Islamophobia: Washington’s
"New Colonialism"
By Dr. Ismail Salami
Global Research, May 20, 2012
URL of this article: www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=30952
In
an organized act of brutality, a number of US soldiers went on a
house-to-house shooting spree in Zangabad village, Kandahar in March and
massacred 16 people including nine children while they were sleeping
and all Washington had to say were a few words of condolence and apology
nonchalantly strung together in order to appease the overwhelming
public rage in Afghanistan. Western media however reduced the number of
the killers to one.
The bodies were reportedly wrapped in blankets and were set on fire.
US President Barack Obama said
he was deeply saddened, "I offer my condolences to the families and
loved ones of those who lost their lives, and to the people of
Afghanistan, who have endured too much violence and suffering. This
incident ... does not represent the exceptional character of our
military and the respect that the United States has for the people of
Afghanistan."
As contradictory as these words
seem, the very 'exceptional character' of the US military had earlier
urged them to burn copies of the Holy Quran, an incident which saddened
the hearts of Muslims all across the world.
These and earlier incidents are
not coincidental and well attest to a prevailing mindset in the US
military and a dominant policy in Washington. It is clear that the US
government has commenced a large-scale campaign against Islam with the
express intention of debilitating the Muslim community.
In fact, the war on Islam
started in 2001 when the then US president George Bush made a crass
reference to his so-called war on terror as ‘crusade’. He warned
Americans that "this crusade, this war on terrorism, is going to take
awhile." Bush’s politically untoward remark rang alarm bells in Europe
and the Muslim world although it went barely noticed in the American
community who took the word for its sound rather than for its meaning.
Gradually, Washington instilled a
sensation of anti-Islamism in America and Europe by attributing the
nine-eleven tragedy and ensuing terrorist operations to the Muslims.
Soheib Bensheikh, Grand Mufti of the mosque in Marseille, France said
Bush’s use of the word ‘crusade’ was most unfortunate and that “It
recalled the barbarous and unjust military operations against the Muslim
world" by Christian knights.
A delusional man who was
overwhelmed with the idea of a messianic mission, George Bush wittingly
or unwittingly dragged the world to the margins where a clash of
civilizations was imminent.
The legacy of hatred which was started by George Bush was later continued in the form of classes and organized trainings.
In line with this Islamophobic
policy funded by Washington and the powerful Zionist groups in the
country, the US military has long been involved in fomenting anger and
hatred against the Muslims by teaching its future leaders that a “total
war” against the Muslims would be necessary to protect America.
According to hundreds of pages of course material and reference documents obtained by Danger Room (wired.com), the US military held a course at the Defense Department’s Joint Forces Staff College and taught the students that they had to use a Hiroshima-style in Muslim counties and target the “civilian population wherever necessary.”
According to hundreds of pages of course material and reference documents obtained by Danger Room (wired.com), the US military held a course at the Defense Department’s Joint Forces Staff College and taught the students that they had to use a Hiroshima-style in Muslim counties and target the “civilian population wherever necessary.”
The officer in charge of the
hate lessons was Army Lt. Col. Matthew A. Dooley who still maintains his
position at the Norfolk, Virginia College. Sadly, those who sat in his
classes are now in the top positions in the US military.
The course ‘Perspectives on
Islam and Islamic Radicalism’ was offered five times a year for groups
of 20 at a time, the course may have been taught to as many as 800
mid-level and senior US military officers.
In a July presentation, Dooly
said, “We have now come to understand that there is no such thing as
‘moderate Islam. It is therefore time for the United States to make our
true intentions clear. This barbaric ideology will no longer be
tolerated. Islam must change or we will facilitate its
self-destruction.”
In his ugly lessons, he taught
that “International laws protecting civilians in wartime are no longer
relevant,” and that mainstream Muslims are dangerous, because they’re
violent by nature. He also called for a Hiroshima-style destruction of
the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
Those who sat in his classes and
patiently listened to his mad remarks are the ones who are now serving
in Afghanistan and teaching the same hate lessons to their subordinates
and even encouraging them to wipe out the Muslim community.
The atrocities perpetrated by
the US military in the Muslim countries over the past 11 years or so are
closely associated with and inspired by these appalling teachings.
Washington and the Zionist
groups have long been making relentless efforts to depict Islam and the
Muslims in dark shadows. An in-depth investigation into Islamophobia
‘Dubbed as Fear, Inc. The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America’
was carried out by the Center for American Progress in the United
States. The report sheds light on the collective efforts of the Zionist
groups funded by the United States in pedaling a hatred for and a fear
of Islam in the form of books, reports, websites, blogs, and carefully
crafted talking points. According to the report, these wealthy donors
and foundations also provide direct funding to anti-Islam grassroots
groups.
The project of Islamophobia
which has cost more than $40 million over the past ten years has been
funded by seven foundations in the United States: 1. Richard Mellon
Scaife Foundation; 2. Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation; 3. Newton and
Rochelle Becker; 4. Foundation and Newton and Rochelle Becker Charitable
Trust; 5. Russell Berrie Foundation, Anchorage Charitable Fund and
William Rosenwald; 6. Family Fund; 7. Fairbrook Foundation.
After all, Islamophobia is
nothing new. Despite its rising upsurge in recent years, there have been
efforts in the past to promote this pernicious trend.
Years ago, prominent Orientalist
Edward Said warned of these calculated efforts in the West, arguing
that the essentializing nature of the Orientalist enterprise has
resulted today in misguided, inaccurate depictions of Islamic cultures:
“Most of the pictures represent mass rage and misery, or irrational
(hence hopelessly eccentric) gestures. Lurking behind all of these
images is the menace of jihad. Consequence: a fear that the Muslims will
take over the world.”
Islamophobia is a form of
political colonialism; an ideological war against Islam and the Muslims.
It is a pernicious practice used by Washington and its allies to
justify their lust for Muslim blood, give validity to their military
expeditions in Muslim countries and seize hold of their numerous
resources.
