Islamophobia, What The Hell Is That?

To start this new post, I decided to explore what ‘Islamophobia’ is all about. I embarked on finding where this term started and how it has become part of the mainstream verbiage in any discussions about Islam. I found what I believe is a solid reference. I understand Islamophobia to be a “shield” against being critical of Islam and is used to impugn anyone that dares to speak out against Islam. I will refer to the Office of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a United Nations entity originally established as the Organization of Islamic Conference in 1969 and changed to the current identifier, as previously stated, in 2011. The OIC claims it speaks for the entire Muslim world, in essence, a de facto Caliphate. Stephen Coughlin in his well-researched book, Catastrophic Failure, Blindfolding America in the Face of Jihad, 2015, page 268-269, provided an excellent analyst of the word and its origins. Coughlin explains:

“The term “Islamophobia” emerges from the chain of “phobia” that the left-leaning minority rights groups affix as clinical sounding descriptors to critics of their agenda. Islamophobia is not descriptive; however, for it is purposefully imprecise; it is used chiefly as a blunt rhetorical object, impugning the motives and mental state of those at whom it is hurled. The construction “-phobia” nearly always suggests an irrational or unfounded fear that is linked to a mental pathology. The Mayo Clinic defines it as “an overwhelming and unreasonable fear of an object or situation that poses little real danger.”

“Abdur-Rahman Muhammad, a “former radical Islamist,” said that the Brotherhood-associated International Institute for Islamic Thought (IIIT) developed the concept of Islamophobia, as it is currently used, in the 1980s to “emulate the homosexual activists who used the term ‘homophobia’ to great effect.” The group meeting at IIIT, he said, “saw ‘Islamophobia’ as a way to ‘beat up their critics’’’  The OIC has taken control of the terms usage and retains control of its application for use in hostile information campaigns. The term Islamophobia has become, in effect, a brand that is managed by the OIC. …”

There is more in the writings of Coughlin I will not go into here as it takes up precious space. However, anyone interested in this subject should review his outstanding book. The point is the idea and concept of a manufactured word to stop criticism of Islam. I believe it is failing because the word draws everyone’s attention to Islam and asks in its simplistic way, what is this fear all about. That question exposes Islam to what it is, an entity trying to dominate the entire world through force.