This is how charges of ‘racism’ and ‘Islamophobia’ are weaponized against those who oppose jihad mass murder and Sharia oppression of women.
By Robert Spencer, Frontpage Magazine
Someone made fun of Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Gaza City), and she and her leftist friends and colleagues are enraged.
Now, rage is their default mode, so this was no surprise, but the whole incident provided an illuminating glimpse into how leftists try to arouse and exploit rage for their own purposes, and really don’t have much of anything they can use to motivate their cadres if they aren’t angry about something.
It all started when Abraham Aiyash, a Democrat (of course) who is currently the majority leader of the Michigan House of Representatives, posted on X a political cartoon lampooning Tlaib.
The cartoon, which was the work of Henry Payne of the Detroit News, first appeared not in the News, but in National Review. It depicts Tlaib sitting at her desk looking over at the smoking ruin of her pager and thinking: “Odd. My pager just exploded.”
Aiyash was, of course, furious. He wrote:
“Shame on the @detroitnews for allowing this racist, xenophobic vile cartoon on their platform. Pay attention to who condemns this. And then recognize the different standard Arab and Muslim politicians are held by.”
Nolan Finley, the Detroit News editorial page editor, moved quickly to distance the paper from Payne’s heinous crime, responding:
“This cartoon did not run on a Detroit News platform. It was in the National Review. It was distributed by a syndicate that we aren’t associated with.”
Later, he tried to distance the News even more from Payne:
“The editorial cartoon depicting Rep. Rashida Tlaib was distributed by @AndrewsMcMeelSyndicate. The @DetroitNews was not involved in its production or distribution and chose not to run it. The cartoonist works for The News in a different role, as an auto critic.”
That wasn’t enough for the rage mob, which called on the News to fire Payne forthwith. As of this writing on Saturday afternoon, Payne is still listed as the News’ “auto columnist,” and described as “the Detroit News auto critic, a syndicated editorial cartoonist, and radio host.”
That could, however, change any minute, for the fury at Payne has only grown. On Friday, defeated Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-Fire Alarm) wrote:
“Anti-Arab bigotry & Islamophobia must not be allowed to be normalized. Henry Payne and the National Review should apologize immediately to @RashidaTlaib for this offensive comic.”
The mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, Abdullah Hammoud, also posted the cartoon on X and commented:
“Absolutely disgusting. Anti-Arab bigotry & Islamophobia have become normalized in our media. The National Review ran this dangerous cartoon of @RashidaTlaib. This garbage was created by Henry Payne with the @detroitnews. At what point will people call this out?”
The outrage traveled around the world. Tlaib herself denounced the cartoon, and that was newsworthy enough for Pakistan’s Express Tribune to pick up on Sunday:
“US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has condemned a political cartoon published by the National Review that portrays her with an exploding pager, calling it racist and Islamophobic.”
The Express Tribune noted that Tlaib “said the cartoon would incite further hate and violence against Arab and Muslim communities.”
What hate and violence against Arab and Muslim communities? All over the country, we are seeing Jewish students and supporters of Israel denounced, menaced, and physically attacked.
There have not been such attacks against Muslims; nor should there be.
Nonetheless, the leftist establishment has gotten into the habit of referring to “antisemitism and Islamophobia,” as if they were equivalent, and Tlaib was ready to take up the victim role, responding to Hammoud:
“Thank you, Mayor @AHammoudMI, for speaking up. Our community is already in so much pain right now.”
Then she added the fanciful bit that got quoted as far away as Pakistan: “This racism will incite more hate + violence against our Arab & Muslim communities, and it makes everyone less safe. It’s disgraceful that the media continues to normalize this racism.”
This is how charges of “racism” and “Islamophobia” are weaponized against those who oppose jihad mass murder and Sharia oppression of women.
There is nothing “racist” or “Islamophobic” about this cartoon. It doesn’t mention Tlaib’s race or her religion. It merely makes fun of her for her unapologetic and open support of the jihad against Israel, which allies her with jihad terror groups including Hizballah.
For Tlaib and others like her, however, charging “racism” and “Islamophobia” is the all-purpose response to any criticism, no matter how mild. And why not? It works.
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