On Islamophobic individuals.

**MegadethFan** · Oct 06 2011, 04:24 AM

The rise of modern terrorism has seen many ignorant, fearful and downright angry people flock to the shepherds of emotional release – people who see self-aggrandizement in the pool of bewildered victims of the current and uncertain political environment establishing the war on terror.
Geert Wilders and Robert Spencer give a political and ideological embodiment respectively of this movement, which has been correctly labeled as “Islamophobic.”

In the case of Wilders, his political agenda directs his point of view. As Reza Aslan explains, 'for critics of globalization the European Union is a nightmare of unfettered capitalism, cultural dilution, and , ultimately, the loss of national identity.' The appeal of neo-facists, such as Wilders, the late Jorg Hader of Austria and Jean-Marie Le Pen in France 'derives from their ability to tap into widespread fear among many Europeans of globalization and its consequences' namely a stifling of perceived national values, cultural and ethnic homogeneity coupled with an anxiety of the future through social change.[1] Playing the role of Europe's traditional 'quintessential Other', Muslim migration to Europe of the last 50 years 'has created a situation in which Europe's identity crisis [has been] experienced almost wholly through the lens of Islam.' Islam has generally become the social scapegoat of these anti-globalization political groups; 'it seems that the Muslim has replaced the Jew as Europe's new "negative pole".'[2]
True to the form of deceitful bigotry and prejudice, in Wilders’ recent experience of being sued for his political assertions (a terrible attack on of freedom of speech might I add) Wilders celebrated his confirmed freedom of speech by continuing to call for a ban on the Quran. Another intriguing case was how Thomas von der Dunk a cultural historian and political commentator, under pressure spearheaded by Wilder’s Freedom Party, was barred from giving a lecture in honor of a Nazi-resistance hero ‘after it became known that he proposed to compare the Freedom Party's portrayal of Muslims to “the way in which Jews were smeared in the 1930s”.’[3]
His anti-Islamic platform is part of his political agenda, this much is obvious, but we must be ready to site and point it out to those who are blind to such facts lest we see an infection of discourse regarding the matter.

In the case of Robert Spender, a man who attacks others for religiously motivated manipulation of the barbaric truth of Islam as he sees it (yet has no academic credentials of his own by way of Islamic studies of any kind), his ideological and philosophical thought on modern Islamic terrorism and politics has leant a helping hand to the likes of Wilders, and individuals seeking to gain an understanding of Islam and an explanation of current socio-political tendencies it is associated with. He regularly lies to those who follow his blog,[4] whilst publishing massive lies within his literary work.[5]
As he sees it, only modern terrorists can be acknowledged as ‘true’ Muslims who, in line with Wilders’ position, must be isolated and disconnected. All this is done in an appeal to set oneself upon an imaginary stage in which we surrender our rational senses for fearful reactionism.
The likes of Spencer seem to be the biggest threat in my opinion, as they establish they rhetorical and often mindless thought process that props up the likes of Wilders. Amazingly, in the same way bin Laden refers to Coalition troops as ‘Crusaders’, Spencer has references to such thought in his own work. In place of the dedication section of his book The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam, he has ‘Deus Vult!’ written.[6] It’s a Latin phrase used by the first crusaders meaning ‘God wills it’. He makes a bizarre, ahistorical and nonsensical appeal to the idea we must engage in another crusade with modern terrorism, and Islam generally, to save ‘the West’ (incidentally this ‘West’ is where Obama is a socialist).
It is this kind of thought that displaces us from our senses and drives us into a fiery pit of hatred, ignorance and inhumanity through which modern terrorists themselves forge their world view.

Spencer is wrong, this much can be gleaned from any general reading on Islam, but we must be prepared to refute his assertions if we are also to refute bin Laden and his associates before we find ourselves perpetuating those crimes we seek to extinguish through representatives like Wilders.

--MegadethFan

References:
[1] Reza Aslan, How to Win a Cosmic War: Confronting radical religion, Arrow Books, London, 2010, p. 131.
[2] ibid., 132
[3] Timothy Garton Ash, Geert Wilders and how to handle a gold-medal hypocrite, Los Angeles Times, <http://articles.latimes.com/2011/may/12/opinion/la-oe-gartonash-wilders-20110512> 12 May, 2011.
[4] Greeneye, Spencer Distorts Egyptian Society; Spreads Interfaith Bigotry, Spencer Watch <http://spencerwatch.com/2011/01/11/spencer-distorts-egyptian-society-spreads-interfaith-bigotry/> 11 January, 2011.
[5] Danios, The Church’s Doctrine of “Perpetual Servitude” was Worse than “Dhimmitude”, Loon Watch <http://www.loonwatch.com/2009/11/the-churchs-doctrine-of-perpetual-servitude-was-worse-than-dhimmitude/> 30 November, 2009.
[6] Robert Spencer, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades), Regnery Publishing Inc, Washington D.C., 2005, p. v.

**OJLeb** · Oct 06 2011, 05:50 AM

Good post.

These are two of big players - I refer to them as the top clowns of the circus - in Islamophobia.

Wilders is an idiot and it'd be scary to think what'd happen if he ever got into power.

Spencer is simply a liar about Islam who knows nothing about Islam or the Middle East for that matter. He has no credibility to speak about Islam. Neither of them do. They just talk, don't back up their words with facts from the Quran or even Hadiths (I doubt they even know what the Hadiths is).

And can't forget Geller as well.

Islamophobia might become a fundementalist movement soon enough. These folks are breeding it, and when people get inspired by their work to go out and kill say 60-something teenagers at a camp, or publically call for the mass-murder of people they try and distance themselves and deny any link to these types (yes, it's different from a terrorist claiming he's a Jihad fighter because there are rules in Islam forbidding what they do. Spencer, Wilders, Geller and the rest of the circus are building the hatred, resentment, and violence).

And the thing with Islamophobia is it isn't exclusive to Muslims. A Christian, Jew, Hindu, even an Atheist who sticks up for Islam or says anything not bad about Islam is labelled an "enemy" as well.

**MegadethFan** · Oct 06 2011, 05:59 AM

Originally Posted by OJLeb

Good post.

These are two of big players - I refer to them as the top clowns of the circus - in Islamophobia.

Wilders is an idiot and it'd be scary to think what'd happen if he ever got into power.

Spencer is simply a liar about Islam who knows nothing about Islam or the Middle East for that matter. He has no credibility to speak about Islam. Neither of them do. They just talk, don't back up their words with facts from the Quran or even Hadiths (I doubt they even know what the Hadiths is).

And can't forget Geller as well.

Islamophobia might become a fundementalist movement soon enough. These folks are breeding it, and when people get inspired by their work to go out and kill say 60-something teenagers at a camp, or publically call for the mass-murder of people they try and distance themselves and deny any link to these types (yes, it's different from a terrorist claiming he's a Jihad fighter because there are rules in Islam forbidding what they do. Spencer, Wilders, Geller and the rest of the circus are building the hatred, resentment, and violence).

And the thing with Islamophobia is it isn't exclusive to Muslims. A Christian, Jew, Hindu, even an Atheist who sticks up for Islam or says anything not bad about Islam is labelled an "enemy" as well.

That for me, is one of the scariest things about the followers of this movement. They are so warped by their biased and partisan Islamophobic readings they start accusing everyone who opposes their position of being a closet Muslim and that every Muslim is a closet terrorist! Such tendencies are the most frightening example of how the likes of Spencer, Geller and Wilders corrode people's minds.

**OJLeb** · Oct 06 2011, 03:06 PM

Originally Posted by MegadethFan

That for me, is one of the scariest things about the followers of this movement. They are so warped by their biased and partisan Islamophobic readings they start accusing everyone who opposes their position of being a closet Muslim and that every Muslim is a closet terrorist! Such tendencies are the most frightening example of how the likes of Spencer, Geller and Wilders corrode people's minds.

It's very alarming. The paranoia and irrational thinking is going to be a danger to the world if any of these people get in any leadership position.

They are breeding hatred while claiming Islam breeds hatred. And the people that actually do take them seriously aren't smart enough to think for themselves (this is why they believe them to begin with) and some are ready to do whatever it takes to "stop" Islam from "taking over the world"....