Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia

So is it true, as many people argue, that the Muslims today are the 'new Jews' - that they are underdog and outsiders who face potentially genocidal discrimination (dubbed Islamophobia), particularly in Europe? German scholar Clemens Hani begs to differ, pointing out that modern anti-Semitism assumes that the Jews are responsible for all evil in the world, as well as being out to take over the world:

"No other group has ever been blamed for such a welter of 'evils' - capitalism, communism, liberalism and humanism. None of these anti-Semitic accusations are used against Muslims today. In fact, Islamic terrorists use these very canards in an attempt to justify their anti-Jewish actions...Furthermore, there are some Islamicists who openly advocate the takeover of Europe, the West and the world...[T]he Jews have never had or claimed such a goal."

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