Racism ill-defined

Submitted by Kim Burnett (Canada), Nov 26, 2005 at 10:45

Racism, in the Oxford Dictionary, at least, has SEVEN definitions. You don't get to automatically choose the one that best suits your argument. The seventh definition:

"A group of persons etc. with some common feature". The example cited is "The race of poets". Hardly distinguished by the colour of one's skin or descent.

Racism, then, in the same dictionary, is defined as "a belief in the superiority of a particular race". If the race, then, here is the common feature of being Muslim, than racism could apply. To be clear: I am not making a direct accusation against you, as I have only read a few of your writings, and know very little about what you say. But don't nitpick at the definition of racism, as representational of discrimination, to save your own pride. If you really feel you don't fit the bill of being discriminatory, argue to what end you are not discriminating against Islam. Don't argue against the word used to describe you. That's just a technicality.

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".