“Defining Islamaphobia makes it virtually impossible to avoid interpretations that encompass any criticism of Islam. A better term would be ‘anti-Muslim’, which makes clear that the view or action is against Muslims as individuals, rather than Islam as a religion. Likewise, I would be happy to use the term anti-Christian where appropriate.”
While this is true and accurate, jihadis and their allies and enablers have for years smeared foes of jihad violence and Sharia oppression of women as “anti-Muslim,” and so that term is hardly less problematic than “Islamophobia.”
“As a Christian I’m worried that Islam is above criticism,” by Tim Dieppe, Premier Christianity, November 4, 2022 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
I was pleased to see the government has finally dropped plans to adopt an official definition of Islamophobia. Communities secretary Michael Gove recently told a debate on extremism that it “would be very difficult to get a precise definition,” adding: “I think there are dangers if a university or another organisation, which should be the home of free debate, uses a definition like that to police what people can say.”
Pressure to adopt a formal definition first mounted in 2018 with the publication of a report by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) entitled Islamophobia Defined. They proposed the following definition: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.”
As I pointed out at the time, this definition is hopelessly vague and highly problematic. Islam is not a race. Criticising Islamic culture, beliefs or practices is not racism. According to this definition, saying that UK law is preferable to sharia law would be Islamophobic, since sharia law is an expression of Muslimness.
RELIGION VS RACE
The concept of Islamophobia plays into a victim mentality that society should not encourage. As a Christian, I do not want to promote the concept of ‘Christianophobia’ despite the fact that Christians are the most persecuted religious group in the world today. If we officially define Islamophobia, surely this opens the door to every other religion and minority group demanding their own corresponding definition – but is this really what we want?
Defining Islamaphobia makes it virtually impossible to avoid interpretations that encompass any criticism of Islam. A better term would be ‘anti-Muslim’, which makes clear that the view or action is against Muslims as individuals, rather than Islam as a religion. Likewise, I would be happy to use the term anti-Christian where appropriate….
