Does islamophobia exist?

[Robert_S]

I don't fear Muslim people really and if they don't get up to intolerant fundie shit, I'd be happy to have some as neighbors or friends. I think they should be allowed to marry just like regular folks and they shouldn't be beheaded or stoned by the state just for being Muslims. I also think that if anyone beats up a Muslim just for being a Muslim then it should be considered a hate crime and carry a stiffer penalty than a simple assault.

That said, I think their religion is dangerous rubbish.

[charlou]

I think every person should be subject to the same laws we have already struggled and come to agreement on. What people do privately as individuals is their business, so long as it doesn't infringe upon those laws or the individual rights of others.

[surreptitious57]

I live amongst Muslims and have done so
all my life and will continue to do so for the
remainder of it so am therefore not the least
bit Islamophobic though am critical of Islam but
that is a separate issue. Fact of the matter is that
the overwhelming majority of Muslims here just hard
working men who provide for their families and are about
as interested in terrorism as you or I are. It is just sad human
nature to be prejudiced towards something which you know nothing
about and do not wish to learn since that would negate the raison d etre
of it in the first place. And this is not new here either. Look at the way some
react whenever Germany is mentioned. The Second World War ended sixty six years
ago for God s sake but the way some go on you would think it was only yesterday. Think
that it has something to do with us being an island. But we really need to try harder. We really do

[Exi5tentialist]

I think every person should be subject to the same laws we have already struggled and come to agreement on. What people do privately as individuals is their business, so long as it doesn't infringe upon those laws or the individual rights of others.

Well that's the case isn't it, in any western country? Every person is subject to the same laws.

[Rum]

I think the term is ambiguous. A phobia suggests an irrational fear, but actually there is no way to know if that fear is irrational or not. The last time I was in London and on the underground (subway) there was a small group of bearded, traditionally clad Muslims further down the carriage. I would bet you a large sum of money that all the rest of us had at the very least, a small niggle of anxiety about what they were up to (though of course 'real' terrorists tend to wear jeans and T shirts!). On the other hand wandering around the Pakistani areas of Birmingham or Manchester I don't I would feel perfectly safe. Is either position irrational?

Personally I think Islam, as I read it, is inherently intolerant, despite protestations from its moderates. I would say it is the harshest, most inhuman and dehumanising of all the religions and I hate it because of that.

[surreptitious57]

I think the term is ambiguous. A phobia suggests an irrational fear, but actually there is no way to know if that fear is irrational or not. The last time I was in London and on the underground (subway) there was a small group of bearded, traditionally clad Muslims further down the carriage. I would bet you a large sum of money that all the rest of us had at the very least, a small niggle of anxiety about what they were up to (though of course 'real' terrorists tend to wear jeans and T shirts!). On the other hand wandering around the Pakistani areas of Birmingham or Manchester I don't I would feel perfectly safe. Is either position irrational

Well I live in a Pakistani area of Birmingham and so am used to seeing
Muslims every time I leave the house. I would not think any differently if
I saw some on the Underground. I would have no problem in sitting next to
one so you are being irrational Rum but probably sub consciously so. It is an
automatic reaction you have no control over because you have an exaggerated
fear of death. But you are probably more likely to die of natural causes than any
thing else. The best way to over come a fear is to confront it. The next time you
are on public transport go and sit next to a Muslim and keep on doing that until you
no longer have this irrationality. That will be one thing less to worry about then man

[Rum]

Thanks for the advice, but I can live with it.