Islamophobia or Honest Critique? Christopher Hitchens Warned Us—Are We Listening?

In today’s cultural climate, the word “Islamophobia” is thrown around with alarming frequency. It’s used not just as a label, but as a weapon—an accusation of race hatred or bigotry, designed to silence anyone who objects to the preachings of a radical, absolutist religion. But as Christopher Hitchens famously said, “Islamophobia: a word created by fascists and used by cowards to manipulate morons.”

Let’s be clear: Criticizing Islam does not mean hating Muslims. Most Muslims are not radicals. But everywhere that Islam as an ideology takes root, liberal values suffer. Freedom is suppressed; autocracy and control thrive. Women who don’t want to wear a burka, gays, Jews, Christians, Baháʼís, Hindus, and even nominal Muslims—all face discrimination or worse in Muslim-majority countries. Just look at the state of minorities in any of the 48 Muslim nations worldwide. The truth is, these societies are rarely havens for diversity or free expression.

Yet when some come to Western nations, they claim victimhood—while enjoying freedoms unavailable in their countries of origin. It’s a paradox that’s almost absurd.

Hitchens saw this coming. In 2009, he warned:
“Resist it while you still can and before the right to complain is taken away from you, which will be the next thing. You will be told you can’t complain because you’re Islamophobic.”

The term “Islamophobia” is already being introduced into culture as if it’s an accusation of race hatred or bigotry, when in reality, it’s often just the objection to the preachings of an extreme and absolutist religion. Hitchens cautioned us to watch for these symptoms—not just of surrender, but of active collaboration. He called out Christian and Jewish leaders who, in the name of ecumenism, hold open the gates for the “barbarians.” As he put it, “The barbarians never take a city till someone holds the gates open for them.”

And it’s not just religious leaders—multicultural authorities are complicit too. The consequences are real:

A cricket team in Middlesex, England, forced to change its name from “Crusaders.”
Stories about little pigs banned from English schools to avoid offending the “religion of peace.”

This is not progress; it’s self-destruction.

Douglas Murray’s updated warning rings true:
“One day the barbarians will be at the gate and we’ll be debating whether we’re Islamophobes or not.”
We all know, deep down, that this is not good. But unless we resist, it will happen.

Hitchens’ message is urgent: Resist while you still can. Don’t let your right to honest critique be stolen by empty accusations and cowardly appeasement. The fate of liberal values, freedom, and even common sense depends on it.

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