Over at PamelaGeller.com, I discuss yet another sly exercise in Islamic proselytizing slipped into a forum that would have no space for a similar presentation from any other religious group:
Teen Vogue is just that: a magazine for teenage girls. Articles featured on its front page today include “Justin Bieber and Sam Smith Are Already Listening to Tori Kelly’s New Album, and You Should Be, Too”; “The 35 Coolest Back-to-School Backpacks”; “7 Desserts That Require No Baking At All”; “The Complete Guide to Washing Your Makeup Brushes — Yes, You Need To”; and the immortal “I Understand My Period, But What’s Coming Out Of Me The Other Three Weeks of the Month?” In that company, “10 Misconceptions About Islam That Muslim Americans Are Tired of Hearing” stands out like Hillary Clinton at a Tea Party meeting, and manifests the indefatigable determination of Muslims to proselytize anywhere and everywhere they can, as well as the naive multiculturalism of Leftist publishers and editors who give them a platform to speak positively about their religion that they would never offer to Jews or Christians or any other religious group.
This piece, like so many others of its kind, packages its proselytizing in the guise of clearing up “misconceptions” that people supposedly have about Islam, and follows the pattern of other articles like it in presenting some “misconceptions” that no one really holds and are entirely innocuous anyway amidst others that are more or less straight proselytizing and outright deception designed to keep Americans — even those far more concerned about Kendall Jenner and Katy Perry than about Mohammad Abdulazeez and Usaama Rahim — ignorant and complacent about the jihad threat.
And it starts, unsurprisingly, with a highly questionable anecdote that situates Muslims firmly as victims, and smears opponents of jihad terror as bigots:
“10 Misconceptions About Islam That Muslim Americans Are Tired of Hearing,” by Hishaam Siddiqi, Teen Vogue, July 6, 2015:
“Can you grab that bottle of Sriracha on the top shelf?” my mother asked, as we made our way down the “ethnic” aisle at our local grocery store. It was around 5:30pm, my father was almost home from work, and my mother and I were out getting last minute ingredients for dinner. As we waited in the checkout line, waiting to pay for our goods, I hear a voice behind me, “You here to steal something?”
I turn around to find a tall man, broad shoulders, a baseball cap pulled low over his forehead, looking straight at my mother. I stand there bewildered, wondering if this was an acquaintance of hers trying to be funny or make some sort of weird joke.
“Are you here to blow something up? Why are you wearing that?” he barks again, referring to my mother’s hijab and abaya. At this point, everyone within earshot tenses up and I find myself flooding with both embarrassment and panic. What was this guy trying to get at? We were just at the grocery store trying to get home on time, and this man, who we had never seen before, was going out of his way to harass my mother.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t an isolated incident. My mother, petite as she may be, has no problem holding her own and isn’t new to being singled out and hassled for her choice of Islamic clothing. She clearly and eloquently explained her religious garb to the man, told him to not yell at her, and swiftly sent him on his way.
Note the semaphores: “the ‘ethnic’ aisle at our local grocery store” — America is intrinsically racist, “otherizing” racial and religious minorities in innumerable ways large and small, even to the point of labeling an aisle containing food that Muslims eat the “ethnic” aisle, as if it is not quite American. “Baseball cap pulled low over his forehead” — a racist, redneck yahoo. “A tall man, broad shoulders…My mother, petite as she may be” — Muslims are weak, small, endangered victims of monstrous, hulking bullies. “Are you here to blow something up? Why are you wearing that?” — only idiots who do things like berate strangers in supermarkets are concerned about Islamic terrorism. “Unfortunately, this wasn’t an isolated incident. My mother, petite as she may be, has no problem holding her own and isn’t new to being singled out and hassled for her choice of Islamic clothing.” — Muslims are routinely subjected to this kind of treatment, you see. And while there may indeed exist baseball cap-wearing louts who bark at petite hijabis in the ethnic aisle, although I highly doubt it, the claim that this anecdote represents a general tendency is belied by FBI hate crime statistics that show that anti-Jewish hate crimes are over four times more common than anti-Muslim hate crimes — but you don’t see Jews whining in Teen Vogue about creeps who yelled at them in a supermarket.
Growing up, I’ve had plenty of these experiences. Whether it was strange looks at my mother or jokes about my Arabic name, life as a Muslim in post 9/11 America isn’t the cutest feeling. The constant villainization of Muslims in mainstream media makes it difficult to do even simple things such as buy groceries or get through airport security without crude jokes or dangerous assumptions, and with the murder of three innocent Muslim kids in Chapel Hill this past year, it’s clear that stereotyping can lead to even fatal consequences.
“The constant villainization of Muslims in mainstream media”? What? Where? When? Has Siddiqi never heard of Christiane Amanpour or Niraj Warikoo or Lisa Wangsness or Manya Brachear or a thousand other mainstream media “journalists” who do their utmost to whitewash Islamic jihad terror and to “villainize” those who oppose it? Is there even a single instance of this “villainization” to which she could honestly point? The mainstream media goes out of its way to distance Islam and jihad from terrorism, and seizes upon every possible opportunity to present Muslims and Islam in a positive light. This claim that Muslims are “villainized” in the media is designed to inhibit even further any honest reporting about jihad terror activity.
There is actually no evidence whatsoever that the murder of the Muslims in Chapel Hill was motivated by hatred of Muslims. The fact that Hishaam Siddiqi (along with many other Muslim writers these days) refers to it reveals how rarely Muslims are really victimized: instead of being able to point to an actual murder inspired by anti-Muslim hatred, they keep having to point to this one, in which the victims happened to be Muslim but their religion had nothing to do with why they were murdered. This is because there aren’t any murders inspired by anti-Muslim hatred.
Fortunately we live in the age of technology and open information—we don’t always have to be victims of ignorance and perpetuate harmful stereotypes. Misconceptions can be overcome with a simple but powerful thing, knowledge: here are ten common misconceptions about Islam and Muslims to help you break the cycle.
No one wants to be ignorant and hateful, or to be thought of as such. In this connection, remember the supermarket racist’s question: “Are you here to blow something up?” To be concerned about Muslims because of jihad terrorism, you see, is ignorant and hateful. And now Hishaam Siddiqi helpfully provides the antidote.
1. Muslim women have no rights
This is definitely a hot-topic and complicated issue but one of my favorite misconceptions to tackle. It’s important to realize the difference between cultural influences and religious policy. Many countries across the world, including Muslim countries, have patriarchal cultures (cultures in which men are automatically assumed to lead), which are often socially constructed and influenced by the traditions, gender roles, and practices of that culture. Islam as a religion, however, preaches equality of the sexes. There are many Muslim women who have made great accomplishments in the fields of science, entertainment, academia, art, and politics—just this year, Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, a professor of biology, became president of Muslim majority African country Mauritius!
It’s a common Islamic apologist’s claim that the mistreatment of women in Muslim countries is due to culture, not Islam, but this is absurd on its face. Islam is an all-encompassing system, covering every aspect of life. Does Hishaam Siddiqi expect us to believe that in countries where it has been firmly entrenched for nearly 1,400 years, it hasn’t had any effect on the culture? On the contrary: in such countries, Islam is the culture. And while the claim that “Muslim women have no rights” is an overstated straw man, the mistreatment of women in Islamic countries is firmly rooted in Islam. The Qur’an likens a woman to a field (tilth), to be used by a man as he wills: “Your women are a tilth for you (to cultivate) so go to your tilth as ye will” (2:223). It declares that a woman’s testimony is worth half that of a man: “Get two witnesses, out of your own men, and if there are not two men, then a man and two women, such as ye choose, for witnesses, so that if one of them errs, the other can remind her” (2:282). It allows men to marry up to four wives, and have sex with slave girls also: “If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, marry women of your choice, two or three or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one, or (a captive) that your right hands possess, that will be more suitable, to prevent you from doing injustice” (4:3). It rules that a son’s inheritance should be twice the size of that of a daughter: “Allah (thus) directs you as regards your children’s (inheritance): to the male, a portion equal to that of two females” (4:11). Worst of all, the Qur’an tells husbands to beat their disobedient wives: “Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women). So good women are the obedient, guarding in secret that which Allah hath guarded. As for those from whom ye fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to beds apart, and scourge them” (4:34). It allows for marriage to pre-pubescent girls, stipulating that Islamic divorce procedures “shall apply to those who have not yet menstruated” (65:4).
2. Muslims worship a different God
A lot of people think Allah is a specific Islamic deity, but really it just means ‘god’ in Arabic. Christian Arabs even use the word Allah when referring or praying to God. And since Islam is an Abrahamic religion, Muslims believe Allah is the same God who Jesus, Moses, and other biblical prophets all prayed to.
This is a proselytizing point, based on the Qur’an (29:46, which says that Muslims worship the same deity as that of Jews and Christians). It is designed simply to mitigate the strangeness of Islam that many feel, arising from the huge amount of violence done in its name and in accord with its teachings.
3. Islam doesn’t mix with other religions Again, it’s important to make the distinction between the behavior of various cultures and politics of countries compared to actual religious theology. Islam is an Abrahamic religion, which is in the same family of religions as Judaism and Christianity. All three of the religions share many similarities, including important religious figures, historical events, and spiritual beliefs. In fact, Muslims are religiously required to believe in Jesus as a divine prophet. There have been numerous periods of history throughout the Middle East where Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived together for centuries.
…as long as the Jews and Christians knew their place, and paid the jizya, a Qur’an-specified poll tax, “with willing submission,” and felt themselves “subdued” (Qur’an 9:29). If, on the other hand, Jews and Christians refused to be subservient, they were massacred — as in the murder of 4,000 Jews in Granada in 1066, following the appointment of a Jewish vizier over the city, which Muslims believed violated the Qur’anic imperative that Jews must be subjugated.
4. Muslims must engage in Jihad, also known as holy-war
This misconception was a huge buzzword right after 9/11 and still does come up every now and then. A lot of people misconstrue Jihad to be a religious agenda to wage war, and is often cited as the reasoning for much of fringe Islamic extremism. However, Jihad doesn’t necessarily mean holy-war, it means to simply struggle for God—an overwhelming majority of Muslims are nonviolent and unfairly lumped with Islamic extremists. Jihad, as most Muslims see it, can include anything from wearing a head scarf to school even though you get teased for it to setting aside allowance money to donate. While fighting for your religious beliefs can be a form of jihad, the term itself refers to any sort of struggle to do good.
This explanation doesn’t even attempt to claim that jihad warfare is not jihad. It just posits that there are other forms of jihad as well. So what? If they don’t compel jihad warriors to stop killing Infidels, they are of no interest to Infidels.
5. Sharia Law is taking over the United States
I always roll my eyes at this one. Sharia law is the theory of Islamic law, derived from centuries old religious and historical texts, which outlines things such as how to settle finances after divorce, the legality of adoption, social etiquette, economics, and other spiritual topics. Almost every time I’ve heard the word Sharia Law on the news, it’s been fear mongering that’s had little to nothing to do with the actual body of laws. There’s no broad Islamic drive to push religious laws onto other political systems.
The Muslim Brotherhood “must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and “sabotaging” its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God’s religion is made victorious over all other religions.” — “An Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Brotherhood in North America,” by Mohamed Akram, May 19, 1991.
6. All Muslims are Arabs
Couldn’t be further from the truth! Out of the 1.6 billion Muslims living worldwide, over 60% of them are from South and South East Asia, with Indonesia being the most populous Muslim country, followed by Pakistan. In the United States, the largest Muslim demographic is African-American followed by South Asian. Not all Arabs are Muslims either—many Arab countries have very large and historic Christian and Jewish populations.
This one is completely unimportant, and probably only included to reinforce the contention that only racist, ignorant yahoos care about jihad terror.
7. Muslim women are forced to cover up
Although Islamic teachings do require women to dress modestly, how a woman chooses to cover herself and to what degree is under her autonomy. The different ways Muslim women cover varies both religiously (from simple headscarves to full robes) and also culturally, with each region having it’s on take on modest clothing. Unfortunately, many patriarchal societies exploit this and force women to cover in order to systematically subjugate them.
How a woman chooses to cover herself and to what degree is under her autonomy? Really? Tell it to Aqsa Parvez, whose Muslim father choked her to death with her hijab after she refused to wear it; and to Amina Muse Ali, a Christian woman in Somalia whom Muslims murdered because she wasn’t wearing a hijab; and to the 40 women who were murdered in Iraq in 2007 for not wearing the hijab; and to Alya Al-Safar, whose Muslim cousin threatened to kill her and harm her family because she stopped wearing the hijab in Britain; and to Amira Osman Hamid, who faces whipping in Sudan for refusing to wear the hijab; and to the Egyptian girl, also named Amira, who committed suicide after being brutalized for her family for refusing to wear the hijab; and to the Muslim and non-Muslim teachers at the Islamic College of South Australia who were told that they had to wear the hijab or be fired; and to the women in Chechnya whom police shot with paintballs because they weren’t wearing hijab; and to the women also in Chechnya who were threatened by men with automatic rifles for not wearing hijab; and to the elementary school teachers in Tunisia who were threatened with death for not wearing hijab; and to the Syrian schoolgirls who were forbidden to go to school unless they wore hijab; and to the women in Gaza whom Hamas has forced to wear hijab; and to the women in Iran who protested against the regime by daring to take off their legally-required hijab; and to the women in London whom Muslim thugs threatened to murder if they didn’t wear hijab; and to the anonymous young Muslim woman who doffed her hijab outside her home and started living a double life in fear of her parents, and all the other women and girls who have been killed or threatened, or who live in fear for daring not to wear the hijab.
8. Muslims starve for an entire month every year
This one is more of a misunderstanding than a misconception but it always makes me laugh because I hear it every year. Ramadan is a month in which Muslims partake in various charitable and religious activities, most prominent of which is fasting from sunrise to sunset in order to learn humility and appreciate their blessings. But you won’t believe how many people I’ve met who actually think we don’t eat or drink the entire month—not true! Although we do fast for one month, abstaining from food and drink only takes place during daylight hours, which usually ends with a big feast at sunset and way too many people over eating and raiding the fridge at 3am.
“But you won’t believe how many people I’ve met who actually think we don’t eat or drink the entire month” — silliness. More ominous is that Siddiqi never mentions that Ramadan, because it is a time when Muslims renew their devotion to Allah, and because jihad is the supreme act of devotion to Allah, is a time of increased jihad terrorism. “The best acts that bring you closer to God are jihad, so hurry to it and make sure to carry out the invasion this holy month and be exposed to martyrdom in it,” so said Islamic State spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani as Ramadan began this year.
9. Muslim Men are encouraged to practice polygamy
This misconception gets brought up a lot but a little historical context helps us better understand. Fourteen hundred years ago, during the rise of Islam, social structures did not provide women with the same assistance as they do today—women needed marriages not just romantically, but also as a means of protection, housing, employment, and tribalism. The law of allowing Muslim men to marry multiple wives was explicitly introduced so as to help widowed and divorced women retain social wellbeing. More importantly, Muslim men are discouraged from marrying more than one wife if they are unable to provide for them equally financially and emotionally. In many Muslim countries, and even Muslim communities here in the West, polygamy is looked down upon and considered an outdated tradition.
In reality, there are as many as 100,000 polygamous Muslim families in the U.S., in clear violation of U.S. law, and Islamic polygamy is not considered an “outdated tradition,” as it is sanctioned in the Qur’an (4:3).
10. Muhammad was the founder of Islam
Historians might consider Muhammad the one who introduced Islam, but Muslims believe Islam to be the same message revealed by Jesus, Moses, and all the other Biblical prophets. Additionally, Muslims do not pray to or worship Muhammad, if anything it is emphasized that he was human just like everyone else.
The same message revealed by Jesus, Moses, and all the other Biblical prophets. See? Nothing to be concerned about, unless you’re a baseball cap-wearing hijabi-harassing boor. So relax, Teen Vogue readers — only hatemongers care to resist Islamic jihad terror. Go back to Justin Bieber, and don’t worry about a thing.
mortimer says
RADICAL JIHAD CHIC is very prevalent among Muslim youth. It’s their equivalent of the morbidity prevalent among white suburban youth.
The intelligence community should start looking there. Unfortunately, there is only one way to stop jihadism and that is to totally debunk Islam starting with the non-existence of evidence for Mohammed in archeology. Mohammed was created by Caliph Abd al Malik who claimed that he had created the Koran.
Huck Folder says
That’s NOT Hishaam Siddiqi’s photo in the article.
unless he Jennered.
“@HishaamSiddiqi’s Tweets are protected.”
oooh. What’s HE hiding?
“And although my parents spent the first ten years of my life constantly embarrassed by my incessant [puerile] chatter, the youthful quirk blossomed with me into adulthood as a deep passion for [wait for it!] STORYTELLING.
Whether I’m doing it through my photography, CREATIVE writing, or public speeches, telling a captivating [tall] story is a natural talent and something I really enjoy.”
Stephanie says
Teen Vogue has again right,
… BUT Allah ALLOWS POLYgamy Q4:3 “… Marry women of your choice, Two or three or FOUR”
–FORBIDDEN in ‘IMpure’ 8:37 democracy Germany [ till 2nd wife ] § 1306 BGB (Civil Code)
Kuffar says
Not a F *** given here since 09-11-2001. I see the results of appeasement of muslims in other countries and I don’t intend to live that way in my own land…
Slay them wherever ye find them and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter. – 2:191
Fight against them until idolatry is no more and Allah’s religion reigns supreme. (different translation: ) Fight them until there is no persecution and the religion is God’s entirely. – Sura 2:193 and 8:39
Fighting is obligatory for you, much as you dislike it. – 2:216
(different translation: ) Prescribed for you is fighting, though it is hateful to you.
Until muslims in this country publicly reject this BS then let them go to H *LL.
Huck Folder says
If the other way round, would that be classed as hate speech?
“Slay them wherever ye find them and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter.”
ALL islamic territory, all 57 OIC ‘states’ were once controlled by their own people, until INVADED and COLONIZED by ARABS. Then there are all the ‘no-go’ zones in still CIVILIZED nations…
“Fight against them until islam is no more and freedom of religion reigns supreme.
(different translation: ) Fight them until there is no persecution and the religion is the people’s entirely.”
“Fighting is obligatory for you, much as you dislike it.
(different translation: ) Prescribed for you is fighting, though it is hateful to you.”
Fight them while winning is certain (a few million dead – mostly the SAVAGES), or fight them when they are much stronger and winning is not certain (and hundreds of millions dead on both sides), or fight them when genocide and slavery are certain. Apologies to WSC.
Has anyone ever tried that?
Satire with a scorpion’s sting.
Imagine that in front of (tautology alert!) a no-nothing leftard ‘judge’; maybe let it pass judgement, then appeal, and show who’s words you were using. That would put the judiciary in a nice bind.
Huck Folder says
“no-nothing leftard ‘judge'”
know-nothing
“However, Jihad doesn’t necessarily mean holy-war, it means to simply struggle for God”
http://cspipublishing.com/statistical/TrilogyStats/Greater-jihad.html
Islam claims that there is a “greater jihad” that is inner spiritual struggle and that the killing jihad is the “lesser jihad”. How much of the jihad literature is about the “greater jihad”?
“Bukhari contains 645,745 words he devotes 132,315 words to jihad. Below are all of the hadiths that refer to any religious practice as being equal or better than jihad. These “better or equal to jihad” verses are 2347 words, or 1.7% of all jihad hadiths (2347 / 132,315 = 0.017, 1.7%) are devoted to “better of equal to jihad”.
None of these use the phrase “greater jihad” but they do give something more important than jihad or equal to it. Of course, other hadiths say that jihad is the best.
Here is a typical jihad hadith. This shows that jihad is the best deed, unlike some of the hadith below it. Ninety-eight percent (98%) of all jihad hadiths call killing jihad (‘lesser’ jihad) the best action.”
http://wikiislam.net/wiki/Lesser_vs_Greater_Jihad
“During Prophet Muhammad’s lifetime, and onward to the present, the word ‘Jihad’ was, and is, almost always used in a military sense.This idea of a ‘greater’ and ‘lesser’ jihad was a later development which originated from the 11th century book, The History of Baghdad, by the Islamic scholar al-Khatib al-Baghdadiis, by way of Yahya ibn al ‘Ala’, who said:
We were told by Layth, on the authority of ‘Ata’, on the authority of Abu Rabah, on the authority of Jabir, who said, ‘The Prophet…returned from one of his battles, and thereupon told us, ‘You have arrived with an excellent arrival, you have come from the Lesser Jihad to the ‘Greater Jihad’ – the striving of a servant (of Allah) against his desires.’*
In fact, all four schools of Sunni jurisprudence (Fiqh) as well as the Shi’ite tradition make NO REFERENCE at all to the “greater” jihad, only the ‘lesser’ [i.e. killing]. So even before examining the evidence against the validity of this hadith, it is known that the concept of the greater jihad is unorthodox and HERETICAL# to the majority of the world’s Muslims.”
# @ Hishaam Siddiqi – for your Teen Vogue taqiyya – YOU WILL BURN IN HELLFIRE!
“Lesser vs Greater Jihad Hadith
The “lesser versus greater jihad” hadith’s isnad (the completeness of the chain of narrators and the reputation of each individual narrators within the chain of oral tradition) has been categorized by scholars as “weak” (da`if), and generally in Islamic law, only the authentic (sahih) and good (hasan) hadiths are used in deriving the rules. The weak hadiths have no value for the purpose of Shari’ah. Contemporary Islamic scholars have even classed it as “maudu” (FABRICATED!), meaning this narration, by some, is not even considered to be a hadith at all.”
“The lesser versus greater jihad “hadith” and other similar narrations have been shown by Islamic scholars to be, not only weak, but FALSE. They serve no purpose in Islamic law or thought, and CONTRADICT sahih hadith and THE QUR’AN ITSELF. Therefore, this concept of a lesser and greater jihad has no validity within Islam. We leave you with the words of Professor David Cook:
In reading Muslim literature — both contemporary and classical — one can see that the evidence for the primacy of spiritual jihad is NEGLIGIBLE. Today it is certain that no Muslim, writing in a non-Western language (such as Arabic, Persian, Urdu), would ever make claims that jihad is primarily nonviolent or has been superseded by the ‘spiritual jihad’. Such claims are made solely by Western ‘scholars’, [and sundry brown-nosers] primarily those who study Sufism and/or work in ‘interfaith dialogue’, [water-carrying for islam] and by Muslim APOLOGISTS who are trying to present Islam in the most innocuous manner possible.”
Maybe Teen Vogue should allow a counter view to that 100% islamic PROPAGANDA.
* BTW, how did mo fare with HIS ‘greater jihad’: his concupiscence for aisha/getting what he wanted from his sock-puppet allah/fondling her from 6-9/screwing her thereafter, getting 20% off the top of all the loot, getting his revenge on Banu Quraiza, screwing a Jew’s widow while the deceased’s body was still warm, screwing up to 8-10 times in one night…
voegelinian says
A good refutation of the “Greater Jihad” canard (aside from the fact that the only hadith attesting it is weak — truly weak, that is, as opposed to the “weak” characterization which Muslims whip out to dismiss any hadith they feel may be besting them in a debate), is that Bukhari records that Muhammad said that the blind and the elderly may be exempted from jihad. If jihad is an “interior spiritual struggle”, why should the blind and the elderly be exempted? Both classes of people are perfectly capable of interior spiritual struggles (cf., the innumerable individuals in Christian and Buddhist history who have struggled spiritually with all kinds of physical ailments and infirmities, including blindness and old age).
Example:
Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 85:
Zaid said, “Ibn-Maktum came to the Prophet while he was dictating to me that very Verse. On that Ibn Um Maktum said, “O Allah’s Apostle! If I had power, I would surely take part in Jihad.” He was a blind man. So Allah sent down revelation to His Apostle while his thigh was on mine and it became so heavy for me that I feared that my thigh would be broken. Then that state of the Prophet was over after Allah revealed “…except those who are disabled (by injury or are blind or lame etc.)
http://www.usc.edu/org/cmje/religious-texts/hadith/bukhari/052-sbt.php
Rev g says
Absolutely correct. Those most experienced at personal, internal struggle are exempt?
Huck Folder says
“Jihad, as most Muslims see it, can include anything [anything? masturbation?] from wearing a head scarf to school even though you get teased for it to setting aside allowance money to donate [to support terrorism]. While fighting [you mean KILLING] for your religious beliefs CAN BE a form of jihad, the term itself refers to any [any?] sort of struggle to do good.”*
What a steaming pile of taqiyya crap! See my answer above.
*Define ‘good’. Good for mo and his sock-puppet allah, good for the right flavor of moslems, good for the umma… Anything else – meh!
“Ramadan is a month in which Muslims partake in various charitable and religious activities”
Like murder, mayhem, rape, beheading, vicious halal slaughter…
“The law of allowing Muslim men to marry multiple wives was explicitly introduced so as to help widowed and divorced women retain social wellbeing.”
And just HOW were they WIDOWED? When mo and his merry band of bandits MURDERED their husbands. Khadijah seemed to be doing OK before boy-toy mo happened on the scene.
“…it is emphasized that he was human just like everyone else.”
Hmmm. THAT sounds like apostasy. The MOST PERFECT man who ever lived and ever will live, the seal of the prophets, and an EXEMPLAR for all times… just like everyone else. Yeah!
Sarah says
This is horrible!
Is there anything we can do to push back against this?
blitz2b says
@Sarah, Not that this is going to get you very far, but you may write to Erin Kaplan…. but you never know…
http://www.teenvogue.com/story/contact-us
Press Inquiries
Contact our Senior Public Relations Director Erin Kaplan: Erin_Kaplan@condenast.com.
I wonder if he will allow Robert Spencer’s rebuttal to the shameless whitewashing of Islam done by Hishaam Siddiqi
Stealth Jihad in action to misinform and brainwash our teens now?
Smart!
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blitz2b says
Robert, Please delete the lines from “Promoted Stories” onwards to the end…
Thanks
…. I wish there was a way to edit comments here.
Linde Barrera says
To blitz2b- Thanks much for listing the website of that Teen Vogue article, to which I am going to respond, citing just 2 of Robert Spencer’s answers, but using my own words as much as possible. Grateful.
Cecilia Ellis says
Call me skeptical, but I don’t believe the supermarket scenario ever occurred. It’s just too convenient. As for the proclamation, “many Arab countries have very large and historic Christian and Jewish populations,” those populations are daily being killed, subjugated or forced to flee. What a disingenuous magazine article with no hint of reality . . . not that Hishaam Siddiqi would desire such.
Huck Folder says
“…very large and HISTORIC Christian and Jewish populations…”
Before the invading, colonizing moslem SAVAGES arrived…
Cecilia Ellis says
Spot on, Huck!
Angemon says
Keyword here being “equally” – if I have four women and a packet of ramen noodles, and I give each of them a quarter of the packet of noodles, I’m providing for them equally. Same way for “emotionally” – if I yell at all of them and send them to the kitchen to cook their quarter of a packet of noodles, I’m treating them equally on an emotional level.
No need to worry about what islam teaches, all you need to know is that many muslims [citation needed] don’t follow[citation needed] it and consider it an outdated tradition[citation needed], despite it being presented literally as the timeless words of allah. Also, how many of those muslim countries were contacted with Western tradition and culture, including monogamy?
Barguest says
I notice there’s no mention in that whitewash of the biggest misconception of all: islam is a religion of peace.
Wonder why? 😉
Januk36 says
The last one about “not worshipping muhammad” is the most annoying. If islam was monotheistic the simple “there is only one God” would suffice. Never heard of converts able to become muslims without mentioning the “prophet” by name.
Ever heard of someone being punished for blasphemy in islam ? By that I mean being blasphemeous towards what theists consider to be “God” ?
All they worry about is a man that never made a prophecy. The identity as muslim is not tied to the notion of “god” but to a mortal muhammad.
Huck Folder says
I believe salivating salacious salafists in Germany
violently attacked police, trying to get at those
protesting the moslem invasion.
They said: “We don’t care what you say about allah
(he’s got his big-boy diapers on), but if you say
ANYTHING against mo, we will KILL you.”
And not metaphorically.
Huck Folder says
AND mo gets to intercede (interfere) with s-p allah’s
judgement day deliberations.
Check it out.
Shirk.
Westman says
Stealth Jihad. The lies are beautifully interwoven with truth and the whole simplified by omissions. It is very palatable to the unknowing victim who drinks the poison.
I don’t believe the teens of America will buy these watered down concoctions when they see daily reminders of how the “Religion Of Peace” actually manifests in the world. One might ask about the supposed baseball-capped bigot described in the article: Where did he get his ideas about Muslims, Obama? The Pope? Or just observing their visible world examples?
What muslims are doing in the world thunders so loudly in our ears that what they say about its humanity has no meaning or truth. The slaughter continues.
Sarah says
I would like to see a boycott of the advertisers in this magazine.
Westman says
Misconception #11. Muslims are hostile to Christians.
The omission of most importance to Christians: Muslims believe that Jesus was a fake Messiah, was never crucified , and is simply a Prophet of lower status than the Mahdi. And they are busy killing Christans because Allah, same God as in the Old Testament, can be the only God. Consternated yet?
Rebecca says
Now I wanna see Vogue do the same time of article on religious Jews, such as my community.
Rebecca says
I meant same “type.”
because, unlike muslims- Jews ARE the victims of hate crimes. many of them. And we never committed any terrorist attacks, like people from their religion do.
We don’t need to make up stories. Just look at only the past few weeks, and you will come up with a list of numerous incidents.
And, it’s okay. I condemn it, I’ll speak up on it, but I would never trade being Jewish for anything. It’s my whole life, and it’s worth being the victims of hate crimes.
Rev g says
Next month in Teen Vogue: Life as a Christian in Iran by Pastor Saeed Abedini.
Nah, never gonna happen.
somehistory says
Ah, the “ethnic” aisle…where Chinese, Hebrew, Spanish, Indian…seasonings and Specialty Foods are found…by anyone who might like to eat some of one or more items there.
And here she is, “making her way”…no wait, they “made their way” and now are at the checkout and somehow, she *knows* her father is “almost home.” Hardworking dude that he is…so they have to get some last minute things for dinner.
Now, why does she go back and forth in voice…present to past, to present again. This is not well-written in so many ways. A writer who writes a true account…which imo, this is all made up stuff…puts the facts down in a way that says they are remembering…this is written by someone…imo…who is having to “think” of what would happen next…perhaps from an ordinary day at the local market getting food…*goods*…for dinner. [And then, adding in the made up part…the big rude guy wearing a baseball cap and how her mom dispatched the guy with all due speed, having never really had that experience before.]
And then along comes the *voice* she hears and the guy she sees standing there…barking…
Some of you may have been here long enough to recall the woman in Texas who was *followed* by the truck driver who was “wearing a ball cap, pulled low over his forehead” and said some really terrible things to a muslim…things about her “garb”…who says “garb” about their own clothes? That “account” turned out to be made up, a hoax by someone wanting to be a victim.
And her mother is “petite” but she replies “eloquently” and quickly, “swiftly,” “sends” this fellow “on his way”. If this has happened before…evidently many times…why oh why is the girl in panic and why is she embarrassed? Wouldn’t she more likely be ready for her little mommy to get rid of this oaf as she has done on other occasions?
The man “barked” at her. She explained her “garb.”
Anyone on here ever read cheap romance novels? All this writer needed for this cheap shot at American males who are large and wear baseball caps, was to say that her mother wore something to “complete the ensemble.” Of course, there is no “romance” except for the original meaning of the word…which is “fiction” as in “made up” as in “none of it happened.”
Mr. Spencer is right on all counts: It is for the purpose of bamboozling any young girl who may not be watching enough of the news to know a bunch of hogwash when she reads it. Get them while they are young and impressionable. What young girl wouldn’t like to be able to defend herself in a public place when confronted by a rude and insulting stranger? And tell a patch of lies in a fictional account made to seem like the poor girl and her mom were being cruelly discriminated against for absolutely no reason at all. Just like the poor “kids” in N.C…..who were not “kids.”
And contrary to what the girls might read or hear otherwise, muslims are just worshipping the same God as everyone else…while wearing different “garb” and buying “ethnic goods.” This is what the writer is hoping to convey…and none of it is innocent.
Claiming that they “worship the same God” as Christians and Jews is just about the worst thing. The True God is against the killing of innocent people, burning alive, beheading, raping children, stealing, extortion, Lying….Lying is not acceptable to the God Christians and Jews pray to, but lying, lying lying is more than acceptable in islam. Just like this magazine article…all a pack of lies.
Gerald says
“Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, a professor of biology, became president of Muslim majority African country Mauritius!”
The writer Hishaam Siddiqi, Teen Vogue, July 6, 2015 straight off has to lie by claiming that the muslims are a majority in Mauritius. Here is what Statistics Mauritius in its 2011 census report says – Hinduism is the major religion at 48.5%, followed by Christianity (32.7%), Islam (17.3%) and Buddhism (0.4%).
I didn’t bother to read the rest of the article by this lying s.o.b.
shams78 says
Speaking of proselytizing, some nefarious and wicked (probably Protestant) missionaries have been targeting helpless and vulnerable Yazidi refugees in Iraq for conversion in exchange for access to visas and aid. They have been distributing religious literature and Bibles to them.
http://www.voanews.com/content/yazidis-say-they-are-begin-targeted-for-christian-conversion/2872137.html
Yazidis mind their own business. They don’t allow others to convert to their religoin and don’t proselytize. And they are the remnants of thousands of years of indigenous Mesopotamian beliefs and traditions. They never waged war on other peoples.
And a group of malevolent missionaries are trying to take advantage of them in their desperate situation.
The Yazidis need to be given humanitarian aid, protection and to be left alone spiritually. I condemn Da’ish and these missionaries who are both trying to extirpate the Yazidis from the face of Earth.
shams78 says
More nefarious behavior.
http://www.basnews.com/en/news/2015/06/08/yazidis-unhappy-with-christian-missionaries/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/christian-missionaries-encouraging-yazidi-kurds-give
http://www.christianaid.org/News/2015/mir20150205.aspx
shams78 says
More nefarious behavior.
http ://www.basnews. com/en/news/2015/06/08/yazidis-unhappy-with-christian-missionaries/
https ://www.linkedin. com/pulse/christian-missionaries-encouraging-yazidi-kurds-give
http ://www.christianaid. org/News/2015/mir20150205.aspx
Linde Barrera says
To shams78- I am responding to your posts about the Yazidi and Christian missionaries. First, that “Linked In” article asked this ridiculously stupid question: What is the difference between Christians and IS? They are 180 degrees apart, and whoever asks that question is spreading Islamist propaganda. Second, the Christian missionaries are speaking to the Yazidi about our crucified and risen Lord, offering a Bible and a meal. The Christian missionaries don’t put a condition on the meal, and the Yazidi are not forced to take the Bible. Third, any Christian who witnesses to someone about Jesus Christ knows that the conversion process is done by the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier, who brings the sinner or unbeliever to Christ. No human can bring another human to believe in Jesus; that transformation is reserved for God’s Spirit. We humans are the truth tellers or Gospel tellers, and once we have stated the truth, we have done our job. Tomorrow brings a new opportunity to bring the Gospel to someone else.
Walter says
The war of words ends when belief is changed to knowledge.
There is a 7 th prophet of knowledge only, no more religions…
Think
Religion = words repeated often
Knowledge = words which lead to contemplation in silence
creation aka god does not need words, why should it?
Islam = loud words= brainwashing via a group
Truth is realised in silence.
Figu.org
sidney penny says
Christian Arabs even use the word Allah when referring or praying to God. ??
“2. Muslims worship a different God
A lot of people think Allah is a specific Islamic deity, but really it just means ‘god’ in Arabic. Christian Arabs even use the word Allah when referring or praying to God. And since Islam is an Abrahamic religion, Muslims believe Allah is the same God who Jesus, Moses, and other biblical prophets all prayed to”
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/06/24/world/asia/malaysia-allah-ban/
Malaysian court to Christians: You can’t say ‘Allah’
.Malaysia’s highest court has rejected a challenge from the Catholic Church seeking to overturn a ban on non-Muslims using the word “Allah” to refer to God.
rev g says
allah is the greatest of receivers, aka satan.
rev g says
deceivers, stoopid autocorrect!
David Levy says
re “just this year, Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, a professor of biology, became president of Muslim majority African country Mauritius!”
Ive been to mauritius a few times and Ive never noticed that this was a Muslim Majority country. In reality Muslims only make up atbout 15% of the population
sidney penny says
@Gerald
read the rest to See how Robert Spencer knocks her out.
Bit like this one below .Everyone one of the 15 is a lie.-
First Australia Defense appointed an imam that publicly supports Hizb ut Tahrir ,a radical Islamic Group.Now the Navy’s Islamic Advisor claims the government should provide more mosques.
http://bernardgaynor.com.au/15-things-the-chief-of-navys-islamic-advisor-has-to-say/
Keil says
It’s all about stealth jihad trying to make the infamous Moslem ideology chick among bewildered youth. The Moslems have their faith so they see the teenagers as easy prey. Western young people have no faith or at least no noble cause to fight for; not a cause to offer one’s life for. – The “hungry” hordes from the Arab Middle East know that life is a struggle. To counter the evil ideology of Islam, the West has to develop a kind of self-preserve denying the existence of Mohammad and the fake Allah.
BC says
I borrowed this from the Florida Family Association v bulletin as I am sure they will not mind it being shown here in response to Item 5 above Sharia Law. This shows it is not as bland as is claimed.
“Sharia law advocates many practices that conflict with the rights afforded under the United States Constitution and/or violate state and federal law including:
Perjury, Muslims are permitted and prompted to lie to non-Muslims.
Discrimination, Muslims are permitted and impelled to discriminate against non-Muslims.
Abolition of adoption rights otherwise granted under American laws.
Abolition of Wills, Inheritance Instruments and Last Testaments established under American laws.
Abolition of certain interest income otherwise specified in loan, mortgage and other borrowing documents.
Diminished rights of women in court. It takes the testimony of two women to equal one man in Sharia court.
Polygamy, Muslim men may marry up to four wives. Muhammad married thirteen women in violation of the Qur’an which he inspired his (followers) to write.
Pedophilia, Muslim men can marry girls as young as 14. However, Muhammad took a wife named Ayesha that was nine years old.
Muslim husbands are given the right to beat their wives as a form of discipline.
Severe discipline toward women including isolation, discrimination, full body cover, genital mutilation and beatings.
Savage retribution including amputating limbs and gouging out eyes for crimes like theft.
Barbaric marital punishment toward women including rape, honor killing and public stoning.
The killing of adulterers, homosexuals and Islamist apostates.
Imprisonment and/or execution of blasphemers and non-believers.
Vicious jihad against non-Muslims to establish Islam’s rule worldwide. Muslims who cannot take on physical jihad must support it with their money.
It is also worth noting that in several ‘modern’ states attempts to raise the marriage age for girls is voted down by Islamists. Also that so called ‘honour’ killing of wives and childrenis not considered a crime.
voegelinian says
One does sense, and there are indications, that younger people in the West are predisposed to be favorable to Islam and to Muslims. A HuffPo poll claimed to find results bearing that out. It’s fascinating how youth are so solidly with the Establishment on this one issue, when in recent history, modern Western youth are supposed to be naturally inclined to be “counter-culture”. This reflects precisely the problem of PC MC: The values of the counter-culture crucially include & embrace multiculturalism. It’s cool and hip to be “open” and “tolerant” of other races and cultures, and it’s decidedly UNcool to be “bigoted” and “racist”. (The sneer quotes communicate a pseudo version of each term, distinguishing them from their true sense before the Orwellian distortion caused by the PC MC in question — a distinction which many asymptotics in the Counter-Jihad apparently cannot detect.)
Thus, the dynamic of cool, so profoundly important to young people, has become over the past half century or so, intertwined with multiculturalism — indeed, with PC MC — to an unprecedented extent, it seems. If, for example, there is a Melbourne rally against Islam, the demographic of those opposing it as “fascism” and “racism” (cf. supra for the sneer quote logic) will invariably skew young, because it has become hip and cool to oppose those Orwellianly defined thought crimes.
The Dynamic of Cool
http://hesperado.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-dynamic-of-cool.html
Uncle Vladdi says
Thanks, Robert and Pamela!
This is almost their perfect taqiyya and kitman template – with your concise rebuttals!
😉