"ISLAMOFASCISTS" JUST A NEW PEJORATIVE -- AND A REPUBLICAN TACTIC

Sparse posting lately. I've got major simultaneous projects at work that are keeping me busy.

I've been dismayed to hear the pResident and his fellow Republicans ramping up the rhetoric against Muslims, condemning an entire religion, practiced by a fifth of the world's population (1.3 billion people) and growing, by linking it with fascism and thereby the despicable Nazis.

Once again, the Rethugs are beating the drum of fear and hatred with an eye to winning elections. Right-wing wackos are suggesting, as I heard on Darrell Ankarlo's show this morning, that we should round up all U.S. Muslims in a manner similar to the Japanese American internment during World War II. The sentiment was, "If Muslims don't stop the terrorists in their midst, they're complicit in their acts."

Where was a similar outrage against Christians when Eric Rudolph, the Lord's Resistance Army, and other "Christian" terrorists. And weren't the German Nazis "Christian"? Certainly they claimed to be! Thank God there wasn't a global condemnation of our faith and isolation of the faithful as a result of any of these bizarro defilers of our sacred scriptures and the teachings of our Lord.

I can't help but think of the really, really nice and helpful Muslims at the 7-11, the taxi drivers I encounter, the guys who cut my lawn, all of whom go to great pains to tell me how much they love, appreciate and revere America and the ideals we represent(ed). Some of them are Arab, some are immigrants from India, some from African countries. I had a couple of really great discussions with them during the presidential election of 2004. One Afghani cab driver told me he was conflicted because his wife was for Kerry but his daughters were firmly in the Bush camp because Dubya trumpeted the advances for women his invasion of Afghanistan (supposedly) accomplished. I also had really good discussions with the guys at the 7-11 (I wore a Kerry button all through the campaign season) who expressed their love of our nation and their dismay at being lumped with terrorists of whom who they didn't at all approve or support.

I think the majority of Americans are finally tired of being encouraged to demonize whole categories of people because of certain terrorist elements who have in common with them a religion, an economic category or a nationality, whether African-Americans, Latinos (especially immigrants, or illegal immigrants), or the new "evils," Muslims. When I was a teenager, there were many incidents of terrorism by anglo Europeans, particularly Germans (like the Baider-Meinhof gang) who were aligned with Palestinian terrorists. Where was THEIR religious ideology? They were "Christians" who sympathized with the "plight" of the Palestinians. We (and the world) survived their attacks -- foiled by intelligence and law enforcement.
Tags: Islamofascists, Bush administration, Muslims