The drumbeat has been non-stop since the destruction of the twin towers. Progressives insist that Islamic terrorism has nothing to do with Islam. Hillary Clinton says, “Muslims are peaceful and tolerant people and have nothing whatsoever to do with terrorism.” President Obama claims “ISIL is not Islamic.” He insists that “Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism — it is an important part of promoting peace.” After the San Bernardino terrorist massacre, Obama lectured Americans not to stereotype Muslims.

Progressive elites have accused those who condemn Muslim extremism of being extremists themselves — claiming that censure of radical Islam is an indiscriminate criticism of all Muslims. The increasingly pernicious Progressive meme of “Islamophobia,” dubbed by Andrew Cummins “a word created by fascists, and used by cowards, to manipulate morons,” is popularized by Western elites who insist that any linkage of Islamist behavior to Islam is racist and that people with such thoughts have a mental disorder, “Islamophobia.”

In reality, there is a wide gulf between true Islamophobia and recognizing that the 21st century’s acts of terrorism are primarily based on a belief in a radical version of Islam.

A phobia is defined as the persistent, irrational, unrelenting fear of a situation, activity, or thing that causes one to want to avoid it. Islamophobia is an exaggerated, inexplicable, and illogical fear of people who believe in Islam. An Islamophobe irrationally fears, distrusts, blames, or avoids all Muslims indiscriminately.

Using the term “radical Islam” or “radical Islamic terrorist” is not Islamophobic. The fear of  radical Islamism may be persistent and unrelenting, but it is logical and evidence-based.

Twenty-three percent of the world is Muslim, amounting to 1.6 billion people. Most terrorists today are Muslims, but most Muslims are not terrorists. An Islamophobe would not recognize the difference, but most Americans do.

Muslims, whether terrorist or bystander, are immersed in an environment that not only tolerates, but also nurtures and sustains the core beliefs that terrorists cite as reasons for their actions. According to a 2013 Pew Research Survey, 10% (160 million) Muslims worldwide support religiously motivated violence against civilians in certain situations. 70% of Muslims in Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa and 18% of European Muslims believe that Sharia law should be official national law. 230 million Muslims believe that execution is justified for apostasy. 340 million Muslims justify killing women who have extramarital sex.

Suicide bombings against non-Muslims are supported by 30% of Muslims aged 18-29, in France, Britain and the US. 280 million Muslims support whippings and cutting off hands as punishment for crimes and 280 million are in favor of stoning unfaithful wives. Obama’s statement that 99.9% of Muslims oppose extremism is obviously untrue.

Since 9/11, there have been well over 20,000 global terrorist attacks connected to Islam. These numbers dwarf all other terrorist attacks by non-Islamic groups. Despite this, there has been no real backlash against Muslims in the US. According to the FBI, hate crimes against Jews are 4 times more frequent than those against Muslims. Are there people who irrationally hate all Muslims? Of course. Is there rampant, irrational, uncontrollable Islamophobia? Of course not!

So why do Progressive elites like our president accuse critics of radical Islam as being Islamophobic and labeling them racists? French Prime Minister Valls said this tactic is often used as a weapon by Islamism’s apologists to silence their critics. It is a cudgel used by those espousing political correctness and multiculturalism to exempt the Muslim religion from the kind of scrutiny that Christianity and Judaism have experienced over the centuries. The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Taylor writes, “‘Islamophobia’ and ‘Islamophobic’ are bludgeoning terms of political jargon wielded to suppress free speech and render Islam off-limits for anything but accolades, or, at least, neutral acceptance.”

It’s time to recognize that the accusation of “Islamophobia” is part of an illiberal agenda to silence voices that recognize the truth — that radical Islam has declared war to the death on us. Americans must reject this ploy.

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