We must take note that one reason ISIL committed the terrorist attacks in Paris is to make us hate Muslims (as may be seen here and here).
We must be careful to distinguish between the guilty and the innocent. When one say that "Islamic terrorists" committed the ghastly terrorist attacks in Paris such a person is effectively exonerating ISIL who committed the massacre. If "Islam" (stereotyped as a hostile and unified, political force) is to be blamed for the terrorist attacks then that is letting ISIL off the hook. It is exonerating those who committed the ghastly terrorist attacks. How can they be blamed if "Islam" is to be blamed? Oh, what folly anti-Muslim bigotry creates.
But utterly heedless of these implications Joel Hilliker proceeds to simplistically states that "Islamic terrorists" committed the terrorist attacks in Paris, obscuring the fact that a terrorist cell controlled by ISIL committed the ghastly massacre.
The Islamic State is taking responsibility. These were Islamic terrorist attacks. (Joel Hilliker, 30-50 seconds.)We must be careful to distinguish between the guilty and the innocent. Calling a terrorist attack committed by ISIL as "Islamic terrorist attacks" as though Muslims collectively are guilty of the terrorist attack is guilt by association. It is wrong to accuse innocent Muslims of being somehow guilty by association of what ISIL did. Such guilt by association actually exonerates the guilty ones, namely the ISIL terrorists, and relieves them of responsibility of what they did.
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Those who stand up against anti-Muslim bigotry are referred to in a negative way as "apologists" and as defenders of multiculturalism. When in fact there are simply some people who wish to hold the guilty responsible and to make sure that innocent Muslims are not tarred with ISIL's terrorist crimes.
If one pays close attention to what is said in this broadcast it will be clear that they fail to distinguish between the guilty and the innocent.
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There is segment in which Joel Hilliker and Jeremiah Jacques talk with each other. During this interview Hilliker made the following statement. Note how he inaccurately portrays Islam as a singular, unified, political force. He talks as though Islam is some sort of imperialist empire when in fact the Muslims are divided into numerous nation states and even within these nation states there are numerous differing political groups. All these differences are willfully ignored.
It's a religion with bloody borders because they do have this us against them mentality and it is a kind of imperialistic way of thinking that results in conflicts like we've seen throughout history and like what we saw in Paris last week. (Joel Hilliker, 24 minutes.)Ironically PCG constantly vilifies Muslims and constantly portrays them in the worst light.
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Jeremiah Jacques talks about "Islamic peoples." (26 minutes.)
Islam is a religion, not a race. For PCG it is all about race. Muslims are stereotyped as being not "like us." Even though they are vilifying a religion because they view Muslims as a unified, political force they cannot help but assume "they" are of a different race. It is PCG that insists on racializing this issue.
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It is insinuated that those Muslims who disagree with terrorist extremists like ISIL are not real Muslims. (Joel Hilliker, 29 minutes.)
Because they insist on stereotyping Muslims collectively as terrorists it is necessary to somehow denigrate all Muslims who do not fit this stereotype as somehow not being "true Muslims" (as defined by PCG).
Bizarrely this means that PCG have assumed for themselves the authority to judge who is a "true Muslim" and who is a "false Muslim" and furthermore PCG wants us to believe that that the "true Muslims" (as defined by PCG) are the ISIL terrorists.
Oh, what folly anti-Muslim bigotry produces.
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Brad MacDonald talks of "Armies of Islam." (MacDonald, 31-32 minutes.) Once again they are simplistically portraying "Islam" as a single, unified, political force. The many differences and political and national divisions among Muslims are ignored.
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Again PCG's leaders insist on viewing Muslims as a unified, political force. As though they act as one. This is a straw man of Islam. A narrow stereotype. There is widespread variety of Muslims.
It [Islam] is an imperialist entity. (Joel Hilliker, 35 minutes.)
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MacDonald denies being anti-Islam by mentioning other religions they do not like. (36 minutes.)
That does not change the fact that PCG's leaders are failing to distinguish between the guilty and the innocent among Muslims. It is wrong to collectively accuse Muslims as a whole of conspiring against the West. This is just a stereotype that ignores the vast political and national diversity among Muslims.
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Paranoid insistence that knowledge of the Battle of Tours is being suppressed by multiculturalists. (37 minutes.)
It is not. This is just an attempt to create an artificial sense of grievance by people PCG disagree with.
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MacDonald talks about "native French". (43-44 minutes.)
He refers to whites. For PCG this denigration of Muslims collectively is about race.
MacDonald refuses to treat those who are not white as equals with himself. The reason Muslims supposedly cannot integrate is partly because of people who refuse to treat them as equals.
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It is unfortunate that some choose to spread badly informed misinformation to people and stir up unnecessary fears about innocent Muslims.
We must be careful to distinguish between the guilty and the innocent.
ISIL wants us to hate Muslims. We must not give them what they want.
NCIS Los Angeles did a really nice job of depicting the realities that Middle Eastern immigrants face just last night.
ReplyDeleteSam Hanna and G. Callen were pursuing an Arabic person of interest in the course of an investigation. They arrived at his home just as he was getting out of his car, and at gunpoint, made him kneel and clasp his hands behind his head. Suddenly, the wife came out of their home asking if the agents were responding to her 911 call, regarding the disappearance of their daughter. This changed everything!
The daughter had been recruited by ISIL, and was thought to be enroute to Turkey. Other teenagers had been recruited, as well. One thing came across right away. These teenagers were totally Americanized. They spoke English without accent, and were into all of the activities that normal American teenagers are normally involved in. This is a fact that prompted Hetty Lange (head of the local NCIS offices) to say, "They are coming after <> children!
I'm not going to be a plot spoiler for those who wish to catch the future rerun, or download the program, but it certainly got me thinking. Virtually any ethnic immigrant group has a serious image problem with the more extreme elements of their particular group. The Irish had the IRA, just as the Italians had the Mafia. The Mexicans have the cartels and street gangs, the Japanese have the Yakuza, and the Chinese have the Triads. Representatives of their own ethnicity actually prey on them. This is something that most white people do not have to deal with. Our latest batch of immigrants, Arabic or Muslim people, are simply following a tradition. The criminal element of their group has its hooks in, and preys upon these people, trying to bring them down, if possible. And, unfortunately, we tend to identify the entire group with their criminal element, rather than considering them as individuals. It's sad to think that the smiling Middle Eastern teenagers working in Walmart would have to deal with such things, as they came here to escape the very same perils, but this is their reality.
Unfortunately, the typical ACOG mentality does not allow church members to think these things through in any kind of depth. Armstrongites only see immigrants as usurpers of "Israel", one more sign of the endtimes.
BB
It is very sad and unfortunate that some within the COGs choose to live in fear of ethnic minorities or choose to let sensationalist stereotypes dictate how they treat ordinary people.
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