Is It A Phobia If It's A Reasonable Fear?

From UPI:

Arab leaders ended a summit in Syria Sunday by issuing a statement lamenting what they see as growing anti-Islamic sentiment around the world.

"The growth of ferocious attacks against Islam and the rise of Islamophobia are a deep source of concern, particularly given that the offenses to Muslims are increasing in countries known for their pluralism and acceptance of difference," said the final statement reported by Gulf Daily News.

These guys sure know how to work a Western crowd. Plead the words "ignorance" and "racism" while being something other than a white male, and you automatically win, facts be hanged. On the whole, it isn't remarkable that "Islamophobia" would be on the rise in the world's most pluralistic countries; those are the very countries most likely to be attacked, because jihadists cannot abide pluralism--and those Arab leaders who are crying out for pluralism aren't exactly paragons of that particular virtue themselves. Neither is it remarkable that anti-Islamic sentiment should be increasing, since the global jihadist network continues to plot, too often successfully, to kill as many infidels as possible in as many nations as possible.

What is remarkable, historically, is that Muslims have not faced exile and death in the Western nations that many (though not all) of their co-religionists attack. There is hardly even any move by them to declare unity with their fellow citizens. The first fact speaks to the commitment to tolerance that our nation has, honestly, taken the lead in championing, and that's a fantastic thing. The second fact speaks to the lack of cultural confidence that plagues America, especially in relation to Islamism.

Now, the title of this post may seem a bit inflammatory; I certainly don't mean that it's reasonable to think that all Muslims are terrorists or want Americans dead. But it is certainly not unreasonable to think of Islam as a whole as a violent religion, spread originally by the sword and with a long history of imperialism, especially considering the rise of jihadism across the world. The global terrorist network is a distinctly Islamic phenomenon, despite Hollywood's best attempts at portraying terrorists as either Communists or, even better, neo-Nazis. The Pope references Islam's history of conversion at swordpoint, and a Turkish priest is shot dead. A few cartoonists poke fun at Mohammed, and there are worldwide riots resulting in fatalities.

Maybe this is the reason why anti-Islamism is on the rise? (Nah...) LiveLeak has, by the way, restored the video to their website after beefing up security; Indonesians have called for the video's creator, Dutch MP Geert Wilders, to be killed. (h/t Ed Morrissey at HotAir.com)