Palmetto Pundit: The Islamophobia Misnomer

Dave Ursillo Jr. has written an excellent essay entitled "One Simple Word" at SevenStripes.com. The topic, in short, is the misuse of the word Islamophobia and if I hadn't finished the entire essay in one sitting, I would have sworn it was penned by Bill Whittle.

Here's a sample:

Even before the dust settled at Ground Zero in New York City, I adamantly believed that the religion of Islam would persevere over the marginal sect of radicals who now threatened to destroy both the religion itself and the free world. Sensible Americans agreed with the commonly held notion that Islam was a peaceful religion. We all remembered that some years earlier, a radical Christian cult viciously struck at the heart of America in Oklahoma City. If the psychotic, hate-filled, murderous Timothy McVeigh did not speak for all Christians, then likewise, Osama bin Laden did not speak for all Muslims. Today, however, I adamantly believe that Islam has arrived at a deciding crossroads, at which the fate of the entire religion and its 1.4 billion followers will be decided. And, it’s all thanks to the fabrication of one simple word that misleads, deceives and divides: Islamophobia. [...]

The dimwits who actively exploit the term actually use it to refer to individuals who call any aspect of Islam or Muslims into question, or even the subsequent attitude which results from experience of, or caution towards, Islamic extremism. Simply put, ‘Islamophobia’ is a misnomer attributed to rational and reasonable criticism of (a) the religion of Islam and/or (b) any other particular facet of the religion or its believers, or used foolishly as a reference to a reasonable, cautious state of mind or set of actions that attempt to deal with radical Islam and/or fundamentalist Muslims. Much like the phrase ‘racial profiling,’ a distorted reference to ‘deductive reasoning,’ ‘Islamophobia’ is simply any act of rational criticism or justified cautiousness. [...]