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In Cedar Rapids, “Nationally Recognized Expert” Todd Green Deplores “Epidemic of Islamophobia” (Part 3)

Mar 27, 2019 10:00 am By Hugh Fitzgerald

“In this regard, Cedar Rapids is not much different from the rest of the nation in that it has not been shielded from the anti-Muslim bigotry and racism that other regions and communities have been experiencing,” he said.

Where is all this “anti-Muslim bigotry” and “racism” that Todd Green sees everywhere? The major media have been falling all over themselves deflecting attention from the ideology of Islam, insisting that “‘Islamic terrorists’ have nothing to do with Islam and only anti-Muslim bigots and racists think otherwise.” Write this out 100 times on the blackboard. How often have you seen any of the Jihad verses in the Qur’an quoted in the New York Times, Washington Post, or on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN? Never. Instead we have assorted “terrorism experts” insisting that  the “root cause” of Muslim terrorism is either  “poverty,” or “lack of education,” or “resentment of post-colonialism,” or “sympathy for the Palestinians,” or “anger at American foreign policy.” But never, in that same major media, is there ever a suggestion, backed up by Qur’anic quotes, that the texts and teachings of Islam need to be looked into as the  cause of Islamic terrorism.

This “epidemic of anti-Muslim bigotry” is a fiction. The real epidemic is that of a diseased sympathy for Muslims, that has even resulted in the attempt, by the giant tech companies — Google, Facebook, Twitter — to silence on social media such sober islamocritics as Robert Spencer and such sites as Jihad Watch.

“At the same time, the fact that Cedar Rapids is home to the Mother Mosque makes the city a promising venue for conversations about Islamophobia,” Green said. “From the history of Islam in Cedar Rapids, we are reminded that Islam is not a foreign religion, nor is it at odds with American values or a threat to American identity.”

Islam, he insists, is one facet of America’s cultural and religious landscape.

Let’s get this straight: because a mosque was built in Cedar Rapids in 1934, that must mean that Islam is 1) not a foreign religion; 2) not at odds with American values; 3) not a threat to American identity.

Let’s grant #1. Islam is no longer  a “foreign religion.” It is, however, a very late arrival, and even now only 1% of the population is Muslim. #3 would require us to define an “American identity” which I cannot do satisfactorily, although I agree with Mr. Justice Potter Stewart, when he famously said about “obscenity” that, while he couldn’t define it, “I know it when I see it.”

So let’s focus on #2. How does the existence of that mosque in Cedar Rapids prove that Islam is not at odds with such “American values” as, inter alia, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, equal treatment of people of different religions, equality of the sexes? We know that when it comes to any criticism or mockery of Muhammad, Muslims are against freedom of speech; some even believe capital punishment is warranted. We all remember the martyred cartoonists of Charlie Hebdo and the attempts to kill Lars Vilks.  The same limits apply to freedom of the press in a Muslim country: Islam and Muhammad are off limits to critics. As for freedom of religion, it does not exist in Muslim states for apostates from Islam, who can be severely punished, and even executed. In the Muslim state, non-Muslims used to be treated as dhimmis, subject to many onerous conditions, including payment of the Jizyah; that led many to convert to Islam not out of conviction, but in order to escape the wretched status of dhimmi. That is not exactly “freedom of religion.” The equal treatment of religions guaranteed by our Constitution is flatly contradicted by the Sharia, which privileges Islam above all other faiths, and Muslims above non-Muslims.

As for equality of the sexes, in Islam it does not exist. Qur’an 4:34 allows a husband to “beat” a wife he fears may be disobedient, and describes the man as “superior” to the “woman,” which is why he must be her guardian. Daughters inherit only half of what sons receive. A woman’s testimony is worth only half that of a man, because, as Muhammad says in a famous hadith, “of the deficiency of her intelligence.” A Muslim husband can marry plural wives, but a wife can have only one husband. He may divorce a wife merely by reciting the triple-talaq; if the wife wants a divorce, she must return her bride-price, or mahr, to her husband, and offer an acceptable reason for wanting the divorce.

These are only some, not all, of the differences between Islamic and American values.

“It’s had a home in this community, right here in the Heartland of America, for generations. Muslims helped create the Cedar Rapids that we know today. That’s a powerful message in this age of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim fearmongering,” he said.

Did local Muslims  “create” Cedar Rapids in a moral, legal, cultural sense? No. Local Muslims built a mosque, no doubt houses too, and lived, and worked, in the city. There is no “powerful message” coming from this. There is, however, a “powerful message” coming repeatedly from Todd Green, whose every fourth  sentence contains the scare word “Islamophobia.” He doesn’t admit of the possibility — why not? — that one can be a keen critic of Islam not because one is irrational, but because one refuses to be irrational, like Dr. Todd Green, and assume that Islam offers no cause for alarm, when the Qur’an and the nightly news tell us otherwise. It is Green’s absolute refusal to consider the evidence — the terrorist attacks all over the world, and the Qur’anic verses that justify and command them — that constitutes an “irrational desire to defend and promote Islam.” We could call that a serious case of “islamophilia.”

Green’s latest book provides multiple layers of context around Islamophobia, showing readers how nearly all aspects of American life — politicians, media personalities and more — have come to equate terrorism with Islam, and how and why such connections are overblown and largely unfounded.”

“Nearly all aspects of American life”? “Politicians” and “media personalities” are people, not “aspects of life.” Nor have they, these unnamed “politicians and media personalities,” come to “equate terrorism with Islam,” as Green so baselessly insists. But some students of Islam have claimed, with ample textual evidence which they readily quote, that there is an undeniable link between the ideology of Islam and the terrorist attacks by Muslims. This is not the same thing as “equating” terrorism with Islam. Todd Green regards the recognition of this link to smack of “anti-Muslim bigotry” and “islamophobia.” It is unclear if he has read the Qur’an, but if he did, it clearly did not make an  impression.

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Filed Under: "Islamophobia", academia, Featured, Hugh Fitzgerald Tagged With: Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Todd Green


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Comments

  1. mortimer says

    Mar 27, 2019 at 10:23 am

    Todd Green gets paid to tell whopper lies: “Islam is not a foreign religion, nor is it at odds with American values or a threat to American identity.”

    He cannot defend those claims. They are historically false.

    Todd Green is a professional GASLIGHTER … a person who PROFESSIONALLY slanders those who carefully analyze and critique Islam.

    GASLIGHTERS like Todd Green are basically AMORAL people who slander others for money.

    Political science is a social science which deals with systems of governance, and the analysis of political activities, political thoughts, and political behavior.

    The analysis of the DEEN (Islamic system of governance and the derived attitudes of thought and PRACTICE) is POLITICAL SCIENCE, rather than prejudice.

    THE POLITICAL SCIENCE of studying ISLAM is the opposite of blind prejudice … it is KNOWLEDGE of the supremacist political teachings, agenda and practice of Islam to the detriment of the dirty, disbelieving kufaar.

    • Rufolino says

      Mar 28, 2019 at 6:55 am

      I was wondering from where on earth this stupid man gets his foolish and distorted ideas.
      He gets funded for saying this rubbish, does he ?

  2. mortimer says

    Mar 27, 2019 at 10:27 am

    Todd Green claims that Islamic terrorism is exaggerated … how do the STATISTICS prove Todd Green is wrong ??

    The death toll from jihad consists of: 120 million Africans; 60 million Christians; 80 million Hindus; 10 million Buddhists; as many as 500,000 Jews.

    This gives a rough estimate of 270 million killed by jihad. Jihad is Islam’s divinely mandated method of establishing Islam’s political, global supremacy through warfare, subjugation, enslavement and genocide.
    Some estimates of the tears of jihad go as high as 300 or 400 million, showing Islam is the greatest genocidal force in history

    270,000,000 KILLED / 1400 years = 192,857 deaths per year since Mohammed began his attacks.
    192,857 KILLED / 365 = 528 deaths per day since Mohammed began his attacks.
    528 KILLED / 24 (hours) = 22 deaths per hour since Mohammed began his attacks.
    22 KILLED / 60 minutes = 0.3669 persons killed by Islam every minute since Mohammed began his attacks.
    1 KILLED / 3 minutes = one person was killed by Islam every 3 minutes since Mohammed began his attacks.

    So Todd Green is exposed as a professional liar. ONE PERSON KILLED BY ISLAM EVERY 3 MINUTES Is a very significant DEATH TOLL for ISLAMIC TERRORISM.

    • CRUSADER says

      Mar 27, 2019 at 10:39 am

      Send him Bill Warner’s study of Political Islam….

  3. CRUSADER says

    Mar 27, 2019 at 10:38 am

    Iowa holds one of the first political primaries in 2020.

    “Islamophobia” will likely be on the party platform.

  4. mortimer says

    Mar 27, 2019 at 10:40 am

    Todd Green claims that Islamic terrorism is EXAGGERATED, but Islamic history shows that Islam is the greatest genocidal force in world history.

    Todd Green’s GENOCIDE DENIAL reveals he is sweeping inconvenient facts under the carpet to promote a false narrative about Islam.

    Facts matter to historians … but not to a propaganda merchant like Todd Green.

    Todd Green is a professional GASLIGHTER.

  5. CRUSADER says

    Mar 27, 2019 at 10:45 am

    “…death toll from jihad consists of: …500,000 Jews….”

    And yet the Yad Vashem (established in 1953 as Israel’s official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust) ONLY mentions and displays the history of the Holocaust against Jews during the Nazi era
    — not any other era.

    Is this a poignant mistake and lost opportunity by Israel? Or is it understandably calculated?

  6. Greg Hamilton says

    Mar 27, 2019 at 10:57 am

    It’s really quite basic:

    Non-Muslim
    + knowledge of Muhammad
    + knowledge of Islam
    + knowledge of Islamic history
    = Islamophobe

    • mortimer says

      Mar 27, 2019 at 12:26 pm

      Greg, read what he is writing. His enemy is ‘white nationalism’ and any opposition to Globalism. Are your alarm bells ringing? Todd Green and his college should be forensically audited to see why he is being paid to do this and who is paying.

      Moreover, Todd Green seems NEVER to have subjected himself to a debate. And nothing suggests he would even consider debating. He likes to safely throw stones at critics from behind walls and never allow himself to be challenged.

      Meanwhile, Todd Green calls anyone who has studied Islam ‘ignorant’. Robert Spencer has written 19 books about Islam. Ignorant?

      Why doesn’t TODD GREEN COME OUT FROM HIS SAFE SPACE and DEBATE ROBERT SPENCER?

      We will quickly see who is ‘IGNORANT’.

      Of course, TODD GREEN is a MORAL COWARD and WILL NOT DEBATE ROBERT SPENCER.

      • Greg Hamilton says

        Mar 27, 2019 at 12:51 pm

        Hi Mortimer, I think my comment misfired. I consider “Islamophobe” a junk term and was using it sarcastically. My view is that a so-called “Islamophobe” is simply a well-informed non-Muslim.

  7. mortimer says

    Mar 27, 2019 at 12:30 pm

    Jihad TERRORISM is only one part of jihad. The other parts are LEGAL JIHAD, VERBAL JIHAD and the MONEY JIHAD.

    Todd Green is cognizant of the other types of jihad, but he is PROPAGANDIST for Islam and so you will not find him discussing JIHAD doctrine PER SE. His approach is to slander, not discuss issues.

    Who is paying for Todd Green? Soros? or Saudis? or Qatar?

  8. mortimer says

    Mar 27, 2019 at 1:03 pm

    TODD GREEN IS LYING ABOUT JIHAD :

    Al Azhar University Scholar, Dr. M. Sa’id Ramadan Al-Buti:

    “The theory that our religion is a peaceful and loving religion is a wrong theory…The Holy war as it is known in Islam is basically an offensive war, and it is the duty of all Muslims of every age, when the needed military power is available, because our prophet Muhammad said that he is ordered by Allah to fight all people until they say ‘No God but Allah,’ and he is his messenger…It is meaningless to talk about the holy war as only defensive, otherwise, what did the prophet mean when he said, “from now on even if they don’t invade you, you must invade them.””

    Dr. M. Sa’id Ramadan Al-Buti – “Jurisprudence of Muhammad’s Biography”, Pg. 135

  9. gravenimage says

    Mar 27, 2019 at 10:14 pm

    In Cedar Rapids, “Nationally Recognized Expert” Todd Green Deplores “Epidemic of Islamophobia” (Part 3)
    ……………..

    Todd Green is such an ignorant tool. Since when is Cedar Rapids home to an “epidemic of Islamophobia”? What calumny.

    Remember that this idiot wrote “Fear of Islam — An Introduction to Islamophobia in the West”.

    But even little heartland Cedar Rapids has not been free from the reach of Jihad:

    “Man sought in terrorist probe arrested in Cedar Rapids”

    https://qctimes.com/news/local/man-sought-in-terrorist-probe-arrested-in-cedar-rapids/article_19d205cc-8ed9-5455-a850-6a441c7e7980.html

    “A man being sought in connection with federal terrorism investigation was arrested Friday in Cedar Rapids.

    Youssef Hmimssa was indicted Thursday by a Federal Grand Jury in Michigan. A release from the FBI shows that Hmimssa has as many as three alias…”

  10. Ewanda says

    Mar 28, 2019 at 1:25 am

    PUZZLE — how can someone who,has glowing praise for Islam in 2015 isolate themselves from all the correct information that flows from the pens of SPENCER, WARNER, SOLOMON, SALEEM, GABRIELLE, GUANDOLO, DAKDOK, PRINCE, GAFFNEY, GABRIEL, ROBINSON, and so many others, and still be so ignorant in 2019?

    • CRUSADER says

      Mar 28, 2019 at 2:28 am

      Those are some solid names!

      • Ewanda says

        Mar 29, 2019 at 12:35 am

        It still doesn’t explain the conundrum. maybe if the answer was found progress could be made to steer things more in favour of deflecting WORLD WAR IV. WORLD WAR III was the EUROPEAN UNION!!!

  11. CRUSADER says

    Mar 28, 2019 at 1:36 am

    Friggin’ GASLIGHTER !!!

  12. Reuben Scratton says

    Mar 28, 2019 at 11:47 am

    “One can be a keen critic of Islam not because one is irrational but because one refuses to be irrational.”

    I really like this line and intend to steal it.

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