I have to begin by saying that I have no conclusive evidence that shows
that disike of Islam and muslims in general runs highest among
conservative ranks. That people on the right of the political spectrum
somehow protest against Islam more than those on the left or in the
center.
But it has occured to me, and I’m sure I’m not the only
one, that conservatives and their publications in Canada have almost
always portraied the current and past political quagmires and citizen
revolts in the middle east in a negative light. The most recent such
portrayals come from several National Post in which the Arab
Spring, a revolutionary movement that swept across the middle east
throughout this year’s spring and summer, lately culminating with the
capture and death of Lybia’s dictator Muammar Gaddafi, has been
portrayed as largely a waste of effort in intervention from Allied
Forces, including Canada, and N.A.T.O.
One particular
column vaguely hints that Canada, N.A.T.O. and the U.S. should have
directly involved themselves in shaping the direction of the conflict by
either commiting ground troops to the various rebel movements in
Tunisia, Egypt and Lybia or that they should have completely taken over
the liberation effort.
Although such proclamations are rare, I
cannot help but notice the vitriol reserved for Islam in such
articles.The wanton speculation that once liberated these middle eastern
countries will surely descend into religious extremism, that their
newly appointed leaders will welcome the most rabbid and violating of
human rights elements of Sharia and possibly allow these countries
to become the new havens for terrorist cells in the region.
Throwing
around accusations that Iran was the instigator and financier of the
recent asassination plot against Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to
Washington, is one such case of jumping the gun, and assuming that since
Iran is one of the few Islamic theocracies in Persia with anti-American
and anti-Israeli sentiments, and with an active nuclear agenda and
programme, that the country’s leadership is guilty of the act.
I
speculate that many conservatives doubted at the onset the success and
force of the change that the Arab spring has brought to the middle east,
and that some actually wished that the uprisings would fail. There’s an
underlying sense in Canada, something that I’ve noticed coming from
most of my right-of-center friends and aquaintances, that Islam and
democracy are so incompatible that muslims will never be able to trully
embrace freedom until they relinquish most of the teachings of their
religion. A sort of a hucksterish way of saying that most muslims are
succeptible to extremist tendencies inherently built into in their
creed.
Not only is this public sentiment furthest from the truth
but it is also born out of the conservative credo itself. The instinct
to preserve one’s own way of life in it’s most original form. Thus, to
conservatives, Islam itself in all it’s forms is the enemy.
Some
conservatives may say that this kind of speculation is hogwash,
unsuported by actual statistical figures, but I say until those that
claim Islam and democracy are incompatible change their tune, the
majority of the discrimination against muslims will come from the right
and far-right camps.
Fortunately, there is one organization, at
least in the U.S., that is dedicated to passively combating
discrimination against Muslims, and that is My Fellow American. You can
check out their message of tolerance on their website at http://myfellowamerican.us/. There is much need for such an organization here in Canada.
For more information on this article and it’s highly speculative content, please take the time to read the following articles http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2011/10/26/tasha-kheiriddin-arab-spring-leads-to-shariah-autumn/ and http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2011/10/12/peter-goodspeed-irans-alleged-assassination-plot-borders-on-being-act-of-war/.
