The Myth of Hating America

It’s a misleading generalization and stereotype to say that showing admiration and approval for “America,” an unspecific word mistakenly used by the writer, Mourad Anouar, throughout his article Trend of Hating America, would cause one to be an outcast in society, especially in the Arab-Islamic world. The tone in which The Trend of Hating America is written gives the impression that the writer’s thoughts are biased—or has other unrevealed motivations—which distract his attention from objectively considering people with moderate and globally open views, especially the religious scholars, whom the writer mistakenly calls religious clerks, throughout the Arab-Islamic World.

While Anouar lists numerous reasons for “the roots of Muslim rage,” he is wrong or confused when he states “this rhetoric [the unfavorable views toward America] is unfounded.’’ Among the reasons listed, which he does not elaborate on, is direct and indirect attacks by the U.S. on many Islamic states and Islam itself. The unconditional commitment of the U.S. administration to provide annual support to “Israel” against Palestine is for the writer no reason to argue against the American foreign policy. Likewise, the writer thinks the Western mass media, especially the U.S. Media, has as its mission to attack, mislead, and misinform audiences about Islam, but this is an illusion and has no factual foundation. Anouar backed up the same rhetoric of modern Orientalist discourse (for example, frequent association between “Jihad”and “terror” which disregards the broad scope and significance of Jihad in Islam) which the media continues to broadcast, leading to deception among the masses.

It is this Orientalist rhetoric that has shaped the Western mind and behavior since the imperial era in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries; and it’s the same discourse with which the imperialists and colonialists wrote our history and painted a horrible and demon-like picture of Islam and Muslims. Imaginative geography, fiction, travel writing, movies, cartoons, public speeches, pre-guided debates, TV shows, and news media opinionated reports,etc are all instruments used in the Islamophobia network led by ideologists, priests, reporters, and political players all around America. Consequently, the Islamophobia industry, that is, manufacturing fear of Islam and Muslims, has been increasing fear of Islam and planting hatred and hostility against Islam and Muslims. What is worse, is that the fear of Islam has been causing physical aggression against Muslims. It’s no wonder then to hear news about Quran burning, insulting caricatures about the prophet of Islam, vandalism against mosques and Islamic centers, hijab bans, etc.

Anouar, as I noted earlier, uses “America” in a generalized and vague sense when arguing against “the ones who are into the trendy addictive habit of hating America.’’ It’s literally deceptive to claim that we, Moroccans, have such a “hate” against America. And it’s no irony “that we hate America, but most of us strive to live in it,’’ for we contrarily love America. We love its English and interest in fostering education, its position against corruption and for human rights, its free work opportunities and freedom of expression, its justice for all citizens, etc. But we also dislike, and have the right to disagree and positively act against, American foreign policy and undemocratic interference in the internal affairs of other states, its Orientalism, values system, effect on globalization, and negative attitudes toward Islam and Muslims.

Anouar, however, has a moderate opinion statement: “America is not the all good, nor is it the all evil.” Yet still, the statement in question is surrounded by numerous, foggy, and stereotypical impressions and value judgments (like the ones about “America,” “religious clerks,” and “Moroccans”) that weaken its argumentative power and diminish its relevance and cohesion with the overall thesis of the essay.