Is it rational to fear ISIS & Al Quaida? So why does the press call it Islamophobia?

Col Joseph Lenertz — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 12:28:30 -0400

Is it rational to fear ISIS & Al Quaida? So why does the press call it Islamophobia?

I was taught "phobia" means "an irrational fear of"...but it's rational to be afraid to get your head chopped off, isn't it? Is this PC run amok, or just another attempt to grab you with a headline?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/french-muslims-caught-between-rising-islamophobia-and-growing-extremism/2015/03/22/7359329c-c739-11e4-bea5-b893e7ac3fb3_story.html

French Muslims caught between Islamophobia and extremism

Potentially devastating forces are feeding on each other months after attacks traumatized Paris.

Response by SFC Jeremy Smith made Mar 23 at 2015 1:52 PM

SFC Jeremy Smith — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 13:52:25 -0400

I work in Saudi Arabia, many of their forces are on the border of Iraq and Yemen and they are building a fence on the Iraq border...so if these Muslim countries like UAE, Jordan and Saudi Arabia are worried about these extremism I say that it is a legitimate threat and not Islamophobia

Response by SSG Norman Lihou made Mar 23 at 2015 5:57 PM

SSG Norman Lihou — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 17:57:30 -0400

It is interesting from a psychological perspective how Western culture loves to come to the defense of a victim. I think this goes to a narrative to cast doubt on those who are supporting illicit and threat networks to use the term of a phobia which also means that the person who is making accusations is then racist or a bigot.

CAIR is one of those organizations that have ties to illicit and threat networks that uses the term Islamaphobia. There was the case of the two Florida students who were traveling near a military installation in South Carolina and were stopped for speeding. When the officer approached the car he noticed that they acted suspicious hiding a laptop and some other behavior. When he looked in the trunk, he saw pipe bombs and explosives. The explosives were blown up in place and the story that CAIR spun was that these Egyptian college students were traveling the coast to shoot off fireworks and that the cops were Islamaphobic. CAIR held a number of press conferences and the FBI analysis showed that the items in the trunk were explosives and not fireworks. The two had traveled off of 95 by 40 miles because they were looking for cheap gas and were near a military installation known to hold HVI.

http://www.investigativeproject.org/426/indicted-usf-student-has-terror-past-in#

Indicted USF Student has Terror Past in Egypt - update*

Update: Sept. 5, 2007, 12:00 p.m. While the affidavit remains sealed, the warrant used by the FBI last month to search the home of one of the accused USF explosives suspects shows agents were after recorded evidence about making explosives and possible

Response by Capt Seid Waddell made Jun 1 at 2015 12:44 PM

Capt Seid Waddell — Mon, 01 Jun 2015 12:44:21 -0400

It is a phobia only insofar as it is inaccurate.

Response by SCPO David Lockwood made Jun 1 at 2015 12:45 PM

SCPO David Lockwood — Mon, 01 Jun 2015 12:45:01 -0400

Upfront I would say no but due to the fact that ISIS is terrorising the middle east and attacks have been made here in the states. I can only say that this is a natural defensive instinct. My thoughts!

Response by CPT Ahmed Faried made Jun 1 at 2015 12:52 PM

CPT Ahmed Faried — Mon, 01 Jun 2015 12:52:54 -0400

illogically drawn conclusion. My answer would be no.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 1 at 2015 1:19 PM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 01 Jun 2015 13:19:22 -0400

Some of our best friends as Islamic also

Response by SGT Lawrence Corser made Jun 1 at 2015 1:22 PM

SGT Lawrence Corser — Mon, 01 Jun 2015 13:22:34 -0400

no. some our allies are muslims, some of our enemies are also christian and some have no faith. maybe just fight whom ever tries to hurt others for a unjust cause. Vague I know.

Response by Capt Richard I P. made Jun 1 at 2015 2:14 PM

Capt Richard I P. — Mon, 01 Jun 2015 14:14:22 -0400

Phobia implies irrational fear. So no, Islamaphobia is not justified because a small subset follow Islam.

Skeptical suspicion and analytic consideration leading to heuristic rapid assessments until disproven in order to reduce lethal surprise? That's justified.

Response by Col Joseph Lenertz made Jun 1 at 2015 2:18 PM

Col Joseph Lenertz — Mon, 01 Jun 2015 14:18:55 -0400

Phobias are irrational fears. While recognizing the vast majority of Muslims are peaceful, the recent and increasingly widespread, and often horrific, violence by Islamists (separating them from Muslims) specifically targeting Christians is real. Rational people fear getting their heads chopped off, getting hit by explosions along a marathon, and getting gunned down in a shopping mall.

Response by SGT Darryl Allen made Jun 1 at 2015 8:12 PM

SGT Darryl Allen — Mon, 01 Jun 2015 20:12:27 -0400

Well, there's about 1.6 billion Muslims in the world. Compare that to the roughly 2.2 billion Christians and 1 billion Hindus, I'd say that if the Muslims REALLY wanted us all dead, they'd have a pretty good chance about it.

Now since there aren't 1.6 billion members of ISIS, but more like a scant few thousand at best, I'd say that being afraid of 25% of the world's population based on the actions of 0.0000004% of the world's population is a pretty bad conclusion.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 2 at 2015 9:45 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 02 Jun 2015 21:45:22 -0400

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Sep 4 at 2015 6:09 AM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Fri, 04 Sep 2015 06:09:23 -0400

No! Like Judging all Christians by a lot of the Violence in the Old Testament.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Sep 17 at 2015 2:07 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 14:07:08 -0400

I believe radicalism of Muslims is performed by seducing the youths who live in poverty. They are bitter and jealous of how Westerners live, and joining a movement gives them a higher purpose they are seeking.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 17 at 2015 2:51 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 14:51:44 -0400

Most fear what they do not understand.

Response by Lt Col Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 18 at 2015 9:31 AM

Lt Col Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 09:31:06 -0400

It is rational to be concerned about ISIL and Al-Qaeda. The problem is that we often associate all Muslims with these organizations...that's when it becomes Islamophobia.

Response by SPC Luis Mendez made Sep 19 at 2015 2:48 PM

SPC Luis Mendez — Sat, 19 Sep 2015 14:48:56 -0400

Fear is usually followed by anxiety, melodrama, hysteria, neurosis and panic. The foundation of it all is mostly ignorance, and yes it can be irrational. Common sense, logic, reason and thought could potentially remove Fear and the rest from the minds and hearts of people, but it hasn't happen. If Education, Legislation and all the other "ations" could remove dumb, we would be a Nation Full of Geniuses.

Response by SSG Michael Scott made Sep 24 at 2015 6:24 PM

SSG Michael Scott — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 18:24:05 -0400

Yes, all of them and no beards either.

Response by SGT Jose Perdelia-Torres made Oct 14 at 2015 8:55 AM

SGT Jose Perdelia-Torres — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 08:55:55 -0400

NO it is not okay, especially in America. Racism has no place in modern times, and islamophobia is racism and ethnocentric as well. You shouldn't blame the many for the actions of a few. That's in anything/subject.

Response by TSgt John Temblador, PI, CIPA made Nov 1 at 2015 12:14 AM

TSgt John Temblador, PI, CIPA — Sun, 01 Nov 2015 00:14:15 -0400

Response by TSgt John Temblador, PI, CIPA made Nov 1 at 2015 12:37 AM

TSgt John Temblador, PI, CIPA — Sun, 01 Nov 2015 00:37:44 -0400

US Textbooks Say Muslims Discovered America

https://youtu.be/XMnCpj2eZtI

US Textbooks Say Muslims Discovered America

Response by SGT Wilson Dickey made Nov 2 at 2015 1:14 AM

SGT Wilson Dickey — Mon, 02 Nov 2015 01:14:50 -0500

Well considering the fact that many people counter protest against westboro, and any sane person despises and condems the KKK, and if you do either of those things against Islam you would be stoned in those countries they are the majority in..... I would say you have lifted up a straw man argument. It's not the wackos in a religion, it's the fact that the majority either doesn't speak out against it, or in some cases, outwardly support it.

Response by SGT William Howell made Nov 2 at 2015 12:05 PM

SGT William Howell — Mon, 02 Nov 2015 12:05:06 -0500

I am divided on this. Part of me wants to say all people are created equal. The other part of me says, I have never known a Jew to fly a plane into a building, or a Hindu to strap a bomb to himself and blow up a bus. All in the name of religion. So hey there is something to it.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Nov 2 at 2015 1:18 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Mon, 02 Nov 2015 13:18:45 -0500

There is a lot of mutual hate.

Response by TSgt Kenneth Ellis made Nov 2 at 2015 1:52 PM

TSgt Kenneth Ellis — Mon, 02 Nov 2015 13:52:30 -0500

Westboro Baptist are condemned by everyone. I see that in the news and web. They are not even fringe group. No one takes them seriously. So you cannot compare them to Radical Islam. Have you seen any Muslim stand up against the radicals in Islam who threatend and killed the cartoonist who drew a picture of Mohamed?

Response by PV2 Scott Goodpasture made Nov 2 at 2015 4:22 PM

PV2 Scott Goodpasture — Mon, 02 Nov 2015 16:22:02 -0500

No we should detain the 80 year old blue haired old lady at the airport not a Muslim male militant. C'mon that's just racist

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 2 at 2015 11:38 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 02 Nov 2015 23:38:57 -0500

Let's rephrase the question a little and add some historical context for shits and giggles. Imagine a German circa 1940 asking another fellow German, "Is antisemitism okay because some of our 'enemies' are Jewish?" Mull over that for a minute and come back to the original question presented in the title and see where you stand on things.

Response by CPO Andy Carrillo, MS made Nov 3 at 2015 12:51 AM

CPO Andy Carrillo, MS — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 00:51:34 -0500

Is anyone keeping count?

Response by LTC Bink Romanick made Nov 3 at 2015 12:10 PM

LTC Bink Romanick — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 12:10:18 -0500

SSG Richard Reilly Yes because it's rational to hate 1.3 billion people. I am ashamed of some of the ignorance that I see.

Response by LCpl Mark Lefler made Nov 3 at 2015 12:15 PM

LCpl Mark Lefler — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 12:15:52 -0500

it's never ok to say a whole population of people are evil.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 3 at 2015 12:46 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 12:46:55 -0500

There are a bunch of common answers here, and I agree with most of what has been said, but I would add this to the table, and if someone has already said it I apologize, but our ability to fight should not be based out of fear or hatred, it should be based off our ability to legitimately identify a threat and complete our mission before they accomplish theirs. But if we operated out of Islamophobia, we would cease to possess positive identification, and very potentially create a new conflict just trying to end the previous ones.

Response by PV2 Scott Goodpasture made Nov 3 at 2015 4:08 PM

PV2 Scott Goodpasture — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 16:08:52 -0500

Right or wrong it's to be expected

Response by COL Sam Russell made Nov 3 at 2015 4:28 PM

COL Sam Russell — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 16:28:24 -0500

There is no requirement to protect speech that is not offensive. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

As Judge Andrew Nepolitano once stated the Constitution was established to protect the speech "we fear, hate and loathe," because "the speech we like doesn't need protection."

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jun/24/andrew-napolitano-protecting-hatred-preserves-free/?page=all

ANDREW NAPOLITANO: Protecting hatred preserves freedom

The tragedy of a mass murder in Charleston, South Carolina, last week, obviously motivated by racial hatred, has raised anew the issue of the lawfulness of the State expressing an opinion by flying a Confederate flag at the Statehouse, and the constitutionality of the use of the First Amendment to protect hate speech and hate groups. The State has no business expressing opinions on anything, and it is required to protect hate. Here is the law....

Response by PV2 Scott Goodpasture made Nov 3 at 2015 4:51 PM

PV2 Scott Goodpasture — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 16:51:29 -0500

http://www.allenbwest.com/2015/11/3-reasons-europe-is-on-the-verge-of-destruction/

Response by LTC William Beverley-Blanco made Nov 4 at 2015 10:00 AM

LTC William Beverley-Blanco — Wed, 04 Nov 2015 10:00:33 -0500

Fear=Phobia comes from Ignorance
Ignorance =Weakness

Response by CPL Derek Bryant made Nov 4 at 2015 10:24 AM

CPL Derek Bryant — Wed, 04 Nov 2015 10:24:35 -0500

I affirm that the bigoted reaction of many in the west toward Muslims originates out of ignorance and mis-information created by parties with ulterior motives. For instance, when the United States, England, France, Canada, and many other countries allied with them were fighting the Germany during WWII there was no phobia attached to the religion of the Axis Powers. The judging of individuals or groups which number in the hundreds of millions by the acts of a few (what ever there motivation) should not be accepted and or condoned in the United States, nor in any country that values freedom. To condone such actions promoting or allowing things like a Muhammad cartoon contest would surely violate the alleged principles upon which the United States was founded.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 4 at 2015 12:08 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 04 Nov 2015 12:08:59 -0500

For me to have an extreme fear of Islam is a "NO"! I could care less who you worship as long as you are not a terrorist! For some people I would say "YES" to having a phobia to Islam! Most people only believe what they see on social media (Facebook) and TV. Although, with the extremist that kill in the name of Islam this does create a hatred and fear for people around the world. This extreme violence just makes the religion look bad!

Response by SPC Robby Robinson made Nov 6 at 2015 5:59 AM

SPC Robby Robinson — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 05:59:00 -0500

Yelling fire in a crowded theater is an "ACTION", whereas insulting a religion is an "OPINION", a belief. However, burning the United States flag, whilst first and foremost an "ACTION" the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled in Johnson V state of Texas (1989) that burning OUR flag in effigy (although an ACTION" is symbolic of a deeper belief and thus finds protection under the 1st Amendment of our Bill of Rights. So SSG Reilly, it is my belief that you misunderstand what SCOTUS stated. The Westboro Baptist Church is a perfect example of your misunderstanding as the actions and speech of WBC can and have led to violence and disorder.
Although I do NOT approve of Ms. Pamela Geller's actions what with the draw a Muhammad cartoon contest, I will defend her actions as would ANY American. As much as I find the Westboro Baptist Church to be despicable, I will also defend their actions. The thing about freedom, the thing about OUR Bill of Rights, more specifically OUR 1St Amendment rights to freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion is those ideals apply to those actions, words, and beliefs we find despicable. Most importantly, OUR 1st Amendment rights apply to those actions and beliefs, REGARDLESS of whether we agree with them or not.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Nov 8 at 2015 2:20 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Sun, 08 Nov 2015 14:20:28 -0500

Lets send the press to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Response by PV2 Scott Goodpasture made Nov 9 at 2015 11:05 AM

PV2 Scott Goodpasture — Mon, 09 Nov 2015 11:05:58 -0500

Response by SFC Maury Gonzalez made Nov 9 at 2015 5:59 PM

SFC Maury Gonzalez — Mon, 09 Nov 2015 17:59:28 -0500

It all started with social media after 9/11, every time you hear news about " we can't do that because we don't want to offend someone " It is about the Muslims, schools, malls, businesses dont want to offend Islam. Never mind that if you are gay, Christian or a woman they will kill you in 2 second if you go to their countries lke Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan or Pakistan. How come its ok to have Halloween costume of the pope, but if you try to dress as muhammad th FBI and Obama dept of justice will investigate as a hate crime

Response by PO1 John Miller made Nov 9 at 2015 10:15 PM

PO1 John Miller — Mon, 09 Nov 2015 22:15:58 -0500

Somebody who wants to kill me simply for being an American and/or not subscribing to their personal interpretation of Islam/Muslim religion makes me and any rational person fear and feel sorry for/dislike them. That is not a phobia, that is logic.

Response by TSgt John Temblador, PI, CIPA made Nov 12 at 2015 11:39 AM

TSgt John Temblador, PI, CIPA — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 11:39:33 -0500

http://www.pamelageller.com/2015/11/new-isis-manual-shows-us-in-crosshairs-fbi-has-900-ongoing-isis-related-investigations.html/

New ISIS manual shows US in crosshairs; FBI has 900 ongoing ISIS-related investigations | Pamela...

“You should make sure to not look particularly attached to religion. A man who works on a secret operation should meddle in the general population. If you can avoid having a beard, wearing qamis (Islamic clothes), using miswak (a sort of toothbrush recommended in the hadiths), and have a booklet of dhikr (Islamic devotional booklet) with you, it’s better. Also, you shouldn’t be going to often to places like mosques, Islamic institutes or...

Response by COL Ted Mc made Nov 12 at 2015 12:53 PM

COL Ted Mc — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 12:53:15 -0500

Col Joseph Lenertz - Colonel; I'm in the middle of reading "Canada and the United States: Differences that Count, Third Edition" - [University of Toronto Press, Higher Education Division; 3 edition (January 1, 2008) - ISBN-10: [login to see] - ISBN-13: [login to see] 126] which, although dated (and written from the Canadian perspective) is an interesting exploration of the similarities and differences between the US and Canada. (There actually are differences.)

However, even though its statistics are a bit dated they are taken from both multi-national and bi-national studies where the identical questions were asked.

One interesting datum (which I forgot to flag) was the number of Americans killed over a 10 year period by "terrorists" and the number killed by guns (all causes, deliberate, accidental, and 'other' were included in this comparison. I forget what the "gun death" number was, but the "terrorist" number stuck in my mind because it was only EIGHT.

Possibly that will put SOME of the issue into perspective.

Response by MSgt James Mullis made Nov 13 at 2015 2:04 PM

MSgt James Mullis — Fri, 13 Nov 2015 14:04:42 -0500

I would say yes it "is rational" to fear the potential actions of ISIS/ISIL/Al Quaida/Radical Islam/those seeking to destroy our ally and the only democracy in the middle east Israel/those seeking the rise of a Caliphate or whatever else you want to call islamist fanatics and terrorists. The Media likes to confuse things by creating the Straw Man argument that fearing islamist terrorists (and taking actions against them) is the same as fearing all Muslims. It is definitely not the same thing. For example, most of us are discriminating enough to be able to detest the actions of the Westboro Baptist Church while not detesting all Christians around the world.

Of course any fears of terrorist actions needs to be moderated against the potential for you to be harmed. In my case, it is very unlikely that a terrorist bomb will go off in rural Southern New Mexico. However, if you have friends and relatives as I do, in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, or even certain areas of the the Pacific, the odds of a loved one being harmed by a Islamist terrorist is greatly increased (if still very small). On the other hand, everyone in America should be afraid of (and seek to reduce) the potential for terrorists to gain access to ground to air missiles, nuclear weapons, or any other form of WMD

Response by PV2 Scott Goodpasture made Nov 14 at 2015 6:44 PM

PV2 Scott Goodpasture — Sat, 14 Nov 2015 18:44:51 -0500

I don't think its irrational at all. The evidence is everywhere pointing to male Muslim extremist in their continuing thirst for blood and death. It's always been there since I can remember. It's irrational to discount it as a phobia when it is fact. Not only is it PC run Amok but it's a Liberal self loathing to the point that they would see us all subjugated because at some point in their pathetic bleeding heart lives someone teased them for being fat or ugly or didn't pick them for kick ball in the fourth grade. The media has an agenda it seems and it's not in the interest of Americans or their national security.