If you want to claim such a thing as "Islamophobia" exists, then
you'd better be prepared to admit that there is such a thing as
Atheophobia, and that it's a worse problem. There are no nations in
which being Muslim is criminal, let alone punishable with death. But,
there are many nations in which being an atheist is a "crime", and worse
thirteen of them mandate the death penalty for being an atheist.
Islamophobia is a myth. Certainly there is racism against Arabs and
Persians, but that's not the same as the contrived Islamophobia which is really just a shaming-defense.
There are all too many theocratic nations, both Christian and Islamic. I don't mean "Christian nations", for example, like the US is a Christian nation because the majority of the population happens to be Christian. I mean theocratic nations for which the constitutions and laws specify what is the official religion of the state. But, there are no atheist nations. In fact, in the US atheists are the most hated and mistrusted minority, even more so than Muslims are. Atheophobia is commonplace and culturally not just accepted but even promoted. Often we hear claims such as "atheists are Satanists" or "atheists are immoral", this is despite the fact that atheists are disproportionately under-represented in the prison population. For instance, atheists make up over 16% of the total US population but less than 0.5% of the American prison population.
It is incredibly difficult to honestly argue that there's such a thing as Islamophobia and yet completely ignore the very real Atheophobia. After all, a phobia is an irrational fear, and racism aside, given all the acts of terrorism around the globe it's not entirely irrational to be worried about the well documented violent nature of Islam. However, given the evidence that unlike Christians and Muslims -- whose percents of the total population are proportionately represented in prison, and such comparatively rare instances of violence committed by atheists because of atheism -- it is entirely irrational to worry about atheists allegedly being a threat. Atheophobia is a real problem.
There are all too many theocratic nations, both Christian and Islamic. I don't mean "Christian nations", for example, like the US is a Christian nation because the majority of the population happens to be Christian. I mean theocratic nations for which the constitutions and laws specify what is the official religion of the state. But, there are no atheist nations. In fact, in the US atheists are the most hated and mistrusted minority, even more so than Muslims are. Atheophobia is commonplace and culturally not just accepted but even promoted. Often we hear claims such as "atheists are Satanists" or "atheists are immoral", this is despite the fact that atheists are disproportionately under-represented in the prison population. For instance, atheists make up over 16% of the total US population but less than 0.5% of the American prison population.
It is incredibly difficult to honestly argue that there's such a thing as Islamophobia and yet completely ignore the very real Atheophobia. After all, a phobia is an irrational fear, and racism aside, given all the acts of terrorism around the globe it's not entirely irrational to be worried about the well documented violent nature of Islam. However, given the evidence that unlike Christians and Muslims -- whose percents of the total population are proportionately represented in prison, and such comparatively rare instances of violence committed by atheists because of atheism -- it is entirely irrational to worry about atheists allegedly being a threat. Atheophobia is a real problem.
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2015, Joshua Michail
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