This was just another story about just another interfaith gathering in which just another imam explains that terrorism and violence have nothing to do with Islam, and that only greasy Islamophobes think otherwise: “Faith symposium promotes peace: Religious leaders meet to discuss building bridges to understanding,” by Bryan Fitzgerald for the Times Union, January 31.
In the course of it, there is this gem:
“People picture Muslims with a Quran in one hand and a sword in the other,” Naseem Mahdi, vice president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, said.
Hmm. Now why might “people” do that? Is it the influence of venomous Orientalists, bent on defaming Islam? Or might Muslims have something to do with people getting such a picture in their minds?
Let’s look at the record. Are any of the people in the following pictures Islamophobes? Orientalists? Who in fact is responsible for non-Muslims getting the idea that the Qur’an has something to do with violence?
Oh, he said “sword,” didn’t he? Very well:
Will the Islamophobia never end?