Posted Jun 14, 2017 by Michael L. Brown

There is a debate concerning the origins of the term “Islamophobia” (should it be traced back to the 1970’s or 1990’s?). And there is a debate concerning the usage of the term (is it “Islamophobic” to be afraid of radical Islam?). But a Christian colleague of mine who is an expert in Islam made a suggestion to me. He believes that it is Allah himself who is the author of Islamophobia, and he finds support for this in the pages of the Quran.

He bases this concept on a well-known verse which states, “When your Lord revealed to the angels: I am with you, therefore make firm those who believe. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them” (8:12, my emphasis).

So, the source of the terror is twofold. First, Allah himself will strike terror into the hearts of the unbelievers. Second, Muslims are to smite their enemies in specific ways, beheading them and chopping off their fingertips.

Other passages, call for barbaric punishments, including: “The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His messenger and strive to make mischief in the land is only this, that they should be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides or they should be imprisoned; this shall be as a disgrace for them in this world, and in the hereafter they shall have a grievous chastisement” (5:33).

I’m aware, of course, that there is debate among Muslim scholars as to the application of verses like this. Did they apply only to wars in which Mohammed was fighting? Do they apply in an ongoing way in times of martial conflict? Or do they apply more universally in Islam’s war against the unbelieving world?

For the moment, we can leave that debate aside and simply affirm this: The prescribed punishments were intended to strike fear into the hearts of the enemies of Islam. And to this day, when those punishments are carried out, be it legitimately or not, they are meant to instill fear. This is done in harmony with Allah, who promised to cast terror into the hearts of the non-believers.

In that sense, Islamophobia is something authored by Allah and produced by his devoted followers. In that sense, Islamophobia is a desired Islamic result.

Again, I understand that many Muslims will protest this line of thinking, claiming that Islam is peaceful and peace-loving and that the West has an irrational fear of Islam. I’m somewhat sympathetic to this argument, and it grieves me that peace-loving Muslims will be negatively judged by the actions of their violent co-religionists.

But what else should we think when Pakistan sentences a man to death for speaking against Islam on Facebook? Or when ISIS throws homosexuals off buildings and Iran hangs them from the gallows? Or when, “Nearly all Muslims in Afghanistan (99%) and most in Iraq (91%) and Pakistan (84%) support sharia law as official law”? Aren’t the public punishments prescribed by sharia law meant to instill fear?

A colleague of mine who lived in Saudi Arabia for several years told me about the routine on Friday afternoons (Friday is the Muslim Sabbath). The community would be rounded up to go to the local square (called Chop Square) to watch beheadings and amputations. The message was loud and clear: We want you to see this and we want you to be afraid.

Every time ISIS puts out a new video demonstrating its demonic brutality, the intent is to instill fear in the hearts of those outside of their group, be they non-Muslims or other Muslims. And every time a radical Muslim commits an act of terror, the intent is to strike terror into the hearts of “unbelievers.”

Could it be, then, that Allah really is the author of Islamophobia? Conversely, could it be that we should have a healthy fear of Islam – not a fear of peace-loving Muslims but of Islam in its most original form? And could it be that, when radical Muslims say to us, “We will kill you if you call us terrorists!” that Islamophobia is not so unhealthy after all?

Judge for yourself.

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Comments

truthforce posted a comment · Jun 15, 2017
Dr. Brown, you are constantly coming against the evils of islam, please, take the plank out of your eye first. Regarding scripture, how about your bible, in the JEWISH OT:Do this to Arabs- 1 Samuel 15:1-3 ESV and Samuel said to Saul, "The LORD sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the LORD. (2) Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. (3) Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.'"Here, it says that God creates deceivers, he perverts counsellors, fools judges, ruins princes and destroys mighty men, silences the trustworthy, makes senile the elderly, what a great religion you have (I am not muslim)OLD TESTAMENT- Job 12:16-21 KJV With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his. (17) He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools. (18) He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle. (19) He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty. (20) He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged. (21) He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty. Now regarding shariah law. I am sure that you are aware that our nation has the highest incarceration rate, the Christian nation. Double the average rate of the rest of the world. You see a tiny percentage of cops murdering blacks. All you are shown is the likes of Rodney King and MIchael Brown (not you, of course).Hundreds more are killed, and the "punishment" for the men in blue is invariably "administrative leave with pay"==vacation. Once in a while they are demoted, but never go to prison. Many times the victim had nothing at all of anything close to an appearance of having a weapon, and the vast majority of the time the police blatantly and obviously deceive. If the blacks get angry and riot, "oh heaven forbid, they are such evil brutes" Whites always criticize them for destroying property, so valuable to whites, the black life lost is dwarfed by the damage. Let us see you replace the mothers child who was lost. Dr. Brown, I bring fresh perspectives, please dont erase them, I welcome debate if anyone opposes me, as I dont equate disagreement with hate. I do hate evil, but not ignorance. IF you, or anyone else objects, speak up, and let us hear your mind.
truthforce posted a comment · Jun 15, 2017
Dr. Brown, you are constantly coming against the evils of islam, please, take the plank out of your eye first. Regarding scripture, how about your bible, in the JEWISH OT:Do this to Arabs- 1 Samuel 15:1-3 ESV and Samuel said to Saul, "The LORD sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the LORD. (2) Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. (3) Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.'"Here, it says that God creates deceivers, he perverts counsellors, fools judges, ruins princes and destroys mighty men, silences the trustworthy, makes senile the elderly, what a great religion you have (I am not muslim)OLD TESTAMENT- Job 12:16-21 KJV With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his. (17) He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools. (18) He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle. (19) He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty. (20) He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged. (21) He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty. Now regarding shariah law. I am sure that you are aware that our nation has the highest incarceration rate, the Christian nation. Double the average rate of the rest of the world. You see a tiny percentage of cops murdering blacks. All you are shown is the likes of Rodney King and MIchael Brown (not you, of course).Hundreds more are killed, and the "punishment" for the men in blue is invariably "administrative leave with pay"==vacation. Once in a while they are demoted, but never go to prison. Many times the victim had nothing at all of anything close to an appearance of having a weapon, and the vast majority of the time the police blatantly and obviously deceive. If the blacks get angry and riot, "oh heaven forbid, they are such evil brutes" Whites always criticize them for destroying property, so valuable to whites, the black life lost is dwarfed by the damage. Let us see you replace the mothers child who was lost. Dr. Brown, I bring fresh perspectives, please dont erase them, I welcome debate if anyone opposes me, as I dont equate disagreement with hate. I do hate evil, but not ignorance. IF you, or anyone else objects, speak up, and let us hear your mind.