You may recall that Madam Savante is the wise, elderly lady, who owns the shop where I regularly buy my newspapers. You may remember that she likes to compare the world of politics and the world of the press to the world of fashion. I was glad to see her back after her recovery from the bronchitis that had almost killed her. I missed her friendliness, her enlightened comments and her sense of humor.

While I was in her shop the other day, a cheerful old man walked in, greeted her with the words, “Bonjour Madame. My wife Veronique would like information on the latest fashion for this season” to which she promptly replied, “Tell her it is Islam and Muslims. Lebanon is gradually going out of fashion, Afghanistan is out, and Palestine and Iraq are classics. Palestine has been ‘a la mode’ for sixty years and Iraq for more than three. Unfortunately both these fashions are terribly expensive and extremely uncomfortable. Their designers are facing harsh criticism from customers that used to dote on them. Efforts to please and to silence the critics have all failed. There are rumors that two of the most revered houses of fashion are on the verge of bankruptcy and might be forced to seek help from the less person designers, whom they have often criticized and to whom they regularly attach unflattering labels.

“Tell Veronique that if she wants to be fashionable, she should attack Islam, criticize Muslims, quote out of context verses from the Muslim Holy Book and distort their meanings, lampoon the Prophet of Islam and ridicule Muslim traditions and Muslim teachings. Veronique’s friends may wish to follow the new fashion too, since it is affordable and far less costly than Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon and Afghanistan. One does not need to have much money or to spill much blood to enjoy it. All one needs is a sharp tongue and a pen that flows with blasphemous words. It is absolute fun. It allows one to practice racism at will and to insult, harass, marginalize, provoke and discriminate against Muslims to one’s heart’s content. “

I could not have agreed with the dear lady more. With her witty reply, she hit the nail on the head. Truly and sadly, attacking Islam and Muslims is “a la mode”.

Madam Savante knew about my cultural and religious background. She turned to me and said, “Mon amie, tell us the truth. Has not life changed for you and for Muslims in the West Since September 11, 2001 and the rise of Islamophobia? You have been living in Europe for many years. Have you experienced any unpleasant incident and have you and your Muslim friends been in situations where you felt racially discriminated against or racially profiled?”

Indeed I have, and so have many of my Muslim friends, but I was reluctant to answer her questions. I hate to wear my heart on my sleeve. Moreover I was also careful not to criticize the attitude of a few Western dignitaries toward Islam and Muslims lest I should upset Madam Savante or hurt the feelings of her customer. I only said that I wished the world would realize that an observant person’s religion is as integral a part of himself as his genetic make-up and expressed deep regret that many Westerners know little about my faith and my culture. I said how I wished all efforts were devoted to the elimination of cultural ignorance, instead of promoting fear of Islam and hatred of Muslims. I then collected my papers, took leave of Madam Savante and her customer and walked away.

The questions, which I did not answer in the morning, haunted me the whole evening. I could not help thinking how much life has changed for me and for all Muslims in Europe and elsewhere in the world. I missed and mourned the mutual trust and respect that existed between Muslims and Christians before the appearance of the mad theory of the “clash of civilizations”. I thought how ridiculous it was that some people attack Islam, provoke Muslims and then raise their eyebrows in wonder as to why Muslims are angry, why a few young Muslim men in the West are radicalized and politicized and why “Westernized” young Muslim women whose mothers go bareheaded are suddenly, defiantly, opting for the full veil (the niqab) that leaves only a slit for the eyes to see through.

I regretted that many Westerners fail to understand that Muslims do not hate Westerners or Western values and wish to change the Western way of life. They only abhor and resent the Western policies that promote injustice, discrimination, alienation, and segregations and set the stage for ethnic cleansing, sectarian divisions, bloody violence and deadly conflicts in the Muslim world.

I wondered why a few Western politicians like to deny that the never-ending tale of pain, woe, suffering of the Palestinian people, the thousands of innocent Muslim prisoners placed behind bars, the death of almost 65,0000 Iraqi civilians since March 2003 and the unknown number of deaths among civilians in Afghanistan are the main sources of terrorism.

I wondered at the strong Christian contingent in the West, particularly in the USA, that believes the war between Israel and its Arab neighbors can only be understood in the context of religious hatred and end-time biblical prophecy.

I regretted the faux pas made by great religious leaders, the provocative utterances of a few well placed figures and the weakness that afflicts organizations that were created in the last century to promote peace, justice and international understanding in the world and to shield us from the woes of war. I remembered how often I had noticed that most promoters of hatred, suspicions and hostility between Christians and Muslims and most builders of a wall between the Muslim world and the West are neither Christians nor Muslims.

I felt that an evil force was out there stirring trouble, unleashing hatred, creating rifts among friends and potential friends and promoting animosity between Muslims and Christians in order to set the stage for a clash of civilizations.

I remembered how often I had ridiculed friends who believed in conspiracies, and how recent world events have led me to suspect that Muslims, Christians and Jews are victims of a conspiracy hatched and implemented by devils that hate all humanity.

Yes, attack Islam and provoke Muslims if you want to be fashionable!!!