Maher is virtually the ONLY left wing comedian who regularly and consistently tells the ugly truth about Islam on his weekly TV show. And he doesn’t give a crap what Muslims have to say about it.
Bill Maher’s Islamophobia is way more dangerous than Right Wing bigotry: Is Bill Maher really a liberal or just another bigot like Glenn Beck and Pamela Geller?
Carbonated TV “There’s no mention here of connecting this to the religion, which is always what I am seeking to do because I think that’s the elephant in the room. And that in the religion at large, women are seen as property, second-class at best, often property.”
These were the words uttered by television commentator Bill Maher on his HBO talk show Real Time last week.
While his take on extremist Muslims and how they treat women wasn’t really the problem, his umpteenth attempt to demonize Islam was in fact a huge one.
His tirade against Islam, in particular, is spiraling out of control and this is exactly what a former viewer of Real Time recently pointed out in an open letter to Maher, published by Time Magazine. (see below)
Maher talked about the status of women in Islam like right wing hate-mongers Pamella Geller and Glenn Beck who take acts of terrorism as opportunities to spread Islamophobia without reading or stating the facts.
But then again, the point here is to not create any stereotypes or terrorist labels but it is to destroy this detestable tradition once and for all. There is a thin line between bigotry and liberalism and figures like Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Bill Maher should know better.
It is the responsibility of these “liberal” television pundits to take care of the fact that their opinions do not take the form of hate speech against any religion that can consequently affect the well-being of its followers in the society.
An Open Letter to Bill Maher From a Muslim American The problem isn’t Islam. It’s your movement to demonize Islam in the liberal left.
Hey there, Bill. You hate religion. You particularly hate Islam. We get it. Your liberal bigotry against Muslims and Islam is no secret. For a while now I’ve just avoided watching your show, which kind of stinks because for many years I was a great fan and really loved it. I wasn’t even bothered when you called out Muslims doing stupid, criminal or horrific things. You do that with a lot of groups, and it’s important to do. But I stopped watching when it became clear that you loathed a faith I was devoted to.
On your show you recently discussed the kidnapping of hundreds of girls by Boko Haram, followed by the new sharia laws in Brunei, and rounded out the segment with a nod to your buddy Ayaan Hirsi Ali—quite the trifecta of examples to support your conclusion that Islam itself is, as you said, “the problem.” Your reasoning is essentially that Muslims are doing many horrible things around the world, and they all believe in Islam, so naturally Islam is the nonnegotiable culprit. (He’s probably read the quran)
For the sake of argument, and being as generous as possible, let’s say Islam has been a force of destruction for 50% of Muslims and a source of empowerment, peace and comfort for the other 50%. Where exactly does that leave us? Whose experience of Islam is legitimate? If Boko Haram is, in your estimation, an authentic expression of Islam, what do you make of the hundreds of Nigerian Muslim families who were sending their daughters to school? (The vast majority of those Nigerians were Christians) Why isn’t their dedication, like Malala Yousafzai’s dedication, to girls’ education an authentic expression of Islam?(Because they are Christians – DUH!) What do you deduct from the fact most Muslim women in the world are not circumcised? (Up to 70% ARE in the Muslim world) Are they just doing Islam wrong? (Yes, according to Muslim clerics)You noted that women are treated at best like second-class citizens, but most often like property in Islam. The first Muslim woman, Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, a successful businesswoman, boss-lady and wife (which one?) to the (paedophile) Prophet Muhammad, and the other Muslim women of his time would have snickered at you. (Are you talking about his 6-year old wife Aisha?) Women of the region were chattel before Islam, treated and traded as such, until the Quran freed them through revelations such as “O you who believe! You are forbidden to inherit women against their will.” (Qur’an 4:15 “If any of your women are guilty of lewdness, take the evidence of four male witnesses from amongst you against them; confine them to houses until death [by starvation] claims them.”)
I could tell you (the usual lies and propaganda that Muslims use to deceive unbelievers) that Islam was the first system to establish women’s property rights, inheritance rights, the right to education, to marry and divorce of their free will, to be religious scholars, business owners, soldiers (But you would be lying). I could tell you that while Christianity was debating the status of women’s souls and declaring them a source of sin, Islam had already established authoritatively the spiritual equality of men and women and absolved Eve, and womankind at large, of sin. (But you would be lying)I could tell you that the world and history is full of highly educated, successful Muslim women who are empowered by their faith, not debilitated by it. I could tell you terrorism is categorically forbidden in Islam, and that between 1970 and 2012, 97.5% of terror attacks in the U.S. were carried out by non-Muslims. (Qur’an:8:12 “Your Lord inspired the angels with the message: ‘I will terrorize the unbelievers. Therefore smite them on their necks and every joint and incapacitate them. Strike off their heads and cut off each of their fingers and toes.” “So wound their bodies and incapacitate them because they oppose Allah and His Apostle.”)
I could tell you that female genital mutilation is never mentioned in the Quran; the only reference to it is found in a weak narration, and scholars find it objectionable to the point of being classified as impermissible. (Yes, you could tell us all that, but we know you are lying. FGM is practiced in ALL Muslim countries, and now in Western countries where there are Muslims, and it is recommended by most imams)
Nothing I tell you would matter, though. The facts are irrelevant. That’s how bigotry operates. It’s both telling and troubling that you referred to these issues as “the Muslim question.” The reference didn’t escape me and it’s hard to believe it was anything but deliberate. Think for a second about what was unleashed by the “Jewish question” in Europe. Bigotry sometimes does that, too. (Oh here we go, comparing the Holocaust to anti-Islam sentiment since 9/11 in America. You hate Jews except when you try to compare your phony suffering with theirs)
So while I support you in continuing to expose Muslims and others who shock the conscience of decent people, who destroy lives, and who wreak havoc, I caution you on the anti-Islam rhetoric. (Sounds like a threat to me)
You have a massive following and are successfully leading a movement to demonize Islam in the liberal left (it’s about time), a place many American Muslims call home. You are leading people into rocks and hard places when you posit that Islam is the problem. You are putting Muslims up against a wall and pushing those who fear us further into spaces where little choice is left. (Yeah, the truth about Islam tends to do that. Tough)
As the mother of two American-born daughters, and a Muslim who calls the U.S. her home, I worry deeply about the solutions your followers may propose to your “Muslim question.” You should too. (Mass deportations and a ban on Muslim immigration sounds like a good solution. Buh Bye!)