Countering Islamophobic Statements About Islam

With the recent terror attacks in Paris, some who taken issue with Islam have used this incident in attempts to blame the entire faith (and all of its adherents) for the actions of a few.

Sadly, this form of negative statements and in cases Islamophobia do nothing but perpetuate fear, all the while ignoring the data about Muslims and terrorism around the world.

Here are just one example, where Rupert Murdoch made with regards to Islam and Muslims following the terror attacks in Paris. 

Rupert Murdoch posted quite troubling comments on his twitter account, such as “Maybe most Muslims peaceful, but until they recognize and destroy their growing jihadist cancer they must be held responsible.” He went on to say that “Big jihadist danger looming everywhere from Philippines to Africa to Europe to US. Political correctness makes for denial and hypocrisy.

Thankfully, there have been many important statements and counter-actions against the statements of these few who blame Islam and Muslims for the actions of the terrorists. 

For example, comedian Aziz Ansari challenged these statements through comedic satire, suggesting in turn that Rupert Murdoch is to blame for all human rights abuses committed by Christians. He even initiated a hashtag “#RubertsFault” that leads to his point.

Others such as J.K. Rowling also tweeted statements in response to what Murdoch wrote, saying in a tweet that “I was born Christian. If that makes Rupert Murdoch my responsibility, I’ll auto-excommunicate.” She also went on to tweet that “The Spanish Inquisition was my fault, as is all Christian fundamentalist violence. Oh, and Jim Bakker.”

Rowling also cited a study that points out that Al Qaeda attacked have killed Muslims eight times more than individuals who were not Muslim. In fact, there have been numerous cases of Muslims being targeted, whether in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, etc… These terror groups target Muslims and non-Muslims who do not share their ideology.

But what the Islamophobes also fail to point out is that Ahmed Merabet, the security guard killed responding to the terror attacks was Muslim. His brother Malek Merabet spoke about Ahmed, the love of Islam, and that his brother was killed by what he called “false Muslims” (for the full text of the eulogy, see here).

But in the discussion about the attacks, and Islamophobic statements, there are also others who continue to ask where the Muslim community is in the response against these killers. Professor Reza Aslan, speaking on Meet the Press, responded to the idea of why we are not hearing Muslim voices, said that this person “doesn’t own Google,” essentially saying that numerous denunciations of these actions have been made by Muslims.

It is critical to continue to not only condemn terror attacks, but to point out that the vast majority of Muslims in the world do not carry out violence, and condemn such attacks. Thus, to make general statements about an entire community, as well as statements that suggest responsibility for actions an entire groups did not carry out, is problematic, and instills unnecessary fear. It is great to see people speaking against such comments.