Why They Hate Us, Muslim View

That the hard right is in deep trouble is obvious. They can’t run on their record. Their record is one of failure such as Americans before today would not believe was possible. They started a war we cannot win but cannot end. It sucks the wealth of the nation into it with no end in sight. They refuse to put their own wealth or the lives of their children at risk by calling for a draft and higher taxes even as they claim this is a life and death struggle against an implacable enemy. Their economic policy, based on the idea greed is the greatest of all virtues, has left the nation in debt both individually and collectively. Their foreign policy has left the nation hated in foreign lands as never before. These failures spell their doom and they know it.

Meaning the hard right is reduced to its last hope for success. Fear. Fear, in order to be an effective motivator, must have an object. There must be something to cause fear. This something must be an effective motivator People must be so afraid of the object of fear they will leave go of their senses and do things they would not otherwise do. In this case fear must motivate people to vote for the incompetents responsible for the state of affairs listed above. This is going to take some doing.

So the hard right is busy promoting Islamophobia, fear of Islam. It is easy to see the basis for this fear. Yes most all acts of terrorism since September 11, 2001 have been caused by Muslims acting in what they claim is the name of Islam. This does not mean Islam causes terrorism. Nor does it mean all Muslims are terrorists. This does not mean we can’t talk to Muslims, even so-called Islamists. Islam is a very complex religion. Great understanding is needed. But the hard right is not interested in understanding. It is interested in something else.

We know this because any time anyone has a kind word to say for Islam or Muslims the hard right goes into attack mode. People who have kind words to say to Muslims or Islam, people who are trying to understand the complexity of the situation, are labeled dupes and traitors. They are naive and must be ignored. Only people who understand that all Muslims are a threat should be listened to. Unless you believe Islam is evil and must be destroyed you are a part of the problem and not a part of the solution. At least not in the eyes of the hard right.

This attitude could lead to a war no one wants; a war of genocide against all Muslims. This may not be the hard right’s intent. Still they are doing things which increase the possibility of this happening. They are opposing those who would avoid it. But of course if such a war were to come to pass we would need leaders to lead us in the fight. And the leaders of the hard right would then offer themselves. This they wouldn’t mind in the least. So while we can’t prove the purpose of Islamophobia is to keep the hard right in power we can’t disprove this claim either.