by Jane Bate and Bryan Hermansdorfer, ©2022
(Jan. 14, 2022) — [Editor’s Note: Read previous installments in this series here.]
Given Congress’s current attempts to criminalize Islamophobia, we will take a brief detour to discuss Ilhan Omar’s H.R. 5665 – Combating International Islamophobia Act, passed by the House along party lines. The corresponding Senate bill, S. 3384, has not yet been voted upon.
There are serious problems with this bill, not the least of which is the fact that the term “Islamophobia” was invented by the Muslim Brotherhood to create/enhance Muslims’ status as “victims.” Add to that that a phobia is an irrational fear of something, and considering the beheadings, amputations, etc. called for by Islamic law, any rational person should be fearful of Islam.
Another quarrel with this bill is that it seeks protection only for Islam, allowing the possibility of slandering all other world religions without redress. Of course, this is just as “the religion of peace” says it should be; “Islam is the final [only accepted] religion that Allah will never abrogate until the last day.” (ROTT w4.5). We have merely to look at the Muslim attacks against Christians in Nigeria, for example, to understand how reprehensible this new bill is!
And, importantly, according to the 2019 FBI statistics on religious hate crimes, 60.3% were anti-Jewish, while only 13.3% were anti-Muslim! What?!!!
Additionally, why is the U.S. State Department policing the entire world to ensure that we all obey the tenets of Islam, which are antithetical to our own Constitutional values of freedom of religion, speech and more?
Lastly, this bill is not an isolated attempt by the U.S. to give sway to Islamic law. Previous efforts include 2011’s UNHCR Res. 16/18 (modeled on Pakistani blasphemy laws and championed by Hillary Clinton) and 2015’s H. Res. 569: “Condemning Violence, Bigotry, and Hateful Rhetoric Towards Muslims in the United States.” Our Senate must vote overwhelmingly for freedom!