Talk about poor timing! On the same day that news broke of an Islamist attack on a Catholic Parish in the Congo that left 64 dead and many wounded, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops published a 15-page booklet, “Islamophobia: A Guide for U.S. Catholics on Anti-Muslim Bigotry.”
The purpose of the booklet is to warn Catholics about “the rising tide of anti-Muslim sentiment.” I’m not aware of any “rising tide” of anti-Muslim bigotry in the U.S., but I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a rising tide of anti-Muslim sentiment in Africa — where the burning of churches and the slaughter of Christians is an everyday affair.
Were the bishops so out of touch that they failed to realize that Christianity, not Islam, is by far the most persecuted faith in the world. Didn’t they know that the main persecutors of Christians are Muslims?
Scandalous Agitprop from a Scandal-Plagued University
The author of the Guide is Dr. Jordan Denari Duffner who holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in theological studies from Georgetown University and currently teaches at Georgetown and other universities in the Washington, D.C. area. She is also a member of the USCCB’s National Catholic-Muslim Dialogue.
Her connection to the USCCB and Georgetown is significant because it offers another example of bad timing. Just months before the USCCB’s publication of Duffner’s Guide, Georgetown University was the center of a massive scandal concerning the very department for which Duffner works.
In July, Georgetown put Professor Jonathan Brown, chair of the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies on leave. Brown, who is a convert to Islam and a strident antisemite tweeted that Iran should attack U.S. military bases in the Middle East. But this was only the latest in a string of provocative statements, including a defense of modern-day slavery—as long as it is practiced by Muslims who, by Brown’s account, practice a humanitarian form of slavery. In addition, Brown is married to the daughter of Sami Al-Arian who was convicted of terrorist support in 2003, jailed, and eventually deported to Turkey.
It’s unlikely that the hiring committee was unaware of Brown’s background, yet they hired him anyway. Perhaps they were afraid of being accused of Islamophobia if they didn’t take him on board.
Arab Money Pulls the Jesuits’ Strings
Georgetown’s three departments devoted to Islamic studies—the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, the Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Studies, and the Bridge Initiative—are supported by donations from wealthy Arab States. Although two of the centers are ostensibly concerned with Muslim-Christian relations, most of the emphasis is on the needs and wants of Muslims. Indeed for all intents and purposes, both centers are little more than Islamic propaganda outlets.
Since the USCCB headquarters is in close proximity to Georgetown, one would think that at least one of the bishops would have noticed what Bill Donahue of the Catholic League calls “Georgetown’s Muslim Problem.” Didn’t anyone pipe up to say, “Let’s not rush into this. There’s something strange going on in Georgetown. Do we really want to publish something about Islam that comes out of their Islamic Studies Center? It might be embarrassing.”
What Has Rome to Do with Mecca?
But let’s leave the scandal aside, and go back to Dr. Duffner, who is a Catholic and gives every appearance of being sincere and well-intentioned. Let’s examine the content of her Islamophobia Guide.
She subscribes to what I call the “common-ground thesis”—the belief that Muslims and Catholics share a great deal of common ground such as belief in one God, prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, and respect for Jesus and Mary.
It’s true there are similarities between Islam and Christianity but there are also deep differences. As Duffner admits, there are “notable theological differences,” but she doesn’t say what they are. So, for the sake of balance, here’s a short list:
- Christians believe in the equality of men and women; Muslims don’t.
- Christians believe polygamy is wrong; Muslim believe each man is entitled to four wives.
- Christians believe child marriage is wrong; Muslims, following the example of Muhammad, say it’s acceptable.
- Christians believe that a man who spends his life in sexual pursuits is unlikely to get to Heaven; Muslims believe that a man who fights for the sake of Allah will be rewarded in Paradise with 72 eternally youthful virgins.
- Christians believe in the Trinity; Muslims believe it is a great sin to believe in the Trinity.
- Christians believe in the Incarnation; Muslims believe that Jesus was only a man.
- Christians believe that Jesus was crucified; Muslims say He was not.
- Christians believe that a person who leaves his faith should be prayed for; Muslims believe that apostates should be killed.
Shared common ground? In fact, Christianity and Islam are separated by a very large gap. The USCCB bishops should know that, but apparently, they prefer to live in a dream world of fraternity and shared values.
We’ve Been Walking on Eggs Since 9/11
In addition to going light on the theological differences, Duffner also makes some doubtful claims. For example, she writes that media and cinema portray Muslims in “stereotypical ways.” This may have been true in the past but I doubt that it’s still the case. Her main source on the subject is Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Villifies a People. The book lists hundreds of films that portray Muslims and Arabs in negative ways, but only includes films made between the 1920s and 2000.
After September, 2001, however, producers went to great lengths to avoid portraying Muslims in negative ways. For example, in Tom Clancy’s 1991 novel, The Sum of All Fears, the chief villains are Palestinian terrorists; but in the 2002 film version of the book, the Palestinians have been replaced by neo-Nazi terrorists.
It would be regrettable if Muslims are still being portrayed in stereotypical ways, but in comparison to the damage Muslims are doing to Christians all over the world, it should be a secondary concern. In Nigeria, Sudan, the Congo and Mozambique, Christians don’t worry about being stereotyped. They worry about being exterminated.
The guide hints at more harmful offenses against Muslims than stereotyping, but aside from some anecdotal evidence, little data is provided. The author speaks of violent hate crime attacks, assaults on mosques and so forth but fails to make the case that these are commonplace. Indeed, if the kind of attacks against Muslims that Dr. Duffner describes were really as widespread as she suggests, you wouldn’t need a Georgetown professor to tell you about it. The mainstream media would be more than happy to do the job. More on that on my next piece.
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This article originally appeared in the October 3, 2025 edition of The Stream.
Pictured above: Student protest Islamophobia
Photo credit: Pixabay.
