.... Islamophobia, like bigotry and hatred of any kind, is easier to identify when it occurs on the far right. When Rep. Steve King said that he didn’t want Somali Muslims working at meatpacking plants because they don’t eat pork or when Ann Coulter proposed that America invade Muslims countries and “kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity,” the condemnations were sharp and swift.
But tackling Islamophobia from liberal and left circles is trickier. New Atheists such as Bill Maher and Sam Harris, both championed as progressives, have been accused of perpetuating anti-Muslim sentiments under the guise of intellectual debate.
“Not only does the Muslim world have something in common with ISIS. It has too much in common with ISIS,” proclaimed Maher in a 2014 episode of his HBO show. Harris voraciously opposed the construction of a mosque near the World Trade Center site in 2010, writing that its construction would be “a sign that the liberal values of the West are synonymous with decadence and cowardice.” [The Huffington Post UK] Read more
