Ethics & Religion
January 28, 2016
Column #1,796
Islamophobia Rising in America
By Mike McManus
Islamophobia is reaching alarming levels in the United States. There
have been 80 attacks on mosques in the past year, according to the
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Two were firebombed in
California and fire damaged a future mosque in Daytona Beach. Other
mosques had a pig's head left at the door or were defaced.
"There has been a tremendous rise in bullying. More than half of Muslim
students in one study reported faith-based bullying," said Ibrahim
Hooper of CAIR. "The level of fear and apprehension is worse than I have
ever seen it in my 30 years here."
"Trump has been the main factor putting anti-Muslim hate into the
mainstream in a form that it is pseudo-patriotic to express hostility
toward Muslims and it is really a frightening phenomenon," he added.
He says Muslims are seriously asking, "Will we be kicked out of the
country if Trump gets in."
President Obama referred to this rising hostility toward Muslims in his
final State of the Union: "When politicians insult Muslims, whether
abroad or our fellow citizens, when a mosque is vandalized or a kid is
called names, that doesn't make us safer," he asserted. "That's not
telling it like it is. It's just wrong. It diminishes us in the eyes of
the world. It makes It harder to achieve our goals. It betrays who we
are as a country."
The Arab American News thanked Obama for his "strongly worded defense of
the Muslim community against bigotry...His words come at a critical time
for our nation and community. Muslim and Arab Americans have become
proverbial punching bags for right wing politicians who want to appeal
to their fanatically xenophobic base."
However, the newspaper's editorial reminded the President that "actions
matter more than words... Obama failed to reform the ridiculous No-Fly
list which robs - mostly Muslim-Americans of the freedom to enjoy air
travel."
That is another form of Islamophobia.
After the Paris and San Bernardino killings by Muslims, American fear of
Muslim extremism is rising and is understandable. The FBI says it is
monitoring the activities of 500 militant Muslims who are in every
state.
I welcome that. And I disagree with this criticism by the Arab American
News: "Spying on Muslim communities under dubious programs such as
Countering Violent Extremism, actually became more prominent during
Obama's tenure."
We need to uncover plots by Muslim extremists to kill Americans.
The Islamic State, or ISIS, is persecuting and killing Christians who
won't convert to Islam. More than 125,000 Christians - men, women and
children - have been forced from their homes in such cities as Mosul
where Christians have lived for 2,000 years in one of the world's oldest
Christian communities.
Some of those ISIS killers are Americans who were attracted by the
militant sect. There is a legitimate fear that some of those killers
will come home to follow the San Bernardino massacre model - or that of
the Boston Marathon.
However, tiny numbers of America's 2.75 million Muslims are attracted by
terrorism. The FBI is doing a good job protecting us. Can you think of
any recent Muslim-sparked violence in America other than San Bernardino
and Boston?
On the other hand, can you think of a single Catholic or Methodist
bishop or a state Baptist president who has denounced the Islamophobia
that is popping up in every state? I cannot.
What fueling this rising hostility toward American Muslims is Donald
Trump's call for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the
United States."
His Republican opponents denounced his proposal. New Jersey Gov. Chris
Christi charged, "This is the kind of thing that people say when they
have no experience and don't know what they are talking about...We need
to cooperate with peaceful Muslims who want to give intelligence against
those who are radicalized."
Jeb Bush called him "unhinged." Ohio Gov. John Kasich said, "This is
just more of the outrageous divisiveness that characterizes his every
breath and another reason why he is entirely unsuited to lead the United
States."
During the Democratic Town Hall debate Monday night, a Muslim American
Air Force veteran asked if the United States is the best place to raise
her children, given the reality of increased Islamophobia in the
country.
Hillary Clinton replied, "I found it particularly harmful the way he has
talked about Muslims - American Muslims...It is not only shameful and
contrary to our values to say that people of a certain religion should
not come to this country; I think it is dangerous."
One more reason Republicans should nominate someone else.
Copyright (c) Michael J. McManus,
a syndicated columnist and past president of Marriage Savers.
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