#commentary i've heard has convinced me of otherwise | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

wathanism · 1 year

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I've heard a lot of people in the ex muslim community say that islamophobia isn't real, and I wanted to throw in my 2 cents as someone who's lived both in swana and the west.

also some quick notes before I start:

1. I pretty exclusively refer to the middle east as swana (southwest asia and north africa) bc I find the term "middle east" to be too europe-centric.

2. I'm open to hearing other people's thoughts so feel free to reblog and add your commentary, but I don't really do debates so don't come expecting me to argue with you.

3. terfs are not welcome here and will be blocked on sight. anyone just looking to start shit will also be blocked.

first off western liberalism has never known how to talk about Islam with any level of complexity and tends to make an absolute mockery of the nuances of the lived experiences of swana people, so please don't assume I'm coming at this from the perspective of a white lady who's never stepped foot in the middle east just regurgitating whatever sounds politically correct. fr, hearing americans (both muslim and otherwise) talk about this subject gives me a headache too so let's just get it out of the way that the entire way the discussion is handled by liberals is unproductive at best and just straight dogshit at worst.

with that out of the way, I guess I'll address the first criticism of the concept of islamophobia which is that it's just racism/xenophobia. which, yeah, it absolutely is, but there's nothing wrong with having a word to explain this very specific brand of racism. our experiences as swana people are unique, and they can't be compared to the experiences of say african americans or aboriginal folk, and their experiences can't be compared to ours. I don't particularly like the term islamophobia, since it impacts all swana people regardless of religion, but it's what we got for now and until a more accurate term comes along, we gotta deal. also you can't really separate islam out of the development of this particular brand of racism.

if I understand correctly, I'd say the rejection of islamophobia in the ex muslim community comes from the simple fact that western liberals cry islamophobia as an excuse to shut down all criticism of islam, regardless of their validity. and frankly, agreed, there's truly nothing more infuriating than when someone pulls that shit, but I invite you bear with me for a second and to look at it from a different angle. because the fact of the matter is that there ARE very valid criticisms of islam and we're not going to make any progress towards human rights in swana countries until we address that.

but no amount of western liberals being really fucking annoying and misguided will change the fact that islamophobia is a real geopolitical entity used so western forces can invade and destabilize swana countries. the US has a long and documented history of backing muslim extremist groups and leaders, only to then turn around and convince their own populace that, "wow look at those evil savage barbaric muslims." this was only exacerbated by the 9/11 attack, and frankly talk to literally any human being alive in the US during that time. the shift was immediate and drastic and pretty damn disturbing. children in schools were forced to watch gruesome videos of terrorist attacks just to be told, "this is what they're like," and news outlets were very intentionally fearmongering for the sole purpose of recruiting soldiers. they weren't discussing any of the nuances or intricacies of the politics in swana; they wanted to convince people all people of this caricature of evil and they painted all swana people as being that. this is why you see even sikhs be victims of islamophobia—it was never about religion. they just needed an excuse to be xenophobic. these people do not care about the rights and freedoms of non-muslim people in swana countries. they won't fight for our women, our queer folk, our ethnic minorities. they are not our friends. if they recognize our existence at all, which they rarely do, it's just to bolster their own agenda and to ultimately justify hurting our own nations and countries even more.

it's important to recognize that this whole complicated shitshow looks very different for muslims in the west and for everyone living in swana. ALL people in swana countries feel the large scale effects of western imperialism which is justified by islamophobia. muslims in the west feel the small scale effects of islamophobia through things like hate crimes, bullying, discrimination, etc. regurgitated by non-muslims who fell for western propaganda. muslims in swana are the religious majority and they hold political power, so they don't experience the kind of 1:1 discrimination that you might see a muslim experience in the west. similarly, white christians are the majority and hold political power in the west, so muslims living there will experience that. both of these perspectives and experience deserve to be seen and represented.

this is where I think a huge part of the disconnect and miscommunication between ex-muslims and western liberals is. they don't know how to separate the nuances and the valid criticisms of islam as a political force in swana from the very aggressive warmongering rhetoric they're trying to unlearn from the propaganda that was shoved down their throats. and we as non-muslims who suffered at the hands of islamic forces barely have a say in the matter, because those of us who faced it first-hand have a target on our back if we ever try to speak out. this, combined with the fact that the experiences of western muslims are so incomparably different from those of swana people living under islamic regimes, makes it really difficult to have this conversation without stepping on any toes.

and honestly the most confusing and frustrating part of this is that, not only is islamophobia a geopolitical force used to enforce violence in swana, but islam itself is ALSO a major geopolitical force used to enforce violence in swana. and somehow, counterintuitively, they feed into each other! the west benefits from instability in swana countries, and islamic regimes benefit from western support. and at the end of the day, everyone gets fucked over (to varying degrees) except for non-muslim westerners and the violent dictators they support.

honestly, I don't know how progress can be made from here. we're kinda stuck between a rock and a hard place. the situation in Iran, tragic as it is, is a good jumping off point to maybe FINALLY talk about this matter with some nuance. I can only hope the sacrifices of the brave women of Iran will not go to waste. call me an optimist, but I want to believe for my own sanity that good will come from this and we can finally make some tangible steps towards meaningful progress in our nations.

EDIT: I also feel the need to super quickly clarify my intention with making this post: I'm not saying ex-muslims shouldn't criticize islam. it takes like 2 seconds on my blog to see that I'm all about calling out the negative impacts of islam on the lives of all swana people. my intention was just to point out that we're all screwed over by the same forces and to encourage a sense of solidarity wherever there may be space for it. it's probably a long shot, but it sure would be nice if we could facilitate a productive conversation with muslims and ex-muslims alike that goes beyond arguing in circles.

#rambles #ex muslim

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