The Rise of the New, Liberal Islamophobia
by Sonali Kolhatkar
"The recent television kerfuffle involving Real Time host Bill Maher and guest Sam Harris over whether Muslims are bad people because their religion is, in the words of Harris, the mother lode of bad ideas, is symbolic of the new American Islamophobia.
Muslim-bashing has become a popular sport several times over the last decade and a half, most notably in the months after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks; after the election of Barack Obama; over the proposal for the so-called Ground Zero mosque; and now with the rise of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. But this time, its not just members of the extreme right, such as Rep. Michele Bachmann and presidential wannabe Herman Cain, equating Islam with terrorism.
Maher, one of the bastions of liberal ideology, is the source of the latest strain of anti-Muslim racism, along with his cohort Harris, a neuroscientist and author whose bigotry was superbly exposed by Chris Hedges in his 2008 book, I Dont Believe in Atheists.
Historian and academic Reza Aslans brilliant response to Maher on CNN laid bare Mahers poor logic in equating the actions of extremists with nearly a quarter of the worlds population who identify as Muslim. But Mahers sentiments arent just dissonant with reality; they lend a liberal veneer to Islamophobia, which in turn casts as increasingly legitimate the ongoing government targeting and public venom aimed at American Muslims.
I have never liked Maher. His comedy has generally catered to a white middle-class male audience that has attempted to reconcile ideals of equality and freedom with moral superiority and American exceptionalism. In that sense he perfectly reflects the hawkish desires of the Democratic Party, which sees war as a just cause in the face of fundamentalismnever mind that U.S. policies have often laid the groundwork for said fundamentalism to flourish in places such as Afghanistan, Iraq and now Syria."
<SNIP>
I happen to agree with Sonali both in her regards for Maher and her stance on the issue at hand.
DesertFlower
(11,649 posts)i'm an atheist, but i think he pushes it too much.
same with muslims. IMO most muslims are peace loving people. you can't judge them by the fundamentalists.
i think the media who loves sensationalism should go out to mosques and interview muslims and find out who they really are.
merrily
(45,251 posts)I am not sure whom, other than the right, the continual conflation of those terms serves.
BlueMTexpat
(15,344 posts)IMO, his "liberal" ideas are more often than not opportunism.
His Islamophobia is blatant bigotry and should be seen as nothing less.
Yes, there are Islamic fanatics, just as there are fanatics in every other religion. But no fanatics represent the overwhelming majority. Ever.
I myself have never been able to get past his friendship with one of the most poisonous individuals ever: Ann Coulter. I also believe that he "outs" himself in this statement:
http://www.theblaze.com/blog/2013/11/22/bill-maher-on-his-history-with-ann-coulter/
Saying "the liberals" ... really??
adirondacker
(2,921 posts)show up on the surface from time to time.
muriel_volestrangler
(101,082 posts)adirondacker
(2,921 posts)"It is a cynical ploy designed to distract us from inequities and drum up support for an endless war."
Nice summation.