Bigotry is intersectional. You know damn well what people are trying to say, and what hateful bullshit they’re responding to.
When some redcap uses “Muslim” as a synecdoche for spitting out middle-eastern stereotypes, they’re not engaging in comparative religious criticism, or making some grand philosophical argument. They’re being a racist asshole. Even if the label they use is not a race. If you haven’t noticed - racist assholes love tiny excuses to say ‘what’s so racist about–?!’ whatever dehumanizing caricature they just attributed to some associated label. Like “thugs.” Or “bankers.”
Bankers aren’t an ethnicity… but people screaming about “bankers controlling the media” are definitely talking about an ethnicity.
When some redcap uses “Muslim” as a synecdoche for spitting out middle-eastern stereotypes, they’re not engaging in comparative religious criticism, or making some grand philosophical argument.
This is true, but when I’m having a discussion about religion and I feel like I’m done criticizing christianity and move on to islam for a bit, people shouldn’t say “woah, that sounds a bit racist”, and some people still do. I’m very left leaning but I have to say it’s mostly people who consider themselves progressive or left leaning, who have trouble separating these things.
I mean, do you think Islamophobia is rooted in theological disputes? The Christian nationalists who find common ground between Catholics, evangelicals, Eastern Orthodox, and Jews hate Muslims because of their almost indistinguishable tenets of faith?
Yep. While technically being an Islamophobe isn’t racist, odds are the reason one is an Islamophobe has very little to do with them being Islamic.
Also, the hateful person does not care to distinguish between race, ethnicity, religion, or whatever other aspect they decide to hate. They have classified some attributes as making people not like them and hateable. The framework of analysis you are using is immaterial to the racist. That is, they do care that they are Islamic, just not with any subtlety.
Discriminating and/or being mean to Muslims is not cool. Thinking their religion is fucking stupid is cool. Same goes for the other religions.
Religion is part of identity. You can’t make fun of someone’s religion without also making fun of them for being stupid enough to believe it.
Not to mention that the profoundly religious associate everything they do as acting in accordance with scripture. So by making a mockery of their faith, you are by extension the enemy of all that is good and just, and there’s no difference in intent from their perspective.
That’s why you can never try to reason with people who are religious. If they’re going to interpret it that way anyways, may as well meet them at their level and accept the situation for what it is.
