With America being categorized into two key categories, namely the Left (Progressives) and the Right (Conservatives), the diversity of politics is minimal on the outside looking in. However, on the inside, there are centrists, moderates, and other people in between these two categories. There are also outliers, those who fit outside these categories.
Each group has its own hypocrisy, in fact, too many double standards to count. However, there is one hypocritical view I must bring up. Most people, especially those among the Progressives, claim to be anti-racists and diverse. In their battle to stay diverse, the most progressive groups, filled with members of the LGBTQIA community have sided with, you’ve guessed it, Muslims.
While there is nothing wrong with having a friend who is Muslim, the issue with Muslims comes from Islam. While the good news is that most Muslims practice a made up, cherry-picked customized version of Islam that they created, others do not.
This becomes a major issue for the Progressives who befriend Muslims. For one, most Progressives won’t attempt to condemn Islam but will condemn Christianity, or compare conservatives or Christians to the KKK or Nazis. Have they forgotten that both the Nazis and Muslims targeted Jews? Or the fact that Islam teaches Jewish hatred as sunnah.
Progressives may declare the ideologies of Hitler and the KKK as hate speech and ideas that should be considered invalid. To a large extent, most people agree with this. No one civilized or eductated should have the idea that Africans or Asians or whomever else are lesser than Europeans. To say such a thing would be both discrimination and wrong. To say those things would also be inaccurate. God created all men equal. And yet, Progressives hold to the idea that Christianity is inherently racist, sexist/misogynistic, and ideologically incompatible with modern views.
At the same time, Progressives defend Islam because they feel that Muslims are wrongfully persecuted. While I’m certain that Muslims may be sterotyped and wrongly accused simply because they call themselves Muslims and adhere to a form of Islamic culture and religious ideas, most Muslims in the West and perhaps parts of Asia, are not politically Islamic, only religiously Islamic. So while Progressives with good intentions want to stand up for a Muslim being harrassed, as anyone should do if it is right, the failure to stand up for a Muslim as a human, and instead stand up for their religion as well, does an injustice to those who have been persecuted by Muslims due to Islam. It does injustice to the Christians and atheists in Islamic countries who are harassed, killed, imprisoned, etc. Standing up for Islam supports the idea that Christians and Jews are apes and pigs, that is, that they are animals, subhumans compared to Muslims (this is sunnah, possibly regarding the Jews and Christians that disbelieved after learning about Islam).
5:60
Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “Shall I inform you of those who deserve a worse punishment from Allah ˹than the rebellious˺? It is those who earned Allah’s condemnation and displeasure—some being reduced to apes and pigs and worshippers of false gods. These are far worse in rank and farther astray from the Right Way.”
— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran
If we must prevent Nazis and KKK members from spreading evil ideas, should we not prevent Muslims who go around spreading evil ideas as well? Same with Christians or Jews, or anyone who spreads evil ideas. But here’s the thing, Islam, the actual Islam, not some Westernized watered down version, or some Asian watered down version, is dangerous. What Muhammad taught, based on his actions, the actions of his companions, and the actions as told throughout history, paint a picture of a violent ideology with peaceful actions throughout as well. The same cannot be said about other religions. If we view Nazis and KKK members in a negative aspect, why can we not view Muslims in a negative aspect? While we do judge people based off of their actions, people within societies that have a negative view should be viewed with suspicion, and not with open arms. We may see a Nazi and automatically assume they are bad, but perhaps they helped Jews. Just as a KKK member may have been taught as a child to hate blacks. The same with Muslims. Perhaps the Muslim you see is not wishing death and hell to unbelievers.. We should hear people out and give them a chance without accepting their views and hope to help them change.
I, for one, have no issue speaking with people who are Muslim, conversing with them, eating and drinking with them. They are not my problem. And usually, their ideas are watered down to the point that even their thoughts are not much of a problem. But I’ve met the taliban and ISIS-like mentality too. Those versions, political Islam, are as dangerous as the KKK and Nazis. That is fundamental Islam. That is the original, orthodox Islam. And while Muslims can argue over schools of thoughts all they want, we can look at the schools, the teachings, the history, the Sira, and the Quran to have a painted picture. I promise you, it’s not a pleasant image once you get past the lies and deception that not only comes from misled Muslims trying hard to protect their Arab colonized history, but also from Muslims who are afraid of opening up to the world and casting aside fear.