Okay. I’m not sure that helps in this discussion or negates literally years of work on religion.
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You did ask, a few times. That’s just my narrow opinion based on literally years of work.
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The issue of fear of gays was literally completely rooted in ignorance. Once a person realizes that homosexuality is something that a person is born with, that gay people are not recruited, nor is it contagious, that person will have more tolerant views on homosexuality. That is how we achieved peace with that issue in my family. the more you know about the causes and results of homosexuality, the more tolerant you are likely to be.
I don’t think that strategy will work for Islam.
You don’t think islamophobia is largely based on ignorance?
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You really need to say that to a broad cross section of your fellow Americans, whatever their religion.
Also, homosexuality and Islam is not nearly as straight forward as you make it out, nor as easily singled out:
The far more controversial Massad:
And it would probably be helpful to familiarize yourself with some Foucault and his view on sexuality:
Indeed. But it’s far easier to criticize the other than to turn inward and figure out how to fix one’s own societal issues.
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Okay. Have a nice day.
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That’s an extremely broad and unsupported generalization. The reasons for tolerance of LGBT people vary from person to person and you’re missing the fact that not all Muslims feel the same way. As Dan Savage said,
[Y]ou can’t draw a clean line between the LGBT community and the Muslim community because there are LGBT Muslims in the United States and all over the world. Muslims are a part of the LGBT community, not distinct from it.
Singling out Islam is also unfair because there is still a great deal of hostility toward LGBT people in the United States that comes from Christians. Consider that before you attempt to draw a line that presumes all Muslims are hopelessly prejudiced.
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I wondered if @Israel_B’s point was, which Muslims would be in the TV show? Islam in Turkey is different from Islam in Saudi Arabia, which is different from that in Iran, which is different from that in Indonesia, etc. Would it be a show about Muslims as much as it would be a show about (for example) an Afghan family in Fremont or a Syrian family in Dearborn?
(And if that wasn’t his point, that’s what I got out of it)
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That’s kind of like asking “if we want more LGBT representation on TV then should we make a show about a gay lawyer from Manhattan or a transgendered black woman in prison or a suburban family from Southern California?”
The answer is “sure.”
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I suppose that depends on how you define Islamophobia. I go to the OED definition, which is “Hatred or fear of Islam, esp. as a political force; hostility or prejudice towards Muslims.” I personally, because of childhood trauma, suffer slightly from Arachnophobia, which OED defines very simply as “An irrational fear of spiders”. The operative difference being the word irrational.
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Staging mass protests because a Muslim organization wants to build a community center. Harassing women for wearing hijabs in public. Assuming that all Muslims are inherently more anti-gay than Christians or Jewish people. Using “Obama is a secret Muslim!” as a scare tactic for voters. You know, daily life in America.
So what’s the “rational” level of fear and hatred to have toward American Muslims, anyway?
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As far as I know, the incidence of homosexuality is more or less the same in all populations. If this is not the case, it would be interesting to know. And I am aware of the relationship between Islam and Homosexuality not being uncomplicated. The sexuality surrounding eunuchs in Islamic history is pretty interesting as well.
I really don’t know what that has to do with the very large problem of homophobia here in America.
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I think the problems would begin with “assuming all Muslims…”. I would say that incidents of harassment of Muslims in America are overstated, especially the Hijab thing.
I am not sure that any level of hatred is rational. Caution, perhaps.
If I understand correctly your point is that Islamophobia and homophobia are both irrational fears. That’s a valid point but the fact that one is a religion while the other is a biological state does not justify saying that the only way Muslims will be more tolerated is if they alter their behavior, essentially putting the burden on them to be more “Western”.
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What would be an acceptable level of harassment?
I am not sure that any level of hatred is rational. Caution, perhaps
If Americans didn’t harbor a deep-rooted fear of Muslims then “Obama is a secret Muslim!” wouldn’t even be a thing. Nobody ever launched political attacks accusing him of being a secret Catholic or a secret Buddhist or a secret Hindu.
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There you go. But it might bear consideration to ask why such anxiety exists. if someone were a secret Buddhist, they might engage in secret meditation, or quiet pondering of unknowable questions. A secret Hindu might make secret sacrifices to the Monkey God. Unusual but nonthreatening behavior.
As for harassment, I don’t think any is acceptable. But there are always going to be some incidents, in such a large and diverse place. While not excusing any of them, it is possible to see the difference between extremely rare, isolated incidents, and huge systemic problems. For instance, every time there is an incidence of Islamic terrorism, there is much fretful worry about the massive tide of Islamophobia that is about to spring up. But it does not seem to be happening. Almost everyone is just trying to get along. The vast majority of reported anti-Islamic hate crimes seem to be hoaxes or misunderstandings.
I think the “secret Muslim” thing was largely a substitute for “he’s black/mixed race” but we can’t say that in public. Obama is far more Christian than Trump, as is Hillary, but only Obama gets called a secret Muslim.
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And what might a secret Muslim do? (Keeping in mind that we’re having a discussion about battling unfair and inaccurate stereotypes about American Muslims.)
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Just clarifying: does this mean “Islamophobia” is the hatred or fear of Islam when Islam is a political force, or the politically motivated hatred or fear of Islam?
That is, what’s the “political” part of that definition: the hatred/fear or Islam?
