Nobody deserves congratulations for basic decency. Condemning bomb threats and making donations to repair damage from bias crimes is something good people of all backgrounds do.
The writer of the article below is simply trying to appeal to logic: it is subtly insulting to congratulate anyone for simply doing what is expected according to basic norms of decency. To do so is to imply that expectations for that person (or group) are lower; it’s the soft bigotry of low expectations, which Leftists display toward Muslims on a regular basis.
“Stop Celebrating Muslim Decency”, by David Benkof, Daily Caller, March 6, 2017:
Since the recent wave of anti-Semitic bomb threats, vandalism, and cemetery desecrations, journalistic and social media have vocally celebrated condemnations, fund-raising, and volunteer efforts by Muslim groups in an attempt to bolster interfaith cooperation and rehabilitate the reputation of the Islamic community precisely when its very welcome in America is being questioned like never before.
But nobody deserves congratulations for basic decency. Condemning bomb threats and making donations to repair damage from bias crimes is something good people of all backgrounds do. Liberal hoopla over proper Muslim responses to anti-Semitism is no more than a religious riff on the soft bigotry of low expectations. When Muslims go to extraordinary lengths to show they embrace their Jewish neighbors – and they sometimes do – public praise is appropriate. But headlines about Islamic press releases condemning cemetery vandalism send the opposite message – that in normal circumstances Muslims are callous and heartless.
Imagine these headlines:
Asian Driver Arrives At Work Without Incident
Jamaican Musician Passes Drug Test
Black Man Marries His Children’s Mother
While those headlines aim to challenge nasty stereotypes, they actually reinforce their legitimacy.News stories about broad community efforts to help besieged Jews that contain a sentence “Even the local Muslim community turned out in force” are entirely appropriate. But special congratulations when Muslims act like, well, people are not compliments.
I know how it feels to have my own group celebrated for simple propriety.
As a Zionist, I am perpetually annoyed by hasbara (roughly, propaganda) that celebrates Israeli actions that are only minimally admirable – like an Israeli soldier who shares her sandwich with a starving Palestinian child or an Tel Aviv hospital that provides an impoverished dying Arab woman with free medical care. Yes, I understand that these examples are intended to debunk the idea that Israelis are not decent (although I have yet to see anti-Israel discourse accusing Israelis of withholding sandwiches from orphans). But the very act of highlighting basic decency legitimizes the slander, which is particularly offensive given the many good Israeli actions that are far from just minimally proper.
The people spotlighting Muslim attempts to repair desecrated cemeteries may think they’re rebutting negative stereotypes. But they aren’t. Sorry to say it, but Americans who fear or hate Muslims don’t do so because they think Muslims tolerate vandalism. They do so because they think Muslims tolerate terrorism. These stories will not dent that perception.
Americans are rightly proud of the way its citizens of many groups came together to help one group among them recover in a time of distress – and Muslims should be part of that celebration. But breathless reports that American Muslims aren’t jackasses after all help nobody….
mortimer says
Muslims do charity in order to ‘soften the hearts’ of the dirty kafirs to Islam, not because Allah tells them to be nice to the ‘worst of animals’… the Jews and other dirty kafirs.
Some Muslims may think that neighborliness towards the dirty kafirs is Islamic, but it isn’t.
The doctrine of al Baraa commands Muslims to HATE kufaar ‘for the sake of Allah”.
An Islamic website posted the following:
“Hatred for the sake of Allah, or Al Mu’adaat, this is the opposite of Al Muwalaat, it is:
– To Hate
– To keep distance from
– To be enemy to
– To desert
– To decline to help
– To disrespect
– To put down
– Not to ally with
– Not to support
Allah ordered us to have Baraa, from the kuffar and from kufr and shirk.”
(In this text ‘hate’ means ‘hate’ … i.e. to HATE kufaar).
JIMJFOX says
The doctrine of al-Walā’ wal-Barā’.
Literally it means the total loyalty to Islam and the total disavowal and enmity to the other.
reyol says
Mortimer, your point about the softening of hearts is an excellent one. I’ll have to remember it.
james.mich says
Some fun from Al-Azhar University: http://www.asianews.it/index.php?art=40115&l=en
The word ‘minority’ is quite likely to stop being used, if the Christians and other minorities in Egypt cease to exist. One would not know from the text that Coptics were being slaughtered in Egypt by Mudslimes.
AleX says
Muzleems DON’T do charity. The ‘zakat’ is solely for muzleems. So whenever you hear about ‘charity’ in pislamic world you hear about muzzie helping muzzie. When was one single instance when Red Crescent helped Christians after a calamity?
gravenimage says
Not only that, but a lot of Zakat goes not to what we think of as charity, but for the funding of violent Jihad, as well.
Guy Macher says
Takiya in action! Those Muslim barrows are commanded by Allah, aka Satan, not to help Jews. (Note to Canadian authorities–It’s in the Koran!) This is for show only.
Yes, I know truth does not protect me in Canada.
Jeanette says
Don’t feel bad; truth hardly ever protects anyone any more; the evil liberals/Marxiists/Muslim-lovers have had too much control for too long.
gravenimage says
A call to “stop celebrating Muslim decency”
………………….
But…but…it happens so rarely! It’s pretty much a “man bites dog” story…
Never mind that pious Muslims regularly *desecrate* Jewish cemeteries. It is not impossible, in fact, that this is what happened here.
Also note: this is the Ahmadiyya community, who are considered “heretics” by mainstream Muslims. But the Ahmadi are nonetheless always glad to whitewash the image of Islam.
jayell says
Isn’t it normal to ‘celebrate decency’ in this way when you’re dealing with immature children, when they need to be taught and encouraged to behave themselves properly? But we’re not dealing with children here – we’re supposed to be dealing with responsible adults who are supposed to have already learned how to show proper respect and decency towards others. Either society is being amazingly condescending towards muslims for some reason, or this is a serious comment on islam and its adherents; i.e., they can’t be trusted to behave in an acceptable way without the sort of indulgent pandering that one might unwisely show towards someone else’s spolit brat?
Jeanette says
Remember that this is a group that ADMITTED that its male individuals are not capable of preventing themselves from raping small schoolgirls in (Sweden or Denmark – I can’t remember which country) walking to school. The excuse was that they were not wearing Muslim clothing.
I believe that the Muslims who do such things are enjoying themselves, and have no intention of stopping their enjoyment, especially when the host population refuses to protect their women and children.
David Benkof says
Thanks for calling attention to my essay! I’m glad you liked it.
Just A Concerned Citizen says
And thank YOU, Mr. Benkof, for succinctly putting the sentiment I was struggling to express when I was confronted by others with this initial report.
I’ll be sharing this one.
Mirren10 says
*Excellent* essay, Mr. Benkof.
As Christine says, “the bigotry of low expectations,” is rampant amongst the idiots of the left.
Angemon says
Yet…
somehistory says
Ulterior motives are not the same as true caring, true charity.
A large corporation may give 10% of its profits to charity, but if the corporation tells everybody about it, the donation can be looked at as propaganda…and the main reason it is given…as a tax write-off.
So big deal.
And the main reason Americans don’t want moslims swarming in is not that they *tolerate* terrorism, but that they commit terrorism and support terrorism and their goal is to subjugate society to their islam demands..through terrorism or any means they can…fake hate crimes, lies, propaganda, lawfare, etc.
And moslims fit their *stereotype*…that is why there is a stereotype of support for and committing of terrorism…and baby rape, familicide, etc.
Em says
There was a flyer dropped off in our mailbox recently about “learning the truth about Islam”. Watched the guy who dropped it off. He spat on our driveway….? Should have watched to see if other driveways got the same treatment. Very very very tired of this.
gravenimage says
Da’wa, Em. Probably the egregious “Why Islam”, or something similar.
Jeanette says
In Saudi Arabia (where I lived for more than a decade) one had to look where one was going carefully because there is so much spit on the streets and sidewalks.
Martel says
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zelp2pD3FaE&feature=youtube_gdata_player
In this video we have a chance to celebrate the diversity that Islamic immigration is bringing to Germany….
RCCA says
When I read about Linda Sarsour’s fundraising campaign to repair the vandalized Jewish cemetery in St. Louis my first reaction was that she had a realization that there is a good chance Muslims had done it and she had better counteract that bad PR. Why would Muslim youth cause vandalism? I can think of four reasons: wanting to make Trump look bad, Islamic Jew hatred, retaliation for the travel ban, and retaliation for Trump’s support of Israel. Of course the media has promoted the idea there’s much more of a chance that the perpetrators are right wing anti-semitic extremists who have been emboldened by Trump’s victory, despite the fact that many of his closest advisors and family members are Jewish and Trump has made helping the black community in the inner cities central to his mission.
RCCA says
Anything is possible, but if skin heads are Trump supporters then why would they try to make him look bad?
Jeanette says
In Saudi Arabia, one couldn’t import an entire set of encyclopedias because the Muslims would pull out and destroy the “I” and “J” volumes.
And helping to fix any damage could simply be al-taqiyyah, the Muslim strategy of keeping infidels stupid by lying to them – until the Muslims are numerous enough to eliminate the infidels.
davej says
It’s called Public Relations. See – we’re not so bad!
Read the Quran and see how they really regard the Jews (and you).
Jeanette says
Sadly, the strategy of al-taqiyyah makes anything that any Muslim says suspect.
Also, there are getting to be too many Americans who have read the passages about killing infidels now; many Americans not as naive as they once were, even those who haven’t spent any time in Muslim countries.
Pandit Technology says
The way they are posing for a photo, it would be hilarious, absurd but it is sad that it is a graveyard. If I was the gatekeeper of that Jewish Cemetry, would rather have no Muslims do the “honors”, as a mark of respect to the departed.
scherado says
Two words: Inferiority complex.
Jeanette says
One word: EVIL.
Crusades Were Right! says
“Al takiyya for a ride, kaffir!”
Jeanette says
Possibly because the Indians are aware that the Pakistani population is as much as 70% compromised by the effects of incest?
Marrying a first cousin can be such a problem!
Jane Smith says
The most laughable example of this that I have come across was in September 2016. The story of how a Syrian refugee saved the day because he put a few stitches into a neighbour’s wedding dress. In Toronto, this story made front page news with an accompanying 2 page newspaper spread, in all the major newspapers. The story was so big, that it even made international headlines. I was sitting there in complete disbelief that such a small insignificant happening and act of kindness, that I’m sure occurs amoung people every single day, could make the news- much less, international headlines. The only explanation that I could come up with for why the story was so special and such a major event to report on, is because it is such a rarity for a Muslim to show any kindness for anyone outside of their own group, that it is major news when one does so.
http://www.cbc.ca/1.3784004
https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.thestar.com/amp/news/gta/2016/09/29/how-a-syrian-refugee-saved-the-day-for-guelph-bride.html
https://www.google.ca/amp/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/37504163
gravenimage says
Good grief…