The forces of unreason descend on Ground Zero
The Daily Mail reports on ‘The moment an angry crowd protesting against Ground Zero mosque turns on man in a skullcap… because they think he is a Muslim’.
I hope Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller are suitably ashamed. The so-called ‘anti-jihad’ movement spearheaded by these two characters has spawned this kind of mindless bigotry and thuggery by continually blurring the line between ordinary Muslims and Islamists.
I am opposed to Islamism, and I am also opposed to Islam. However, I am not opposed to people having the right to practise Islam or any other religion. The hysteria against human beings who identify as Muslims increasingly seen at events organised by groups such as the worthless ‘Stop Islamization of America’ is an utter disgrace and undermines the principles that lie at the heart of the liberal, democratic West.
How can we argue against extremism, primitive modes of thought, and divisive religious ideologies when ordinary Muslims – or in this case people perceived to be Muslims – are faced with bigotry and hatred? A central problem with religion is the backward views that underly it. Yet these protesters, just like the EDL in Britain, are not defending rationalism, tolerance, and freedom from superstition. Instead, they are the very antithesis of it.
Who would I rather live around – people who believe in a made up God and pay lip service to scriptures brimming over with views which are contrary to reason and the modern world, but who are nonetheless peaceful – or people whose entire worldview is based on a caveman-like hatred of anyone different to them?
No contest.
Update – regarding Spencer and Geller:
Islamists will often say they condemn terrorism, while laying the ideological groundwork that serves to justify it. The Geller/Spencer crew can condemn this rally, but it’s the kind of atmosphere they’ve very much helped to create that is contributing to things such as this happening. And given Spencer is happy to have people like this at his events, he’s hardly a voice of reason.
Spencer stands hand in hand with Geller. They’ve just written a book together. Yet Geller promotes the EDL on her site, referring to them blandly as ‘patriotic’, as ‘peaceful lovely patriots‘, and writing glowingly of ‘their fight for England‘. ‘Any Atlas readers in or around Dudley? GO! Get thee to the EDL protest today’, she has written.
If Spencer doesn’t stir up bigotry against Muslims, why does he work with Geller? And why does he write things like this?
‘I have written on numerous occasions that there is no distinction in the American Muslim community between peaceful Muslims and jihadists’.
