Exhibit A: the case for the AP having Islamophobia.
“Islamist: Supporter of government in accord with the laws of Islam. Those who view the Quran as a political model encompass a wide range of Muslims, from mainstream politicians to militants known as jihadi.” – Associated Press style book prior to this week.
That definition for ‘Islamist’ appeared in the Associated Press’s style book since 2012. Thanks to a campaign by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), that definition – which is highly accurate and doesn’t single out CAIR at all – the AP has taken the word out of its style book.
Exhibit B: the case for CAIR having Islamophobia.
Via CNS News:
“Unfortunately, the term ‘Islamist’ has become shorthand for ‘Muslims we don’t like,’” said CAIR. “It is currently used in an almost exclusively pejorative context and is often coupled with the term ‘extremist,’ giving it an even more negative slant.”
The group’s national communications director, Ibrahim Hooper, also wrote a commentary earlier this year, calling on AP to drop the term.
“No journalist would think of referring to the ‘Judaist government of Israel,’ the ‘Christianist leader Rick Santorum’ or ‘Hinduist Indian politician Narendra Modi,’ while use of ‘Islamist’ has become ubiquitous,” Hooper wrote. “It might be an interesting exercise to hold a contest, the winner of which would be the first to find a positive mainstream media reference to ‘Islamist.’”
“By not dropping or modifying use of the term, the media are making a political and religious value judgment each time it is used,” he said.
It would appear that Mr. Hooper is having a bout with Islamophobia himself. At minimum, he’s awfully hypersensitive about a term being used that accurately describes a cross-section of Islamists…er…uh… how would you like such people identified, Mr. Hooper? We certainly wouldn’t want to exacerbate your phobia.
As for Hooper’s attempt to contrast “Islamist” with “Judaist government of Israel” or “Christianist leader Rick Santorm”, et. al. Islam is a political system of governance as well as a religion. The Torah and Bible are not. Then again, if we didn’t have so many ‘Islamophobes’ walking around, we might start understanding that.