Those on the Left pronounce these two words the way a
native Arabic speaker would, as a way of signaling their sympathy for the
American-Muslim population. They are indicating they identify with this
population and they have their backs.
In other words,
they aren’t like those nasty, Muslim-hating Republicans. They understand Islam
and respect it, and they know it has nothing to do with jihad and terrorism.
This pronunciation is code for “I’m not Islamaphobic.” The Left is making their
opinions and politics known with the simple shift in pronunciation of these two
key words…….
You’re Only Cool
If You Say It Like We Do
Pronouncing
“Islam” and “Muslim” in an authentic manner is especially important to the Left
because Islam is their pet project. The reactions after the terrorist attacks
in Paris and San Bernardino paint a clear picture of the Left’s bias toward
Islam even in the face of plain facts.
The Left reserves this little linguistic condescension for its
favorite liberal minority causes.
They don’t do this
with other foreign words or place-names. No, the Left reserves this little
linguistic condescension for its favorite liberal minority causes. You didn’t
hear anyone pronouncing “Paris” as “Pah-ree,” as the French do, after the
terror attacks in November in order to show solidarity. There wasn’t any effort
to sound culturally authentic when discussing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
But talk about Islam, and their tune—and pronunciation—changes.
If the
Left is using the pronunciation of “Muslim” and “Islam” as a marker of where
they fall politically, what happens to the rest of us who are pronouncing it
with an American accent? For now, there is nothing notable about pronouncing
these words as “muz-lim” or “IZ-lahm,” but one day there might be. One can’t
help but wonder whether these words will truly become a kind of political
Shibboleth. Pretty soon we might be outing ourselves as so-called Islamaphobes,
simply for pronouncing a word the wrong way.
