Muslims must counter bigotry and hatred online, says CAIR leader

According to the British Runnymede Trust, Islamophobia “is a useful shorthand way of referring to dread or hatred of Islam – and, therefore, to fear or dislike of all or most Muslims.”

Islamophobia is a form of intolerance alongside xenophobia and anti-Semitism and these days it’s not difficult to find online. Hate mongers spout vitriol against Muslims on Facebook, YouTube and BlogSpot. Just returned from an internal OIC workshop held in Brussels to discuss Islamophobia, Ahmed Rehab, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Chicago Office, asserted that Muslims must do more to fight this scourge.

“Islamophobia is rampant online. There is almost a monopoly by the Islamophobes on Islam and Muslims online,” remarked Rehab. “What we’re trying to do is to encourage others to be more active online. People need to start blogs and have websites that engage in commenting on Islam and which link to positive material that is informative about Islam and Muslims. It is necessary to push back against this onslaught of Islamophobic attacks.”

Arab News, 8 March 2012