Is Donald Trump Islamophobic?

       If someone doesn't agree with an agenda they might be tagged with the label of a "phobia" in order to discredit their mental health and portray them as a not very reliable loon.  This is a tactic typically used by the left and seems to easily take hold by a gullible society, a propagandist media, and the disingenuous agents of academia.  False labeling that sounds clinical on the surface is nothing more than a dishonest ruse to promote leftist thinking and destroy those who disagree.

Islamophobia and Xenophobia and Donald Trump

A number of terms with the suffix -phobia are used non-clinically...Such terms are not phobias. They are derogatory terms for negative attitudes towards certain categories of people or other things, used in an invalid analogy with the medical usage of the term. These terms were coined with the purpose of shedding a negative light on the people within these opposing groups, by suggesting that everyone within has an irrational fear towards the objects of the terms. Usually these kinds of "phobias" are described as fear, dislike, disapproval, prejudice, hatred, discrimination, or hostility towards the object of the "phobia".^{[47]    
Wikipedia}

      Now to continue with another installment of my  President Trump Acclimation Series.

      In this post we come to the final entries in what I've been referring to as "the litany of labels" that have continued to be assigned to Donald Trump and his supporters--xenophobic and Islamophobic.   The first of these is a legitimate term in psychology which has been misused by proponents of the Trump bashing movement.  In truth there is no actual phobia at play in anything that Trump has been saying.

       Building a wall and addressing the issues of illegal immigration are matters of law enforcement and have nothing to do with race or any fear of foreigners.  Even though some undocumented workers and others illegally in the U.S. might contribute to the tax coffers, there is no denying that the illegal immigrants and migrants of refugee status place a burden on the already overly encumbered American taxpayer. Beyond the financial aspects, which in some cases can be argued from a positive standpoint as much as a negative, there are still important issues of national security and stability of the nation.  I won't get into depth on this extensive subject other than to point out that this is not an issue of xenophobia.

        However the deceptive accusation of "Islamophobia" might be not well understood by many.  After all we have been repeatedly reminded that Islam is "the religion of peace" and terrorism has nothing to do with Islam.

        Now before I continue, as an aside and to reiterate the sentiments I expressed in my previous post, we should not harass or hurt those with whom we disagree.  What I am saying in my post does not in any way condone verbally or physically attacking Muslims or vandalizing their property. They are entitled to believe as they wish as long as it doesn't interfere with what you and I wish to believe.  Likewise I think that President-elect Trump would offer this same consideration.

        Most Muslims are just plain folks like you or I.  They want to work in their jobs, aspire for comfortable lives, and raise their families in peace without threat from their neighbors.  The typical Muslim has been raised in their faith and most are likely moderate believers just like a good many of people who think of themselves as Christians.  Probably the majority of Muslims in the United States have been westernized and do not isolate themselves from the rest of us with any religious garb or ostentatious prayer routines.  Of course this is my guess and I can not actually verify this statement, but I think I'm probably correct.  In all likelihood, if you had a Muslim neighbor you might never even know their religion unless they told you.

        I can't say that I've had many long ongoing close relationships with any Muslims.  A couple of them live in my neighborhood and though we are congenial when we encounter each other (which is rare), we don't have any close relations.  But that is true with all of my neighbors--I don't socialize with any of them and that's just the way my wife and I are.

      Once there was a beautiful young Muslim woman who was part of a study team I led at the University of Phoenix where I received my degree in 2007.  This team consisted of three men--a Mormon, a Roman Catholic, and an atheist--and this one Muslim lady. We all got along very well and worked together to produce an excellent presentation for our class project.   The lady was extremely nice, and though originally from Iran, she was very westernized and moderate in her practice of Islam.  We had some interesting uncontentious discussions about our different religions when we weren't focused on working on our project.

        I have nothing against Muslims on a one on one basis and would not desire to be in conflict with a Muslim any more than I want to be in conflict with anyone.  I've always tried to be a peacemaker as well as a peaceful person.  I like to listen to reason and take a rational approach to anything that I don't know much about in order to learn more.

         From the things Donald Trump said during the campaign I think he sounds like he takes a similar approach to other people.   More than once Trump stated that he had good relationships with many Muslims and admired many of their accomplishments.   His concern was always stated to be radical Islamic terrorism.  To me this is a totally rational statement and has nothing to do with so-called "Islamophobia".  

          Now, some will say that the phobia part comes from Trump's declaration of calling for a ban on Muslims coming to the U.S. from primarily Islamic countries.  The "Muslim Ban" is how this came to be called.    If you'll recall this ban was proposed immediately after the massacre in San Bernardino, California by two Muslims at a work-related Christmas party.  The ban was offered as a security measure to prevent potential terrorists from coming to this country.

        Not Islamophobia in my estimation, but wisdom.   One of the most brilliant things that I think Donald Trump said during his campaign for president was “Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what the hell is going on,” 

         Why do I say "brilliant"?   I'll tell you in the next part of my  President Trump Acclimation Series.  This upcoming post just might be the most inflammatory of all of the posts in my series.  You can decide for yourselves. 

          That next part will come next week--Wednesday maybe, since Friday is Inauguration Day, and I'm aiming for another post on that day.   Of course this Sunday January 15th will be my special Battle of the Bands Inauguration Day post so I might be stepping on that post by having another so soon after, but I'll put a BOTB reminder on any subsequent posts I might do that week.

          Please do stop by on Sunday or shortly thereafter to vote on the BOTB post.   I've got one heck of a classic song in store and I don't want anyone to miss that train before it leaves the station.

          Does using "phobia" as a derogatory reference annoy you?   Do you think it's appropriate to use clinical terminology to describe things you might not like or agree with?   Have you ever disliked someone for what they were rather than who they were?