Posted on 02/17/2014 7:20:20 PM PST by cunning_fish
Sochi's more than 20,000 Muslims helped build the infrastructure and stages for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia, where Muslim athletes from a range of participating nations will compete within these multi-million-dollar stadia, slopes, and structures, vying for gold and the glory that comes with Olympic victory.
However, for Muslims in Sochi, the rampant Islamophobia has cast a shadow of concern and danger during these Olympic Games. Coverage of the Sochi games mentions Islam and Muslims exclusively in the form of terrorist threat , head-scarved " black widows ", and, the familiar conflation of religious observance with national security concerns.
While the Opening Ceremony showcased the well-crafted face of a " New Russia ", age-old Russian hate toward the LGBTQ community, and indeed, both indigenous and visiting Muslims, are also prominently displayed in Sochi.
During its buildup, NBC's Bob Costas stated that the Sochi Games will, "take place against a backdrop of questions about policy differences, security, cost overruns and human rights issues, including Russia's anti-gay propaganda law".
The firestorm against Sochi's brazen homophobia leading up and during the Olympics was fierce, capped by President Barack Obama sending a US delegation led by openly gay athletes . The message, from news desks and the Oval Office, was clear - the US opposed the structural homophobia built into the Sochi Olympics.
No similar statements were made of the pervasive Islamophobia encircling the Games. Rather, the media and political rhetoric in the US toward Muslims and Islam are aligned with those of Russia, and linked inextricably to terrorism. American misalignment with Russia's per se homophobia, and its converging interests with Moscow's framing of Muslim threat, highlights the ever more relevant observation of Derrick Bell, who held that: "Domestic civil rights policies are only promoted when they advance majoritarian (white) interests abroad."
(Excerpt) Read more at uk.news.yahoo.com ...
Did I miss something? Was it the Catholic Youth Association that issued threats against the Olympics? Islamaphobia? My butt.
Not every terrorist attack. OK City and Northern Ireland come to mind. Muslims probably only account for 99.8% of attacks....
It takes a certain talent to be able to swim in a burqa and not drown.
I once saw an old woman lift up her veil to look at the produce in our local town. I was next to her and she looked up at me. OOooooo, OOOGLY, hardly any teeth, rheumy eyes, all bent over and the smell. I could describe MANY things about the middle east but it was IMPOSSIBLE to describe the SMELL
While the [Sochi Olympics, first winter games in Russia] Opening Ceremony showcased the well-crafted face of a "New Russia," age-old Russian hate toward the LGBTQ community, and indeed, both indigenous and visiting Muslims, are also prominently displayed in Sochi.
During its buildup, NBC's Bob Costas stated that the Sochi Games will, "take place against a backdrop of questions about policy differences, security, cost overruns and human rights issues, including Russia's anti-gay propaganda law".
The firestorm against Sochi's brazen homophobia leading up to and during the Olympics was fierce, capped by President Barack Obama sending a US delegation led by openly gay athletes. The message, from news desks and the Oval Office, was clear - the US opposed the structural homophobia built into the Sochi Olympics.
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