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Amazon Bends to Muslim Pressure: Removes 'Islamophobic' Products, Still Has Anti-Christian Merchandise

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When Amazon was notified of products on its website that were questionably Islamophobic, the online retailer moved with all due rapidity to extirpate them. When notified of products that were definitely anti-Christian, well, not so much.

First, the “Islamophobic” products. CNN reported that the items, which were sold by independent merchants on the e-commerce giant’s platform, included bathmats that were imprinted with Islamic scripture.

“The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, asked the online retailer last week to remove the products, which included doormats, bath mats and other items imprinted with Islamic calligraphy, references to the Prophet Muhammad and scripture,” CNN said.

“The products, which were being sold by independent merchants on Amazon’s website, are deemed offensive because they ‘would be stepped-on or otherwise disrespected by customers,’ CAIR said in a statement on Thursday.”

I’m not particularly certain that the brand of bigot who would enjoy violating Islamic religious tenets by stepping on a bathmat would be the type of individual who would appreciate the offense being given or want a bathmat with Islamic scripture in his house.

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That being said, Amazon probably should take some sort of action if a product is deeply offensive or hateful toward a religious group.

For example, a T-shirt saying “F— Me Jesus” and featuring a woman using a crucifix in perhaps the most profoundly untoward manner possible. That would seem to be more extreme than a bathmat featuring Islamic calligraphy.

Guess which one is still up on the store?

That shirt is official merchandise for the band Marduk, a Swedish black metal outfit that, from my one minute of acquaintance with it on YouTube (and that’s really all anyone should be able to take), I can say with some confidence is hilariously bad.

Do you think that Amazon should remove these items?

When you’re that terrible and you need to be taken seriously, you deliberately offend people. Which is what Marduk did with this shirt, which we must warn you is pornographic and beyond offensive. It’s here, if you must see it for yourself.

That’s not all. There’s an “I Hate Jesus” pillow, for when you want your hatred of an entire religion to be totally explicit and throw pillows from Pier 1 just won’t do the job.

And there’s more, according to a letter from a series of conservative leaders to Amazon. (Full disclosure: One of those leaders is Floyd Brown, publisher of The Western Journal.)

In the open letter, written Friday and addressed to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, they noted that “Amazon is selling products containing some of the most disgusting and offensive anti-Christian images and messages we have ever seen.”

Other products mentioned included a shirt showing Jesus at the foot of a toilet and another asking “Who the F— is Jesus?”

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“Amazon’s policies prevent users from selling such ‘offensive and controversial materials.'” the letter continues. “We cannot think of anything more offensive to Christians than these kinds of products.

“Were Amazon to sell similar products targeting Allah instead, one could say with confidence it would trigger a violent worldwide reaction against your company. In fact, even the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has condemned these attacks on Christians as ‘inappropriate.’

“We assume you are unaware vendors sell these products on Amazon. Now that you know, we are sure you are just as disgusted as we are. We are confident that by bringing these violations of Amazon’s policy to your attention, we have convinced you to direct your team to conduct a thorough review of the site and remove any and all anti-Christian products immediately. On behalf of the tens of millions of Americans we represent collectively, we the undersigned await your reply.”

The most offensive products, as of Saturday morning, are still up on Amazon.

Let me first say that I don’t particularly mind the “Islamophobic” bathmats being taken off Amazon, although I question whether some of the products truly intended to insult. (Some of the products, it must be noted, were more explicitly problematic; a toilet seat with Quranic scripture on it is significantly less defensible as an example of accidental ignorance, even if one imagines the market for such a product is limited.)

“I don’t think it would be appropriate to have a toilet seat with the image of a Bible on it either,” CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper told CNN. “It’s just inappropriate stuff.”

I agree. So would most Christians. And there’s stuff on Amazon that’s a lot more offensive than a toilet seat with Ephesians 2 printed on it.

One would have hoped Amazon would have acted proactively on this stuff. Absent that, one would hope they would act quickly.

Neither of these seems to have happened.

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C. Douglas Golden is a writer who splits his time between the United States and Southeast Asia. Specializing in political commentary and world affairs, he's written for Conservative Tribune and The Western Journal since 2014.
C. Douglas Golden is a writer who splits his time between the United States and Southeast Asia. Specializing in political commentary and world affairs, he's written for Conservative Tribune and The Western Journal since 2014. Aside from politics, he enjoys spending time with his wife, literature (especially British comic novels and modern Japanese lit), indie rock, coffee, Formula One and football (of both American and world varieties).
Birthplace
Morristown, New Jersey
Education
Catholic University of America
Languages Spoken
English, Spanish
Topics of Expertise
American Politics, World Politics, Culture




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