Islamophobia? Really?

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A recurring theme for the last 9 years, but one which seems particularly prevalent now, is the worrying tide of Islamophobia that is supposedly sweeping the US. As I have found, when one examines the actual meaning of words, you discover a clever manipulation has occurred in order to bolster a narrative.

The definition of Phobia as listed by Wikipedia:

"A phobia is an irrational, intense and persistent fear. The main symptom of this disorder is the excessive and unreasonable desire to avoid the feared stimulus. When the fear is beyond one's control, and if the fear is interfering with daily life, then a diagnosis under one of the anxiety disorders can be made.[1]"

So, to accurately describe Islamophobia, we would get this:

""Islamophobia is an irrational, intense and persistent fear of Islam and/or Muslims. The main symptom of this disorder is the excessive and unreasonable desire to avoid Muslims or Islam. When the fear of Islam or Muslims is beyond one's control, and if the fear is interfering with daily life, then a diagnosis under one of the anxiety disorders can be made.[1]"

So, as defined, Islamophobia is an irrational, intense fear of Islam and Muslims.

Consider this List.

Even discounting some of the incidents cited as questionably more domestic violence related than Islamic terror AND allowing that some incidents listed are misreported, the totality of it still comes down to an inarguable fact.

There have been dozens of religiously inspired attacks by Muslims on Americans, ON American soil, over the last 3-4 decades, and they seem to be escalating. 3,000 Americans of all religions, colors and creeds have been targeted for murder by members of a self-identified group.

The only known incident of anti-Muslim violence was a Sikh man murdered by a couple of yahoos that were too stupid to know he was not a Muslim.

Even considering that the vast, VAST majority of Muslims in America do not approve, let alone participate in these violent acts, it brings into question whether Americans' fear of Muslims is irrational OR intense. If it does not qualify for either or both, it's not a phobia of any sort.

So, considering the record of attacks, and the body count resulting over just the last 10 years, and the motivating factor in all those attacks, there is nothing irrational about the fear. Irrational is defined as:

ir•ra•tion•al

   ɪˈræʃ ə nlShow Spelled[ih-rash-uh-nl]

–adjective
1.
without the faculty of reason; deprived of reason.
2.
without or deprived of normal mental clarity or sound judgment.
3.
not in accordance with reason; utterly illogical: irrational arguments.
4.
not endowed with the faculty of reason: irrational animals.

irrational (ɪˈræʃən ə l)

— adj
1. inconsistent with reason or logic; illogical; absurd
2. incapable of reasoning

Now, one can argue about the degree of threat Islam or Muslims present; what should be done about it; how much it can be attributed to the fringe as opposed to the mainstream; etc.

However, there is nothing irrational about the fear, since there is some logical basis for it when looking at the known facts and the record. Those who are "fearful" (and we'll get to that term in a second) do not utterly lack reasons for their fear, nor can their concern be labeled absurd:


ab·surd 

–adjective
1.
utterly or obviously senseless, illogical, or untrue; contrary to all reason or common sense; laughably foolish or false: an absurd explanation.

In regards to intensity, the word "fear" does not even apply, further discrediting the use of Islamophobia.

A real, intense, uncontrollable fear of Muslims would result in weekly or daily attacks on Muslims or their Mosques, attempts to ban their religion from being practiced or at the very least protests at Mosques across the nation. This has not been happening, thank God, although the media loves to dress it up as such.

No, the Ground Zero mosque controversy does not count because the concern is those building it appear to be less moderate than they portray themselves, and are doing it for political or ideological, rather than religious, reasons.

A better, much more appropriate word is not "fear" but "concern". Americans of all stripes, including other Muslims, are concerned that a militant faction of Islam, present even in the United States, is at war with us and has the blood on its hands to prove it.

Now, since the definition of "phobia" is not a "irrational, intense and persistent concern" we need to resist the liberal (pun intended) use of that word.