Professors and Students at U. San Diego Protest Trump By Wearing “Muslim Yellow Stars” [incl. Bahar Davary]

The worst form of cultural appropriation.

Does this go too far?

Of course it does. Comments by Donald Trump about a temporary ban on Muslim immigration, which almost certainly never will happen even if there were to be a President Trump, hardly compare to round-up for extermination. There is no equivalent — fortunately — of Kristallnachtagainst Muslims in the U.S. The few instances of violence are being prosecuted, and one is still far more likely to be the victim of religious hate crimes for being Jewish.

The Times of San Diego reports, USD Professor Leads Silent Protest Against Anti-Muslim Rhetoric:

A religious studies professor at the University of San Diego who is concerned about growing anti-Muslim rhetoric has started a silent protest, with students and faculty wearing yellow stars marked “Muslim.”

Bahar Davary, associate professor of theology and religious studies, came up with the idea during her class “Islamic Faith and Practice,” an introduction to Islam, and her students suggested several designs.

The yellow Star of David is what the Nazis required all Jews to wear prior to the Holocaust. The crescent moon and word “Muslim” draw the connection with today’s politics.

“What it symbolizes is that there have been people who have been made to be the ‘other’ throughout history,” said Davary, an Iranian-American whose academic specialty at the Catholic university is Islam....

“It’s not only Trump. It’s not only Ben Carson,” Davary said. “There have been anti-Muslim actions taking place. In some ways it’s frightening.”

According to the report, as many as 100 faculty and students wore the Yellow Star. But the professor doesn’t want the Muslim Yellow Star worn off campus, because, you know, some people might misunderstand:

For now, it’s a campus protest only. She advises her students not to wear the stars off campus in case the meaning is misunderstood.

I’ll say.

The irony, of course, is that the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem was a big supporter and fan of Hitler, and the Muslim world is a hotbed of anti-Semitic propaganda and agitation. Jews routinely are demonized for being Jews, and the ancient Jewish communities in Muslim areas were expelled after the creation of Israel.

In Europe, Jews cannot walk the streets in many places while displaying any Jewish symbol or even traditional Jewish attire for fear of harassment by young Muslims.

The comparisons of Trump to Hitler are out of control.

But this is much worse.

No one misunderstands this misplaced gesture. We understand it all too well.

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