Well, not really, as someone who teaches a boffo course on "race, ethnic, gender and postcolonial studies" (not exactly an area of inquiry that is likely to land her students a decent job) at one of Ontario's august universities tells the National Post's Barbara Kay. Kay asked Jasmin Zine, who is something of an expert on the subject, to define "Islamophobia," which she did, lickety split:
“Islamophobia is a fear and hatred of Islam and Muslims that translates into individual, ideological and systemic forms of oppression.” This is quite an insidious, though admittedly clever, definition. Note that it puts “fear and hatred” of Islam, not Muslims, at the centre of the phobia. And the word “translates” is a masterstroke.
Under this definition, if I write publicly that Islam is inherently Christophobic and anti-Semitic according to its own texts, and a Muslim declares himself “oppressed” by my statement, who would be the interpeter for the alleged “translation”? The courts? Iqra Khalid? Prime Minister Justin Trudeau?
As one can see from her defined area of study, Zine is an intersectionalist, who sees the world in Marxist tropes of power and powerlessness, with white imperialists and their issue holding the power, and all disadvantaged minorities, into which category Muslims are now tucked, as the systematically disempowered.Intersectionalists of the world unite. You have nothing to lose but...well, you have nothing to lose!
Update: No surprise that Zine's one of those anti-Zionist/pro-Palestine academics, as evidenced by her signing on to this petition.
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