I'm linking to two posts at other blogs on the general subject of 'fear of the other'.
There is something that is very easy and very wrong about scapegoatting those who are different from us. Richard's post about the deported Ghanaian woman who is terminally ill is making me sick to my stomach at the moment. Writing to our MPs seems an excellent suggestion.
Richard Hall's post on: Deporting the Dying
Doorman-Priest's post on: A Little Matter of Islamophobia
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- PamBG
- I am Pam Berardinelli Garrud (PamBG), a 54 year old wife, daughter and beloved child of God. Ordained as a minister (pastor) in the Methodist Church of Great Britain, in 2009 I re-immigrated back to Northeast Ohio with my London-born husband after 20 years residence in the UK. I am seeking to serve God by loving God and my neighbor in the ministry of hospital chaplaincy. Prior to becoming a minister, I worked in the pensions industry. The views expressed in this Blog are purely my own and do not represent the official views of any denomination, group or organization.
5 comments:
Pam, I'm agreement with your conclusion that the woman dying shouldn't be deported. I do believe illegal immigrants should be deported but compassion for the physically hurting should be considered.
On Islamophobia. I think a majority of people understand that Islamofascism is not indicative of a majority of Muslims but is only indicative of a super minority within Islam. At the same time we mustn't deny that there are people who are a very, very small minority who happen to be terrorists who desire an Islamic Fascist state aka Al Quada, Hezbollah, Hamas, etc. These groups are minority groups within Islam and must be looked at as such. However, I agree we mustn't be afraid of Muslims or propagate wrong thought patterns to the whol. At the same time we must not deny the true and ever present danger of terrorism. dh
I think a majority of people understand that Islamofascism is not indicative of a majority of Muslims
'The majority' are often silent.
There are people and newspapers in this country speading the idea that all Muslims are dangerous. If my Muslim neighbours are living peacfully then I think Christianity demands that I stand up for them.
Pam, thanks for the link and thanks for pointing me in the direction of other good blogs.
I don't think that people are perpetrating that all Muslims are dangerous. They are just pointing out that there is a legitamate concern for the minority that is doing terrorism. We still can't deny that there is growing terrorism in the world and this terrorism must be fought.
I believe the majority of people who use the term "Islamophobia" are people who don't recognize the true and present danger of terrorism. We must be balanced about this issue and recognize that a super minority are terrorists but that terrorism destroys hundreds of thousands of lives around the world particularly post 9/11. I believe there is a responsibility for all people including Muslims to condemn terrorism in all of its forms. For me I see the Muslim response to terrorism in the same way as the Western worlds response to Hitler. If people would have been hardnosed then like they need to be now maybe there can be a reduction. We all have a responsibility to fight these terrible acts and I'm glad Kuwait, Iraqi government, Jordanisn gov't, etc. are doing the grand fight but these fights must be public and there must be a solidarity in resolutin against terrorism. We mustn't have our heads in the sand on terrorism and we mustn't deny that there are Islamofascists however small in number they are and that small number is murdering hundreds of thousands of people over time.
I'll restate what I said previously.
"I agree we mustn't be afraid of Muslims or propagate wrong thought patterns to the whole. At the same time we must not deny the true and ever present danger of terrorism." dh
DH, as usual I suspect that we're talking about quite different things.
You seem to be talking about the West arming itself against terrorism (ironic, possibly, that we created these terrorists by arming them to fight the Soviets).
I'm talking about the Muslim people who live in my community who are law-abiding people. I'm talking about the British national rag-press that wants to stir up hatred against them.
You can't be an authority on British social life because you don't live here.
I'll repeat what I said before: that if my Muslim neighbours are law-abiding citizens that it's my Christian duty to speak out against this kind of prejudice.
I believe the majority of people who use the term "Islamophobia" are people who don't recognize the true and present danger of terrorism.
And I believe that people who see Muslims as a terrorist threat are people who don't personally know Muslims.
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