The Gender of Islam

For the last fourteen centuries Islam has been one of the world's greatest religions. Born in the sands of Arabia Islam spread throughout the globe and in the Third millennium Muslims live in almost every country on Earth. Some would argue that Islam is not only a religion, but also political ideology, but they would be wrong. Islam is a religion, a relationship between a person and God. Islamism (or political Islam) is an ideology based on Islam. Islamism is what radical Muslims (or Islamic fundamentalists, or Muslim extremists, or Islamofascists, or whatever else you want to call them) preach to wage Gihad for world domination. Moderate Muslims, unlike their radical co-religionists do not believe in Islamic supremacy and global caliphate.

Islamophobia prejudice against anything Islamic. If somebody hates Muslims or Islam, he/she is an Islamophobe. If somebody hates Muslim radicals or Islamism, he/she is not. Blanket degrading of anything Islamic is Islamophobia. Rational criticism of Islam or Muslims is not.

So, up until just a few years ago Islam was just that: a religion. But since the last decade of the Second millennium Western Muslim establishment (which is overwhelmingly Islamists) together with the media (which is overwhelmingly ignorant about Islam, a very dangerous combination, have been trying to convince everyone that Islamophobia is racism, thereby crating a new race: Islam. Do not believe your own eyes. White Muslims, and black Muslims, and Asian Muslims they are all a part of Islamic race and criticizing them makes you a racist, so you'd better shut up. Nobody wants to be called a racist, therefore piggybacking on the legacy of the Civil rights Movement was a stroke of genius. Screaming "Racism!" is guaranteed to attract attention. The rationale behind "Islamophobia = racism" is simple. If you are not allowed to criticize Islamists, they can do whatever they want. Islamic terrorism? Doesn’t exist! Yes, there are some instances of terrorism perpetrated by Muslims, but that has nothing to do with Islam and to say otherwise is racist. Radical Imams preaching hatred of Christians and Jews in American mosques? Never happens! Muslim "leaders" whitewashing terrorism? How dare you, you racist scum!

Did 9/11 change anything? Not much. It took a long time for the American President to use words "Islamic" and "terrorism" in the same sentence. In the meantime, radical Muslim organizations like CAIR, ISNA, MAS, etc., insinuated themselves deep into highest levels of the American government, because denying anything to them is manifestation of racism.

So, up until a few days ago, Islam was both a religion and a race. Enter the great country of Belarus. A former Soviet republic run by a communist dictator and a clique of KGB thugs recently arrested an editor of an independent newspaper for reprinting 2005 Danish cartoons of Prophet Muhammad. He is jailed for three years for "incitement of religious and national hatred". The notion that printing some silly cartoons of a religious figure would incite religious hatred is a stretch. But national hatred? Unless, of course, on top of being a religion and a race, Islam is also a nationality.

Well, thanks to fascist KGB thugs from Belarus, now it is official. Islam is a religion, a race, and a nationality. But why stop there? On the next plenary session of Muslims Against Sharia the first item on the agenda will be: "The Gender of Islam." And why not? There are Muslims of every race, yet criticizing Islam is racism. There are Muslims of almost every nationality, yet depicting Prophet Muhammad is inciting national hatred. I'm pretty sure that there are Muslims of both genders; why not equate criticizing Islam or depicting the Prophet with sexism? So, don't even think about criticizing us, you misogynistic pigs!

L.A.