Xenophobia denotes a phobic attitude toward strangers or of the unknown. It comes from the Greek words îÝíïò (xenos), meaning "foreigner," "stranger," and öüâïò (phobos), meaning "fear." The term is typically used to describe fear or dislike of foreigners or in general of people different from one's self. For example, racism is sometimes described as a form of xenophobia, but in most cases racism has nothing to do with a real phobia. In science fiction, it has come to mean "fear of extraterrestrial things." Xenophobia implies a belief, accurate or not, that the target is in some way foreign.



All Americans getting caught up in this...that means non-believers too!

Text of President's Statement on Foiled Terror Plot President Bush, in Green Bay, Wis., August 10, 2006, remarks on a thwarted terrorist plot to simultaneously blow up aircraft heading to the United States from Britain

"The recent arrests that our fellow citizens are now learning about are a stark reminder that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom, to hurt our nation."

Do you think Muslims would be pissed off at a world leader equating their religion with Nazism, fascism, and totalitarianism?

Muslims Upset by Bush's Remarks They say his reference to 'Islamic fascists' intensifies U.S. hostility toward their religion.

Muslims, already resentful of the scrutiny they have been under since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, said the politically charged phrase unfairly connected one of the world's great religions with Nazism and totalitarianism and fueled hostility against Islam and Muslims in America.

Ever hear of Godwins Law?

Godwin's Law (also Godwin's Rule of Nazi Analogies) is a mainstay of Internet culture, an adage formulated by Mike Godwin in 1990. It is particulary concerned with logical fallacies such as reductio ad Hitlerum, wherein an idea is unduly dismissed or rejected on ground of it being associated with persons generally considered "evil".
The law states: As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one. Godwin observed that people had increasingly begun to compare anyone and anything they mildly disliked with Hitler and/or Fascism.
Godwin's Law does not dispute whether, in a particular instance, a reference or comparison to Hitler or the Nazis might be apt. It is precisely because such a reference or comparison may sometimes be appropriate, Godwin argues in his book, Cyber Rights: Defending Free Speech in the Digital Age, that hyperbolic overuse of the Hitler/Nazi comparison should be avoided, as it robs the valid comparisons of their impact.


Britain's Muslims Brace for Fallout
The police roundup and searches send a shudder through a community fearful of overreaction

LONDON Muslims in Britain reacted with quiet dread Thursday to news that authorities had rounded up 24 suspects and executed searches in predominantly Muslim enclaves, in connection with an alleged plot to blow up U.S. airliners.

"We sympathize with the position the police are in. But we also understand the damage these incidents can do in terms of public perception," said Inayat Banglawala, assistant secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain. "Some people are keen to portray British Muslims as a fifth column, a mass reservoir of terrorists prepared to slaughter their fellow citizens. So let's just wait and see."

A GALLUP POLL recently taken: Many Americans Harbor Strong Bias Against U.S. Muslims

NEW YORK A new Gallup poll finds that many Americans -- what it calls "substantial minorities" -- harbor "negative feelings or prejudices against people of the Muslim faith" in this country. Nearly one in four Americans, 22%, say they would not like to have a Muslim as a neighbor.

While Americans tend to disagree with the notion that Muslims living in the United States are sympathetic to al-Qaeda, a significant 34% believe they do back al-Qaeda. And fewer than half -- 49% -- believe U.S. Muslims are loyal to the United States.

Almost four in ten, 39%, advocate that Muslims here should carry special I.D. That same number admit that they do hold some "prejudice" against Muslims. Forty-four percent say their religious views are too "extreme."

In every case, Americans who actually know any Muslims are more sympathethic.

The poll was taken at the end of July and surveyed 1,007 adult Americans.



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Have we learned NOTHING from 9/11 or from Vietnam, WWII & WWI ????????

Reminds me of the story my roommate, William told me the other day. The day after 9/11 William was in a store and saw a woman who was dressed in traditional islamic clothes and was obviously of arabic/persian decent and she was visibly shaken and looking around in fear of everyone else, when William came up to her and said, you know not everyone in this country hates you. She started crying instantly and then William hugged her.

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I share that with you today, not only b/c is it valid, but also b/c it's easy to get caught up in a MOB mentallity...

A President Bush, the scumbag that he is, is the ring leader along with Cheney, and the rest of the Christocrats who desperately want to start another war. They are being supported spiritually by Christian Leaders who are "hell" bent on destroying the growth of Islam and clearing the way for Armageddon, and the second coming of jesus. They believe this so much, they are willing to die b/c of their belief.

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Don't you dare confuse my petition to your humanity to think that I don't know the unhealthy aspects of the Islamic Religion. I do of course....



And I will continue to use my words to counter the unhealthy ways of Muslims...but that doesn't mean non-believers have the right to become xenophobes.

THAT'S UNHEALTHY AND INHUMANE AND YOU KNOW IT!

If you buy into this you're now better than the Christian fundamentalist zealots like BUSH.

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According to Benjamin Franklin, if a particular faith needed the help of the government to preserve it, "it is a sign, I apprehend, of its being a bad one."

Quoting the late Saul Alinsky, who was renowned for his community organizing skills, Rudin noted that it only takes 2% of society to make change if it is a well-organized, fully committed cadre. "The other 98% is pretty inert.