such a letter or article were released, the backlash would be swift and it would be harsh. This holds true for practically any religion, except one. One people are exempt from being dealt with with courtesy and understanding: Muslims. Condemning Islam has become a national pastime in this country (and in several others in the Western world). People cite a number of absurd reasons for this distinct prejudice: the oppression of women and gays, the "violent" nature of the Muslim people, the overwhelming number of terrorists who kill in the name of Allah. Today I was sent a chain letter with the urgent message to "spread the word!" The entire thing was comprised of fanatical ignorance and astounding overstatement. One point in particular nearly made me lose my breakfast: "In the Muslim faith a Muslim man can marry a child as young as 1 year old and have sexual intimacy with this child." Really? Could that sentence contain any more paranoid delusion?
You may say "well of course that sounds crazy, but that's just the wacko fringe." Except it's not. It would be one thing if this sort of behavior were shunned or condemned by the general public, but instead it's encouraged. All you have to do is look back at recent events to see that Islamophobia isn't a concoction of the liberal agenda, but rather an established American institution. That is the frightening part. There will always be crazies with wild eyes who accost you on the street to tell you that judgement is at hand, but it becomes a serious problem when those madmen are the ones running the country, the media, the hospitals and schools.
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