New atheist critiques of religion functioned as liberal cover for imperial war policy

Evidence

Christopher Hitchens, once a regular columnist for the Nation magazine, became in his later years an outspoken liberal Islamophobe. In his book God Is Not Great, he took aim at all religions, arguing that religion “poisons everything” and was responsible for creating tyrannical regimes both in ancient and modern times. His criticisms, however, were selective: he indicted Saddam Hussein for using Islam for political gain but had nothing to say about the born-again George W. Bush and his recourse to religion to justify his policy objectives. Hitchens went on to blame Islam for the horrible state of Iraq after the US-led invasion and occupation. In the final analysis, despite his equal-opportunity critique of the world’s major religions, his book serves to prop up US foreign policy and erase the millions killed by US wars and sanctions. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 722

Categorization

• XREF: Pays off the chapter-12 note about Hitchens and other ‘new atheists’ as Islamophobes indistinguishable from racists; this paragraph supplies the selectivity mechanism behind it. — connects to: Hitchens’ selective atheist critique of religion legitimated US war policies; Selective atheist critique of religion can covertly serve US empire — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 710; New atheist critiques of religion selectively excused US imperial violence (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• New atheist critiques of religion selectively excused US imperial violence #corroborates (0.92)
• Liberals weaponized atheism to rationalize anti-Muslim war backing #corroborates (0.90) — Khaled A. Beydoun, The New Crusades_ Islamophobia and the…, 318
• Liberal rhetoric can mask imperial racism as benevolence #complicates (0.75)
• Liberal humanitarian rhetoric masks imperial violence and infantilizes its targets #complicates (0.74) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 471
• Christianity obscured itself by promoting secular critique during colonial expansion #corroborates (0.72)
• Liberalism historically frames empire as benevolent uplift #expands (0.72)