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John Esposito: “Nothing negative” about “good fact-based criticism of the Islamic religion”

Apr 12, 2014 1:52 pm By Robert Spencer

Esposito CAIRFresh from addressing the Annual Awards Banquet of the Oklahoma chapter of the Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations, Saudi-funded academic John Esposito makes some Pinocchio-like claims in an interview with NewsOK: “‘Islamophobia’ as I define it is not about people who have a kind of good fact-based criticism of the Islamic religion. There’s nothing negative about that. People are entitled to those types of criticisms. ‘Islamophobia’ is when you have an unfounded irrational fear that tends then to lead to bias, discrimination, hate speech and hate crimes.”

This is, quite simply, a false claim. There is no one who opposes jihad terror who is acceptable to John Esposito and his allies. The reporter, of course, doesn’t press him on this, and that’s a shame. It would have been very interesting to have seen Esposito’s answer if she had asked him to give an example of a “good fact-based criticism of the Islamic religion.” I doubt he would have been able to, if he had answered honestly, as he and his ilk smear any and all critics.

Esposito’s claim is an increasingly common one among Islamic supremacists and their enablers. Apparently they’re trying to provide cover for the fact that they actually target and try to destroy every critic of jihad terror. A report on Islamophobia in the U.S. that CAIR produced in conjunction with the Center for Race & Gender at the University of California, Berkeley in 2011 stated:

“It is not appropriate to label all, or even the majority of those, who question Islam and Muslims as Islamophobes. Equally, it is not Islamophobic to denounce crimes committed by individual Muslims or those claiming Islam as a motivation for their actions. ‘A critical study of Islam or Muslims is not Islamophobic,’ former CAIR Research Director Mohamed Nimer wrote in 2007. ‘Likewise, a disapproving analysis of American history and government is not anti-American… One can disagree with Islam or with what some Muslims do without having to be hateful.’”

Here again, these were empty words. Neither this report nor Esposito offered any examples of what it would consider to be acceptable and legitimate criticism of Islam and jihad, and neither have ever done so anywhere else. Nor has any other Leftist or Muslim group. In reality, anyone and everyone who dares to oppose jihad and Islamic supremacism will become a target for a smear campaign. The real agenda of Islamic supremacist groups in the United States and their faithful servants like John Esposito is clearly not to distinguish legitimate resistance to jihad from bigotry and hatred, but to stigmatize all resistance to jihad as bigotry and hatred. This will clear away all obstacles to the advance of that jihad.

“Q&A with Islamic studies scholar John L. Esposito,” by Carla Hinton for NewsOK, April 12:

Q: What do you think about anti-Muslim attitudes in some communities across the country?

A: “Islamophobia“ as I define it is not about people who have a kind of good fact-based criticism of the Islamic religion. There’s nothing negative about that. People are entitled to those types of criticisms. “Islamophobia“ is when you have an unfounded irrational fear that tends then to lead to bias, discrimination, hate speech and hate crimes. It’s an unfounded fear. What do I mean by that? … It means certainly one should be afraid of Muslim extremism. Most Muslims are afraid of Muslim extremism. The primary victims of Muslim extremists are people who live in the Muslim world in terms of numbers of people. That’s legitimate fear. It’s when you wind up brushstroking a religion and the vast majority of its followers and impose upon them a collective guilt for acts committed by extremists who may have grown up in a Muslim community but who, as I like to put it, “hijack their religion.” And we don’t do that with our other mainstream religions. We recognize that religion has its transcendence and its dark side. All religions have people who abuse and engage in violence.

Q: How do people combat “Islamophobia“?

A: First of all you don’t make the victims primarily responsible. For example, one of the great lines that people would give me, particularly for the first eight years after 9/11, people said Muslims don’t speak out against this (Muslim extremists). I have seen websites speaking out against this but you couldn’t get it into major media. More importantly, not every time there is an attack one should be expecting Muslims to jump out front of it, although they do it. Yes communities have to lift themselves up and fight for themselves, but it takes other communities to weigh in, other communities that represent the establishment or that were the groups that were discriminated against (at another time).

John Esposito is the director of Georgetown University’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (ACMCU), a professor of religion and international affairs, and one of the most prominent scholars of Islam and the Middle East in the nation. He has called Muslim Brotherhood Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who advocates jihad-martyrdom suicide bombings and has praised Hitler’s genocide of the Jews, a champion of a “reformist interpretation of Islam and its relationship to democracy, pluralism and human rights.” Esposito has called the Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) “phenomenal organization” and has spoken at CAIR fundraisers in order, he explained, to “show solidarity not only with the Holy Land Fund [that is, the Holy Land Foundation], but also with CAIR.”

The Holy Land Foundation was shut down and prosecuted for funneling money to the jihad terror group Hamas, which once boasted on its website about its murders of civilians in pizza parlors and on buses; the Justice Department named CAIR an unindicted co-conspirator in the case. Esposito himself refuses to condemn Hamas, as the Investigative Project notes: “In a 2000 interview in The United Association for Studies and Research”s (UASR) Middle East Affairs Journal, Esposito refused to condemn Hamas, which at the time was already designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the U.S. State Department.”

Esposito has also co-edited a book, Islam and Secularism in the Middle East, with Azzam Tamimi. Palestinian political scientist Muhammad Muslih calls Tamimi “a Hamas member.” Tamimi has said: “I admire the Taliban; they are courageous,” and “I support Hamas.” When University of South Florida computer science professor Sami al-Arian was accused of involvement with the leadership of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which has claimed responsibility for the murders of several civilians, he became a cause célèbre, with his defenders ascribing his prosecution to “Islamophobia.” Esposito rushed to his defense, avowing: “Sami Al-Arian’s a very good friend of mine.” In 2008, Esposito advocated for al-Arian’s release, saying:

Sami Al-Arian is a proud, dedicated and committed American as well as a proud and committed Palestinian. He is an extraordinarily bright, articulate scholar and intellectual-activist, a man of conscience with a strong commitment to peace and social justice.

Al-Arian later pled guilty to “conspiring to provide services to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a specially designated terrorist organization, in violation of U.S. law.” Al-Arian also, according to Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA), has “longstanding connections to associates of al Qaeda.” Wolf quotes a federal affidavit noting that “Sheik Rahman (the ‘Blind Sheik’) visited Al-Arian at his residence in Tampa and spoke at his mosque. Rahman is currently serving a life sentence in U.S. prison for his role in the 1993 World Trade Center attack and additional terror plots.”

Also associated with the Blind Sheik is the man Esposito calls “my old friend Siraj”: the popular Muslim speaker Siraj Wahhaj. Wahhaj was designated a “potential unindicted co-conspirator” in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing for taking the Blind Sheik to speak at mosques in New York and New Jersey in the early 1990s. Wahhaj has warned that the United States will fall unless it “accepts the Islamic agenda.” He has also asserted that “if only Muslims were clever politically, they could take over the United States and replace its constitutional government with a caliphate.”

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Filed Under: "Islamophobia", free speech, Useful idiots Tagged With: featured


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Comments

  1. richard Sherman says

    Apr 12, 2014 at 2:03 pm

    Esposito is al Qaeda’s “gift” to America…

    • mortimer says

      Apr 12, 2014 at 10:59 pm

      Silence is tantamount to being an accomplice to crime.

      When has Esposito criticized Islam? Does that mean Esposito believes Islam is perfect? Has Esposito ever said jihad is a violation of human rights?

  2. mickey says

    Apr 12, 2014 at 2:06 pm

    Esposito would then be a truthophobic….

  3. john spielman says

    Apr 12, 2014 at 2:14 pm

    John Esposito has “nothing negative about good fact based criticism of Islam|” GOOD, because the fact is: Mohammed was a demon possessed mass murderer thief liar misogynist and pedophile pervert, and Islam is a doctrine of Satan!

  4. Abdulazeez Aliyu says

    Apr 12, 2014 at 2:44 pm

    Ya Allah, grant the Munafiquns and the Kafirs An-nur, light to guidance and grant us your mercy on the day of judgement for we cannot put an end to the false accusations made of our beloved prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

    • Jay Boo says

      Apr 12, 2014 at 6:21 pm

      Why must Muslims wish each other peace?
      Because they are well aware of the violence inherent in followers of Islam.
      If Saudi Arabia allowed its citizens to own guns they would all be dead.

      Why do Muslims shout God is greatest?
      Because they are full of doubts of Allah’s true intentions for peace.

      • apostate says

        Apr 13, 2014 at 5:59 am

        they don’t shout “god is greatest” J B,they shout “allah is greatest”.

        • Jay Boo says

          Apr 13, 2014 at 2:25 pm

          True
          My attempt to translate misses the true connotation that Muslim’s use for their evil.

    • john spielman says

      Apr 12, 2014 at 9:19 pm

      Dear Aliyu”: if you read the Bible you would find out that your Allah ‘s behavior is consistent with Satan’s and yes, Jesus really is the ONLY SON OF GOD!

    • mortimer says

      Apr 12, 2014 at 9:38 pm

      Abdulazeez,
      One who claims to be a messenger of God must live a saintly life. He must not be given to lust, he must not be a sexual pervert, and he must not be a rapist, a highwayman, a war criminal, a mass murderer or an assassin. One who claims to be a messenger of God must have a superior character. He must stand above the vices of the people of his time. Yet Muhammad’s life is that of a gangster godfather, an enslaver, a thief, a genocidal ethnic cleanser, a pedophile, a narcissist, an intolerant bigot. Anyone who admires such a person will become like him. If Mohammed lived today, he would be brought before the World Criminal Court for crimes against humanity and would not be allowed to enter any civilized country. The amoral character of Mohammed is the greatest liability of Islam and proof of its falsity.

      • mortimer says

        Apr 12, 2014 at 9:43 pm

        All the accusations come from your hadiths, Sira and tafsirs. You should acquaint yourself with the source texts. You need to learn more about this death cult.

    • Will Doohan says

      Apr 13, 2014 at 1:43 am

      The Light of Reason is the only light we need. Your non-existent God and Phony Prophet’s ‘revelations’ mean nothing to us. We are capable of thinking on our own and don’t need any Imams, Clerics, Sheiks, or Ayatollahs to do our thinking for us

    • Audu says

      Apr 13, 2014 at 11:09 am

      False accusations? Amazing!

  5. pdxnag says

    Apr 12, 2014 at 3:04 pm

    When anyone is charged with the crime of Islamophobia and they deny it they are then implicitly directed to saying that they like Islam and Islam is good (or else). You must neither admit nor deny. Don’t play that game.

    Islamophobia is a proxy for a charge of the crime of blasphemy, punishable by death under the Sharia. It is a threat of death, once Islam/Sharia becomes the official law of the land. Or enforced sooner by any pious Muslim who feels the urge to immediately enforce the Sharia. It would be fully compliant with Sharia the very instant an Islamic authority itself issues a charge of Islamophobia against any individual. Thus, those who wield the term must be treated as terrorists and any groups that wield the term must be viewed as terrorist groups – and expelled.

    • mortimer says

      Apr 12, 2014 at 9:45 pm

      Correct. Islamophobia is a crime of blasphemy, punishable by death and any Muslim may execute the sentence with zero punishment under Sharia law.

    • Defcon 4 says

      Apr 13, 2014 at 2:44 am

      @pdxnag

      “Islamophobia is a proxy for a charge of the crime of blasphemy…”

      You’ve nailed this is the end game for the islam0nazis, they want to
      normalize the concept of islamophobia so when they introduce legislation
      to outlaw criticism of pisslam it’ll appear to be palatable to the sheeple.

  6. Champ ✿ says

    Apr 12, 2014 at 3:48 pm

    John Esposito is a traitor to America and a very *useful idiot* for the enemy: islam and company.

    • mortimer says

      Apr 12, 2014 at 9:42 pm

      He is on a leash held by his Saudi masters.

      • umbra says

        Apr 13, 2014 at 3:44 am

        john “thirty silver pieces” esposito.

  7. george whyte says

    Apr 12, 2014 at 3:54 pm

    West Midlands Police “donate £5,000 to Birmingham Central Mosque”
    Posted by 5Pillarz
    The Turkish news agency Andelou Agency is reporting that West Midlands Police’s counter-terrorism unit has donated £5,000 to Birmingham Central Mosque to buy 50 transmitters to broadcast the call to prayer, sermons and question-and-answer sessions to people at home or work.

    The decision, according to the unit’s Chief Inspector Dale Randle, was made as part of the UK government’s controversial program for tackling violent extremism, Prevent, which was launched after the 7/7 bomb attacks in London.

    Though Prevent has been seen as a method for spying on communities, Randle says it is actually a way of building engagement within them – which is why he agreed to fund the transmitters when asked by the mosque.

    “In return we are given a little bit of air time, previously we’ve worked with radio stations and purchased airtime and advertising time, and this is a little bit similar,” said Randle. “We can work with the mosque and do some Q&A sessions and talk through some of what we do, and hopefully break down any barriers.”

    Muhammad Ali, the mosque administrator, said it has a good relationship with the police. “There are many organizations involved and we have many sponsors, the police is just one of them.”

    “We have not told our congregation yet,” admitted Ali.

    When told about the program, several mosque attendees told Andelou Agency that they were shocked. One of them, Faisal, said: “It’s a concern to me, why are the police involved in the first place?”

    Randall said that suspicion is why his counter-terrorism unit invested in the transmitters.

    “If we can help explain why we do things, as best as we can, it sometimes helps communities understand what we do,” he said.

    One of the issues they want to talk about is humanitarian aid trips to Syria, after the government revealed its concerns about UK nationals fighting in Syria’s civil war.

    “It gives us a good space to talk around Syria, which is a real issue at the moment. Which is certainly having an impact on the local community, regionally and nationally,” said Randall.

    Many Birmingham Muslims feel that the police is spying on them. These fears were heightened after it was revealed a few years ago that the police was putting surveillance cameras in Muslim areas of Birmingham which were financed from a counter-terrorism fund.

    Sources
    Andelou Agency

  8. raylanfear says

    Apr 12, 2014 at 4:07 pm

    Violence is inherent in Islam–its a destructive nihilistic cult of death, it legitimizes murder. Quote from Ayaan Hirsi Ali, former Muslim, who now stands up for women’s rights everywhere.http://wp.me/p2GpDB-cF

  9. Bezelel says

    Apr 12, 2014 at 4:29 pm

    ” All religions have people who abuse and engage in violence.”
    Except islam is the only one that sanctions that behavior as a for of worship.
    Doctrine of devils.

    • Bezelel says

      Apr 12, 2014 at 4:30 pm

      spell check—- Form of worship

  10. Boston Tea Party says

    Apr 12, 2014 at 4:53 pm

    I think most of us here are familiar with what criticism of Islam is allowable by the mainstream, and what is not. Some minor criticism may be allowed as long as it NEVER leads to the idea that Islam is UNIQUELY repressive and violent. That is the thoughtcrime which cannot be uttered under any circumstances, and to do so unequivocally makes you an Islamophobe.

    That’s why there is SOME tolerance of atheists like Dawkins, who think ALL religions are bad—-or one can do what Esposito does, to say “all religions have their extremists”. But the facts must NEVER, EVER be allowed to lead to the conclusion that Islam is worse for a society than another religion. That’s what can’t be tolerated.

    • Wellington says

      Apr 12, 2014 at 5:22 pm

      Very well stated, BTP.

    • kikorikid says

      Apr 13, 2014 at 3:41 pm

      Good point. It is exactly the stepoff point of
      “Shariah Compliance Enforcement” as is
      being done in UK,France, etc.
      BUT, you were overly generous is your description
      of their tolerance. NOTHING may be said about
      Islam that may not be considered “Blaspheme”.
      NOTHING.
      They demand silence and promise violence if
      you do not comply. Their,MB, goal is to eliminate
      the U.S. Constitution/Bill of Rights and replace
      them with Shariah Law. We would then be
      given “Dhimmi” status and forced to pay “Jizya”,
      a tax on non-muslims so that Muslims will
      “Tolerate” our presence”. It really is “Strong-Arm
      extortion” approved under their Law.
      They will kill you if you do not comply so
      it is best to shoot them, on their demands.

  11. Wellington says

    Apr 12, 2014 at 4:53 pm

    Frankly, all those (like Esposito) who give any credence to the word “Islamophobia” are simply not to be taken seriously. This is a made-up word to silence virtually any criticism of Islam and one knows this or should know it.

    Truly, I know of no exceptions here. Has anyone ever heard a person describe someone else as an “Islamophobe” and the user of that word is deserving of respect and credibility when speaking about Islam (or of a great deal else as well)?

    • Sweetness says

      Apr 12, 2014 at 5:30 pm

      Excellent advice

  12. mortimer says

    Apr 12, 2014 at 9:41 pm

    Let Esposito name ONE scholar or critic of Islam he considers to give a fair criticism of Islam.

    I imagine he will not be able to respond to my challenge.

    ONLY ONE, Prof. Esposito. Only ONE example, please.

    • kikorikid says

      Apr 13, 2014 at 3:46 pm

      He will give you ONE example the day I
      can get that flock of flying pigs to come near
      my blind. Sure can’t find fault in your trying!

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