Don’t look now but Oklahoma State Rep. John Bennett’s case of Islamophobia appears to be getting worse. Naturally, this has the effect of mobilizing more ‘moderate’ Muslim voices to help cure him.
Unfortunately for those ‘moderate’ Muslims, the aggressive strain of Islamophobia is actually quite contagious, especially when the person who has it is in a position of authority or leadership, like Bennett.
Earlier this month, Shoebat.com wrote about Bennett’s scrum with the ‘moderate’ Muslims when he used his personal facebook page to express his personal views about Islam. At that point, Islamophobia can often be stamped out with intimidation; it did not work in Bennett’s case. Days later, it was learned that Bennett was standing by his comments and refused to apologize to CAIR, which demanded one.
Bennett’s Islamophobia had hit stage two. The refusal of a politician to apologize for his Islamophobia is indeed rare. In fact, such an aggressive strain of Islamophobia can be incredibly dangerous to Islam. However, if enough intimidation is used, the Islamophobia can be quarantined. Instead of not issuing an apology, mutual face-saving measures between the ‘moderate’ voices of Islam and the Islamophobe tacitly agree to let the issue die.
Well, it looks like Mr. Bennett has moved on to stage three Islamophobia. In this particular case, the condition manifests itself at a town hall, where Bennett devotes his time to exploring Islam. In fact, Muslims should be happy Islam is being discussed in public forums. All too often, it’s said that we need discussion and ‘open dialogue’. Watch Bennett here (h/t BNI):
Stage four Islamophobia is extremely rare, especially in politicians but if Bennett keeps this up, he’s headed there. One of the symptoms is fear mongering by Muslim civil rights groups. In a strange twist, it is the leaders of these groups who actually begin to instill a phobia among Muslims. A politician with stage three Islamophobia becomes a target that requires a sense of urgency and sustained attacks by Muslim civil rights groups. In this particular case, one such group is seeking to engage the help of Bennett’s political colleagues in his state.
Stage four Islamophobia – if full blown – is so rare in leaders and politicians that western civilization hasn’t really seen much of it. Geert Wilders of the Netherlands is one example; Marine le Pen in France is another. In the U.S., Reps. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) and Michele Bachmann (R-MN) have come close; they definitely have stage three. Winston Churchill had stage four but died from something else.
If you would like to contact Bennett’s office to express a desire that he not be cured of Islamophobia, here is how:
EMAIL: [email protected]
TEL: 1-800-522-8502