New Atheism and Islamophobia
The new atheists Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins and the late Christopher Hitchens have received multiple accusations of engaging in Islamophobic behavior.[2] Dawkins is dismissive of the concept of Islamophobia and declared: "I’m always being accused of Islamophobia, that’s a non-word."[3]
On December 28, 2015, the Daily Express reported about Dawkins:
| “ | The furious academic walked out of an interview when a Muslim journalist confirmed he personally believed the prophet Muhammad flew to heaven on a winged horse.
Dawkins, 74, author of best-seller The God Delusion, told the New Statesmen's Emad Ahmed that his belief was "pathetic" before angrily storming off.[4] |
” |
On the other hand, defenders of atheist criticisms of Islam/Muslims indicated that New Atheists should be able to criticize Islam without being accused of Islamophobia.[5]
Christopher Hitchens displayed provocative rhetoric and bloodlust towards radical Islamacists.[6] At the opening of the David Horowitz Freedom Center, Hitchens said of radical Islamacists, "It is a pleasure and a duty to kill these people".[7] Hitchens said of Iran, "As for that benighted country, I wouldn't shed a tear if it was wiped off the face of this earth”.[8]
On June 21, 2014 Harris published an article on his website entitled Response to Critics which was a response to his critics who accuse him of Islamophobia.[9]
See also
Notes
- ↑ 5 facts about the Muslim population in Europe by Conrad Hackett, Pew Forum, November 17, 2015
- ↑
- Dawkins, Harris, Hitchens: New Atheists flirt with Islamophobia by Nathan Lean, Salon, March 30, 2013
- Sam Harris, the New Atheists, and anti-Muslim animus by Glenn Greenwald, The Guardian, April 3, 2013
- ↑ Richard Dawkins defends Ahmed Mohamed comments and dismisses Islamophobia as a 'non-word', Independent, 24 September 2015
- ↑ ['Pathetic': Richard Dawkins in extraordinary outburst against Islam] by Jason Taylor, Daily Express, December 28, 2015
- ↑ New Atheism should be able to criticise Islam without being accused of Islamophobia by Andrew Zak Williams, New Statesman, Published 19 April 2013
- ↑ UnHitched: The Trial of Christopher Hitchens By Richard Seymour, Publisher: Verso; 1 edition (January 16, 2013), page 92
- ↑ UnHitched: The Trial of Christopher Hitchens By Richard Seymour, Publisher: Verso; 1 edition (January 16, 2013), page 92
- ↑ UnHitched: The Trial of Christopher Hitchens By Richard Seymour, Publisher: Verso; 1 edition (January 16, 2013), page 92
- ↑ Response to Critics by Sam Harris, June 21, 2014
