Islamophobia in Practice
Islamophobia is prejudice against Islam or Muslim people. The term dates back to the 1980s, but came into common usage after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. The prejudice has spread, becoming more prevalent in the United States, yet many are calling for more dialogue and focus about Islam as a religion and not the extremists that are hurting the image of the faith.
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Bus Ads in San Francisco, CAAnti-Islam ads appeared on 10 public buses in San Francisco on Monday, showing "inflammatory quotes by Islamic fundamentalists" accompanied by "an anonymous terrorist," according to Transportation Nation.
The ads are paid for by the American Freedom Defense Initiative, whose executive director, Pamela Geller, told the New York Observer in December, "I refuse to abridge my free speech so as to appease savages." The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (better known as Muni) says it cannot reject the ads, based on a September court ruling that decided New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority could not do so. (Patheos, 2011) |
Pamela Geller is an American blogger, author, political activist, and commentator. She is known primarily for her criticism of Islam and opposition to Muslim activities and causes, such as the proposed construction of an Islamic community center near the former site of the World Trace Center. She has described her blogging and campaigns in the United States as being against what she terms "creeping Sharia" in the country. She says she is against "political Islam". Her critics have described her viewpoints as Islamophobic. Geller and Robert Spencer co-founded the Freedom Defense Initiative and stop Islamization of America, and organization which is labeled as hate group by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center.
On today's edition of his Fox News show, Glenn Beck tied Islam to the Antichrist described in the New Testament. He even had a side-by-side comparison of the Antichrist and the "12th Imam" or "Mahdi" (terms Beck uses interchangeably to describe the figure many Muslims believe will guide believers in the end times) on his chalkboard.
And to help Beck discuss this connection, Beck hosted Joel Richardson, an anti-Muslim activist who says that Satan will use Islam "to fulfill the prophesies of the Bible" and has written a column headlined "What Obama and the Antichrist have in common." (shah, 2011) |
On Sunday, February 13, 2011 ICNA Relief (an American Muslim relief organization) held a dinner event in Yorba Linda, CA to raise money for women’s shelters, and to help relieve homelessness and hunger in the U.S. A few hundred protesters showed up, harassing those attending as they walked to and from the event hall. Elected officials also attended and spoke at the protest. The protest was sponsored by extremist and hate groups such as a local Tea Party group called, “We Surround Them OC 912,” Rabbi David Eliezrie of Chabad – Yorba Linda, North Orange County Conservative Coalition, ACT! For America, and Pamela Geller, among others.
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Mother of five found severely beaten in El Cajon with a note next to her saying: "go home terrorist" |
Hate Crime against Muslim women |