Dearest Evan,
Initially I was convinced that you could’ve avoided this crazed shitfest (or fatwa, as you call it) had you just criticized fundamentalist Islam instead of Islam as a whole. I assumed your beef wasn’t with all Muslims, including the many that go to Wesleyan who were understandably peeved by your blanket statement that said their belief system perverts people into “animals.” I was left confused as to why you didn’t just rephrase your arguments to rightly target only fundamentalist Islam, which, like fundamentalism of any religion, is pretty bonkers.
But now I see you are basically foaming at the mouth in arguing for renewing the “conflict between the Western cultures and Muslim world cultures.” Yikes.
Do you realize all the radical Islamic clerics you hate so vehemently use the exact rhetoric that you do in reverse? They use it to condemn the United States, Christianity, and your precious “Western cultures.” You are the white, American equivalent of all those fundamentalists you so despise. In fact, if you read the original interview with Dr. Wafa Sultan, you’ll probably notice she specifically criticizes Muslim radicals for beginning the common usage of your celebrated pet term, “clash of civilizations.” You are just as radical as those you despise, Evan.
Also, I’d like to point out your thinking regarding your hero, Dr. Sultan. You claim not to be outwardly racist, but a slip-up in your writing seems to indicate your deeper mentality regarding this topic. You refer to Dr. Sultan as someone that is “not American, not rich, and not privileged.” However, the Times article you reference states plainly that she is a naturalized American citizen along with her husband and children. Perhaps you meant that she is “not a white woman,” as you described her earlier. I find it problematic that evidently you equate being “American” with being “white.”
You don’t have to be burning crosses on someone’s lawn to be party to racism, Evan. Racism and bigotry can be found in a belief system that unfairly generalizes an entire group of people or culture. Even though you say that generalizations are sometimes necessary, you seem to forget that generalizations are the seed of racist thinking. The internment of all Japanese-Americans on the West Coast during World War II was based on the generalization that a few of them could still be loyal to Japan. I hope you see the racism in imprisoning an entire race of people for years simply because an admitted minority of them COULD be disloyal.
I understand that you are good-intentioned in warning all of us of “Wesleyan’s Left” of the perils of hordes of Muslims. I really do appreciate you getting my back, dude. But stop with the blanket statements and broad generalizations before you make yourself look like even more of a fanatic.
Sincerely,
Your very American buddy, Brian Ahn Thorpe
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