ANALYSIS

College professor: 'Hatred is not part of Islam'
A multicultural-laden discussion omits dark side of Islam

OCTOBER 12, 2006 (Portland, Ore) – In light of the recent disturbing reports that American children are being force-fed propaganda about Islam by diversity-driven school boards in our public schools, it comes as no surprise that a college professor continues the tradition.

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On the same day that an Orthodox priest was beheaded in Iraq for the Pope's speech in Regensburg, Germany, a professor denied that hatred is part of Islam. "It depends on who you talk to," he said.

Professor Will Deming made his comments to an audience of adults at a Catholic Church in a suburb outside of Portland. Deming, a professor of comparative religions at University of Portland, a four-year Catholic college, has written a college textbook titled, Rethinking Religion: A Concise Introduction (Oxford Univ. Press 2004).

Deming is relatively unknown in the field of Middle East studies. According to the director of Campus Watch, Deming doesn’t appear to be a Middle East specialist, “except in the sense of studying the New Testament. He’s not a member of the Middle East Studies Association.”

Hard Question, Soft Answer

Titled, “What you should know about Islam,” the talk was open to the public and attended by at least 40 people, all Catholics.

Prof. Deming, a Presbyterian, was asked at the beginning of the discussion from the audience, "Is hatred a part of Islam?"

"Hatred is not part of Islam," he replied, adding, “It depends on who you talk to.”

The ad for the Deming’s talk which appeared in the Archdiocesan newspaper The Catholic Sentinel read he “has studied Islam and the engagement of different religions” and that his book “dispels all manner of misunderstanding, which seem to follow the subject.”

The only misunderstanding appears to be on Deming’s part. He wants us to believe that he doesn’t understand the connection between hatred and Islam.

Academic Speak

Throughout his talk on Islamic beliefs, Deming had the habit of stating these beliefs as his own. This is because he did not preface his statements with a qualifier such as, for example, “Muslims believe that” or “a belief in Islam is.” This omission of a qualifier had the effect of confounding his audience of adults; one can only imagine that his students are unprepared for determining whether or not his comments from his talk, including the following, are declarations of fact:

Jerusalem was originally Islamic.

Israel stole their land (from the Palestinians).

The West is an intruder.

Jerusalem is the 3rd holiest city in the Islamic world.

In deference to Muslims, Deming repeated the phrase, “Jerusalem was originally Islamic” at least three times during his talk.

This is a misleading and incomplete picture of Jerusalem. The Jews were in Jerusalem 3,000 years ago, placing the Jews in the Old City well over 1,500 years before Mohammed. Jews have been living in Jerusalem for nearly three millennia, except for periods of their explicit exclusion, after the second Jewish revolt against Rome in 135 C.E. until 438 C.E.--The American Jewish Committee.

When asked about these facts, Deming was dismissive, saying, I’m giving you the Muslim view of the conflict.

In comparing the Catholic hierarchy to Islamic scholars, Professor Deming probably is unaware of how derogatory in tone the following remark is toward the Catholic Church when he said,

The law of Islam is more democratic than the Catholic hierarchy because the interpretations of the Koran are made by consensus of Islamic scholars.

Frequently, Deming mentioned the spread of Islam and pointed to Turkey, Arabia, Syria, and other portions on the map. Not once did he say how Islam was spread.

Unsuspecting College students: be wary

Most Americans, including college students, are unfamiliar with dhimmi and Sharia law, and how this law threatens the democracies of Europe and potentially our democracy. Deming takes advantage of this widespread lack of knowledge when he says:

Dhimmis are granted special privileges because they are people of the book. They are allowed to live in Muslim countries by paying a tax.

This wording denies intolerance written into Islamic law for, according to Dhimmi Watch:

Dhimmis, “protected people,” are free to practice their religion in a Sharia regime, but are made subject to a number of humiliating regulations designed to enforce the Qur’an’s command that they “feel themselves subdued” (Sura 9:29). This denial of equality of rights and dignity remains part of the Sharia, and, as such, are part of the legal superstructure that global jihadists are laboring to restore everywhere in the Islamic world, and wish ultimately to impose on the entire human race.

Deming must be among those types of academics whom Robert Spencer warns us about in his book, Onward Muslim Soldiers (2003). As Spencer points out, ". . . for many American scholars of Islam, spiritual jihad is the only meaning of jihad that has any legitimacy. Karen Armstrong, a noted American apologist for Islam, warns us, 'The primary meaning of the word jihad is not holy war but struggle.'”

This side step is standard “academic speak” these days. It’s one of the reasons why jihad expert Robert Spencer started Dhimmi Watch: to bring public attention to the academic and journalistic whitewashes of dhimmitude given to radical jihadist enemies of human rights for all.

Catholics and Jews, the target of radical Muslim terrorists, cannot afford to be uninformed. Secondly, they cannot be misinformed because it is suicidal to our democracy.

More questionable statements

A question came from the audience: “What would happen if the Shiites and the Sunnis joined together?”

Deming joked, with a shrug, “What would happen if Protestants and Catholics got together?”

Do you recognize what he’s doing here? It’s moral equivalency. He is saying that Protestants and Catholics once threatened the world in the same manner.

The United States is Doomed?

He ended is talk by pointing out the spread of Islam from the Middle East to other parts of the world. He played up the political power of Islam and Muslims, and that the United States is only 6% of the world’s population. As he said this, he pointed at a large map displayed on the overhead projector which depicted the Middle East at the center of the world. This suggests that the days are numbered for the United States as a world power – historically speaking.

We in the United States think that we’ve set the standard for the world when the rest of the world doesn’t agree.

Is Professor Deming unaware of how patently false this premise of his is? It sounds like he’s totally absorbed the liturgy of Hate America cult leaders George Soros and Noam Chomsky.

Give Equal Time

Deming’s Muslim-centered approach to the Arab-Israeli conflict is troubling. In fairness, equal time is needed from Jewish and Catholic Scholars following any talks such as this one.

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For a more in depth overview and discussions, visit DHIMMI WATCH at www.DhimmiWatch.org

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