Debbie Schlussel Discovers One Direction: “Boy Band Jihad”?

by Sheila Musaji

When I posted the article Islamophobes See “Jihad” Everywhere which included this summary, I thought the Islamophobes had run out of crazy “jihad” plots to warn Americans about:

An Eid Celebration for Muslim Special Needs Kids was described as a “stealth jihad”.   A children’s page in a newspaper focusing on Eid was described as a toxic propaganda plot,  A Muslim doctor had a heart attack and died at the wheel of his car which then crashed into a shopping mall and this was described as “vehicular jihad”.   A Muslim cab driver objected to what he considered pornographic ads on the roof of his cab, and that became a stealth-jihad plot to impose Sharia on America.  Any Muslim who has sued an employer for violation of their rights under the EEOC is engaged in employment jihad, or litigation jihad.  Muslim environmentalists are said to be actually engaged in “civilizational jihad”.  A cartoon series “The 99” aimed at young Muslims was described as “cultural jihad”.  The victims of the terrorist attack of 9/11 included Muslims, they were accused of dying as martyrs in an act of jihad.

The Islamophobes have uncovered countless examples of “shocking” Muslim jihad plots.  They have uncovered:  bumper sticker jihad,  Thanksgiving turkey jihad, an incredible paisley scarf jihad, marriage to important men jihad, spit jihad, fashion jihad, spelling bee jihad, rape jihad,  defacing dollar bills jihad,   population jihad, creeping Sharia jihad,   mosque building jihad, terror baby jihad, “creeping Sharia” jihad,  pedophilia jihad,  bus driver prayer jihad, forehead bruise jihad, postage stamp jihad, soup jihad,  banning alcohol jihad, fake hate crimes jihad, piggy bank jihad,  tv reality series jihad, handshake jihad, prom jihad, interfaith jihad, Arabic language jihad,  public school jihad, religious accommodation jihad, Crescent moon jihad, Christmas tree tax jihad, oath of office jihad, immigration jihad, community fundraiser jihad.  Christina Abraham (a Muslim) has a name that is not recognizably Muslim enough and so we have stealth name jihad.

I was wrong, it seems that Debbie Schlussel has discovered yet another nefarious Muslim “jihad” plot.  Schlussel is the Islamophobe who outhates even Glenn Beck and Pamela Geller, so I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.

Nevertheless, it is difficult to believe that someone can be so hateful so consistently.  Schlussel just posted a story Boy Band Jihad: Mega Pop Star Pimping Islam on Your Daughters.

The band “One Direction” includes a Muslim, Zayn Malik.  According to Schlussel, the fact that he sometimes wears a keffiyeh is sinister, in fact she calls it “the official garb of Islamic terrorism.”  He also has Arabic tattoos.  As to the keffiyeh, you can read about the last time this became an issue, when Rachel Ray wore a paisley scarf.  That got the Islamophobes blood pressure up.  They couldn’t believe that she would wear “a symbol of murderous Palestinian Jihad”.  I wrote about this in the article The Subversive “Arab”, “Islamic” Donut Ad.  My comment on the Rachel Ray incident applies equally to the charges against Zayn Malik

An innocuous photo of Rachel Ray standing in front of a tree with pink blossoms, holding a cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee and wearing a paisley scarf with a fringe around the edges was recently turned into an incident in the war on terror.  The scarf might look a little like a keffiyah (a typical Arab scarf) although I am not certain which tribe is recognized by their wearing of a paisley keffiyah.  I have trouble seeing a connection between this scarf and a keffiyah at all, but some folks saw this as somehow threatening to the very fabric of America.  Even if if the scarf in question had been a keffiyah, so what.  Is everything Palestinian or Arab a legitimate target for stigmatization?  If so, we had better do something about all the kebab stands and possibly should consider purging the 10,000 words or so that have come into English directly from Arabic.  Actually, maybe Michelle Malikin and the others who saw this ad in such a negative light might be on to something as the very word “coffee” comes from the Arabic.  There may actually be a dangerous plot here that justifies the Islamophobes use of terms such as — “hate couture”, “symbolic support for terrorism”, “mainstreaming of terrorism”, “anti-semitic”, “jihadi chic”, “a symbol of jihad”, “an icon of genocide”, “a symbol for murdering Jews”, “part of a cultural jihad” to describe the obviously sinister use of a paisley scarf in this ad.  I’m certain I’ve seen some ads including men with beards, what might that mean?

Schlussel then posts some random tweets posted by Zayn Malik, although without the chain of tweets to see what went before and after, it is impossible to know context.  Malik says in one tweet “Translation la ila ha ill lalla ho muhammed door rasoolalah”.  Obviously, he is responding to someone with a “translation”.  In two other tweets that must have been from Ramadan last year, he said “Ramzaan mubarak to everyone that is” and “First rosa today, who’s fasting?”

Also, I am certain that he has many twitter followers who are young Muslim girls.  Acknowledging that he is a Muslim, and that he is fasting during Ramadan is not exactly a criminal action.

This is pretty innocuous, but not for Schlussel, who says that the Muslim statement of faith is the militant statement Muslims say in their prayers every day”.

There is no God but God, and Muhammed is the prophet of God.  How is that “militant”.

Schlussel goes on to say that ” It’s part of the “Shehadah,” the Muslim oath of martyrdom that comprises conversion to Islam.  Muslims constantly chant the sentence at anti-Israel, pro-HAMAS, and pro-Hezbollah rallies. I’ve heard them chant it, for example, at almost every such rally I’ve attended undercover in the Detroit and Dearbornistan areas.”

The Shahada or Muslim statement of faith is said in all of a Muslims prayers.  It is also recited when someone converts to Islam.  And, even extremist Muslims might also recite this, but reciting the Shahada is not what makes them extremists.  It is not an “oath of martyrdom” or an expression of any kind of hate.

Now Schlussel comes to her main theme, which is that this is “pimping Islam to your daughters”, which she calls a “scary thing”, “an enticing jihad”,  and “dangerous”. 

What I find most fascinating is her next leap of logic.  She says that this teenage boy is “no dummy” and “knows the power he has over these mindless girls and is using that influence to preach the Islamic faith to them…”.  How is it that female teenagers are “mindless” and a male teenager of the same age is “no dummy”. 

I seriously doubt that he is trying to convert anyone.  At his age, he’s figuring out who he is, and it’s good to see that he is proud of his religion. 

Pat Boone of “Blue Suede Shoes” fame certainly wore his Christianity on his sleeve.  Elvis also sang gospel songs.  Both of these were certainly “teen hearthrobs” for my generation.  Madonna talks about Kabbala. 

A contemporary “mega pop star”, Justin Bieber is proudly Christian.  Bieber’s new film “Never Say Never” is packed with Christian themes, and he has a tattoo that says Jeshua (Jesus) in Hebrew.  I don’t know if he has sent out any Christian tweets, but he has certainly spoken publically about his faith.

According to USA Today “People will walk away (from the movie) knowing faith is very important to him,” said Scooter Braun, Bieber’s manager and one of the film’s producers. “As a Christian, he’s someone to look up to. ... When (fans) are getting the real person is when they can connect to that person.”  ...  “I believe that Jesus died on a cross for my sins,” Bieber told Billboard last November. “He’s the reason that I’m here.”

Would Schlussel call this a “pop star pimping Christianity on your daughters”, or a “scary thing” and an “enticing Crusade”?  Would she also find this “dangerous”.

As a Muslim, I have no problem with a Christian pop star being proud of their Christianity, or with a Jewish pop star being proud of their Judaism.  Why is it that a Jew sees a Muslim pop star being proud of their Islam as a sinister jihad plot?

I believe it’s because she is a bigot, and an Islamophobe.  This is pure hate speech.

UPDATE 8/3/2013

Bob Pitt reports Zayn Malik told to ‘die’ and branded a terrorist at One Direction concert

Originally posted 6/12/2012