The campaign against Islam in the West is on the increase. Western newspapers have run recently headlines such as “American male and female announcers attack Islam saying people in the Muslim world teach their children to kill the kafirs.” Right wing extreme parties in Europe who are hostile to Muslim immigrants call their feelings Islamophobia. A Russian TV described the Arabs as fascist savages killing innocent people in the name of Allah expecting Paradise. The Worldnet Daily suggested the wiping out of Makkah from the face of earth and melting the black stone to stop the Muslim terrorists.
Well-known writers have exploited their fame to spread hatred against Muslims and Islam. Italian writer Oriana Fallaci recently published a book which spews venom against Muslims. The book was sold in millions.
She says in the book, “All Arabs and Muslims are extremists. They are all, without exception like Osama Bin Ladin. A war should be declared against them. They all should, without exception, be treated alike as they are all extremists, murderers, backward, illiterate...” She criticized the Holy Qur’an saying that “experts on Islam admire the Qur’an and claim that Islam is a religion of peace, love and justice. Even poor George Bush repeated these three words to win the support of 2.4 million voters of Arab and Muslim origin. But I ask you in the name of logic if Qur’an promotes justice, love and peace then how can we explain the principle of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth in Qur’an? Or the polygamy and women being treated no better than chattels, not allowed to go to school or to go out?”
The writer also calls the Westerners to wake up and fight the Muslims who, she says, are waging a religious war to kill the Westerners. She also wants Westerners not to respect the Muslim culture.
The American writer Thomas Freidman, who has admirers even in the Arab world, advances the theory that the roots of terrorism is not in the Muslim individuals but in their religion and culture. The incitement for attacks such as the Sept.11 are found in the speeches delivered at mosques and taught at religious schools throughout the Muslim world. There lies the main threat to the security of the US and the world as a whole, says Freidman. The danger is not in the rogue states such as Saddam’s as feared by the US.
It is a very serious charge to allege that the harm is done by Islam and its culture. The solution for the issue, according to these writers is to destroy the Islamic culture by tarnishing its image and frightening the people away from it.
Such blatant campaign against Islam calls for immediate action. We should face the challenge. Silence and inaction on our part will only double the attempts of the enemies.
The Western intellectuals themselves are aware of the wave of hatred against Muslims. Being aware of the dangers involved in the phenomenon called anti-Islamism and Islamophobia, fair-minded European intellectuals have founded an organization called the European Watch House for Observing Racism and Hostility to Foreigners. According to a report of the organization, the attacks against the Muslims have increased in European countries except Portugal, Luxembourg and Finland notably after the Sept.11. Every symbol of Islam has become an object of ridicule in the West, the report observed.
The present situation demands the founding of a media organization to observe and document all reports coming in the media the world over against Islam. This organization should also study and analyze the contents and motivations for articles against Islam. The organization should counter such campaigns in an effective manner.
