For a mommyblog and recipe hub that doesn't allow comments, Yr Wonkette sure got a lot of crazy ones on our story about Friday's Great Big Free-Speech-n-Guns Rally Against Islam in Phoenix. Our favorite was from "Elizabeth," who explained that since we were making fun of a bunch of hate-filled goons with guns, we had obviously been blinded to the true nature of Islam, because those Muslims just lie all the time:

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What 'Dr Zoom' fails to realize is that he has fallen prey to taqiyya & has fallen under the spell of 'creeping sharia'. The blatant truth of this is evident with every spurt of venom & vitriol that is spewed against those who seek to defend their Constitutional rights! Dr Zoom feels that Islam somehow occupies an elevated status, above reproach, scrutiny or criticism . . . Incidentally, taqiyya is the Islamic tenet that orders Muslims to practice deliberate deception with all infidels & kufar in order to advance Islam; in order to combat taqiyya & creeping sharia & understand the enemy, I recommend the "Politically Incorrect Guide To Islam & The Crusades". Do your own research & begin with the 1956 Penguin Ed of the Koran, translated by Dawoo [sic (it's "Dawood" -- Dok Z)]

You see, if only we knew what Islam was, as explained by Jihad Watch's Robert Spencer, a guy who thinks jihadis are hiding under every Bedouin, then we too would hate Islam the way we ought to. We sort of missed the part of our piece where we said that Islam is above criticism -- we just had the silly notion that screaming "Fuck Islam" and packing guns outside a worship service is probably not a Good Thing. If it makes Elizabeth feel any better, we think Islam is just as much a myth as any other religion, and that the world would be a far better place if people were less inclined to kill each other over who has the best Invisible Friend of all. We should also note that at no time did we suggest these morons don't have the right to be morons. At Yr Wonkette, we're big fans of idiots exercising their right to free speech, because it gives us plenty to write about.

Elizabeth also noted that there is no such thing as "Islamophobia," since "by definition a phobia is an irrational fear," while there are in fact "a plethora of reasons for our well-merited animus against muslims," so thanks for the English Usage lesson there. Good to know that you're not practicing blind hatred -- you're more into the well-informed kind of hatred.

We also got called out by "Mike21222" for our hypocrisy in writing about the demonstration in Phoenix without also mentioning a completely different set of events:

Wow, where is all of this defense of religious rights when Christians and Yazidis and others are being raped, tortured and murdered in the Middle East? Your not defending Islam at all, your furthering its spread by lying to Americans about it's true nature. Your despicable, you need to visit Islam at its finest in Ramadi, where they are killing the kufar right now. Oh, btw, kufar is Islam's way of identifying you as a non believer, kufar's have no rights in an Islamic state and have a very short life span unless they convert and bear children.

Oh, is that all? OK, yes, we actually DO condemn rape, torture, and murder by anyone -- especially when it's done in the name of invisible holy beings whose existence is doubtful. We suppose it might be worth noting that the people at the mosque in Phoenix were taking off their shoes and praying to their invisible holy being, not raping, torturing, or murdering anyone. This distinction seems significant to us somehow, although as has been noted, we have been blinded by tacos or something.

We also like how these commenters show off their vast knowledge of Islam by dropping in one or two terms that they read on Jihad Watch, "ReligionOfPeace.com" or Pam Geller's site, and then provide a definition, which proves that they know that The Muslims are on a rampage against Christians. It sort of ignores the minor detail that most of the violence in the Middle East is one bunch of Muslims killing another bunch of Muslims (and vice versa), with ethnic and tribal conflicts thrown in for good measure, but that sort of dilutes the message. And yes, in Ramadi, the Sunnis of ISIS aren't killing non-Muslims; they're killing Shias.

"Anna Marie Perez" also had a bone to pick with the term "Islamophobia," pointing out that

It's pretty STUPID to call them Islamaphobes, when they obviously aren't scared of islam if they are holding their draw moooohamed contest right in front of a mosque. You libs need to figure out who the enemy is.

She also noted that "YOU are the one afraid to stand up to them, that makes YOU the islamaphobe. Coward."

That's some pretty inventive thinking there: anyone who fails to share your irrational hatred of Muslims -- and yeah, that is a far more accurate term than "Islamophobia," but you go with the usage that's current -- is actually the coward.

Ms. Perez also took issue with the notion that anyone in U.S. America has a right to feel safe from intimidation and bigotry, because that's just crazy talk:

One of the muslims on Wolf Blitzed said they have a right to feel safe. Really? A right to feel safe? Where is that in the Constitution? Only the 2nd Amendment provides any form of a right to safety in the Constitution and if you want to talk about a right to feel safe, it's cartoonists who are being attacked by the rabid, muslim savages.

Anna Maria Perez lives in a very interesting world, where the Constitution guarantees your right to a gun, but provides no other guarantees of individual safety. Or maybe she's thinking of Somalia.

Someone with the creative username "NO MORE PC BS" -- clearly an environmentalist worried about the toxicity of PolyChlorinated Biphenyls but no good at using the spacebar -- joined Anna Marie in condemning the inaccurate term "Islamophobe":

You are spot on! The only islamaphobes are the liberal PC idiot apologists who pander to them because they are too scared to stand up to them.

No More PCBs had other things to say, too! In response to someone who speculated that the event organizer "would be nothing but understanding if a group of Muslims stood outside his church with their guns," No More PCBs explained that, yes, actually, Muslims ARE surrounding American churches with guns, and it's all liberals' fault:

The muslims are already there. They have been there thanks to apologists like you who welcomed them with open arms. Drawing on a piece of paper should NEVER equal death threats.

The things we learn from our commenters! We should really pay more attention to the news, we suppose. Also, we will personally give No More PCBs a guided swimming tour of the Gowanus Canal if they can point to a single place where we've said that anyone deserves to be shot over a cartoon (OK, other than "Mallard Fillmore"). We do like No More PCBs' way with words, though, so we'll share his other comments as well:

• How pathetic that just a few words or a simple drawing can cripple an entire religious cult and their PC liberal supporters.The code of islam = Silence anyone who does not toe the line.
• So you support pedophiles and rapists who try to kill people for drawing a picture. Wow. Why don't you volunteer to go first so you can set an example for all your liberal PC apologist friends.

There's a certain...rhythm to his phrasing that's actually quite charming. We wonder if he has a keyboard macro that just inserts "liberal PC apologist" every few lines.

One "Joe Foran" had some etiquette advice for us as well, and also wanted to know that we'd better not let our interwebs bits and bytes cross into his beloved Grand Canyon State:

Whoever reads this: I advise you not to call anyone names, such as islamaphobe or homophobe and such. You better not.

AZ is the best state in the union. If you dont think so then leave, I can help you with that.....now

It wasn't quite clear what the penalty for name-calling would be -- possibly Mr. Foran would set up a Great Firewall of Arizona to keep us out? In any case, this is a test: Joe Foran is a poopyhead (does that make us poopyheadphobes?)

We received this brief thought on the meaning of FREEDOM from "don'ttreadonme9," who must really feel bad that eight other people grabbed the username first:

free speech is more important than offending someone

and some believe in free speech you idiot. i will draw whatever i want. f u liberal twat.

While "tbird90sc" had this strange, unfinished prescription for action:

So anyone who doesn't agree with a progressive has a phobia now. When a group of people pass the point of recovery there is only one thing left.

And that one thing is...? Damned if we know, but we'll guess it's the Second Amendment, which usually works as an answer in any situation.

Finally, "knarfisfraud" explained that the anti-Muslim demonstration isn't racist, and that it's about free speech, except that it isn't about free speech, it's to demonstrate that Islam is inherently violent by yelling at a mosque while carrying guns:

Islam is not a race. These people are exercising their 1st amendment rights just as you are doing when you call them names. The 1st amendment exists for "hate speech", it is not there to protect people's right to say "Hello" or "Have a nice day", although is does that as well. However, the purpose of this event is not to exercise their 1st amendment rights, it is to show people like yourself the true colors of Islam. When you host a "Draw Muhammed" event and two men show up with guns with the sole purpose of KILLING other human beings you blame the event planner? Try having a "Draw Jesus" event outside a church and the worst thing that would happen is that you are invited inside for coffee.

Obviously, since no one attacked the demonstrators in Phoenix with guns, we're quite sure that knarfisfraud now recognizes that the True Nature of Islam is to put up with noisy armed morons while ignoring them?

Also, funny he should mention the nice Christians inviting those who insult Jesus in for coffee -- which isn't quite the reception that "Piss Christ" got, but never mind that -- We were actually rather heartened to see this in the Washington Post's coverage of the event: Turns out one of the guys wearing a "Fuck Islam" t-shirt was himself invited into the Islamic Community Center of Phoenix to see what actually went on during the service:

Jason Leger, a Phoenix resident wearing one of the profanity-laced shirts, accepted an invitation to join the evening prayer inside the mosque, and said the experience changed him.

“It was something I’ve never seen before. I took my shoes off. I kneeled. I saw a bunch of peaceful people. We all got along,” Leger said. “They made me feel welcome, you know. I just think everybody’s points are getting misconstrued, saying things out of emotion, saying things they don’t believe.”

Pretty cagey of Usama Shami, the president of the community center! While earlier in the week he'd told mosque members not to engage with the demonstrators, he did go out and talk to a few himself, inviting them to come in and have a chat:

“A lot of them, they’ve never met a Muslim, or they haven’t had interactions with Muslims,” he said. “A lot of them are filled with hate and rage. Maybe they went to websites that charged them with this hatred. So when you sit down and talk like rational people, without all these slogans, without being bigots, without bringing guns, they will find out that they’re talking to another human.”

Wow, there's a terrifying example of the True Face of Islam! Obviously, the one guy was just a false flag agent posing as a demonstrator, and we're looking forward to the usual idiots explaining that Shami was really just doing that taqiyya thing again to lull everybody into a false sense of security. Because really, All The Muslims are planning to cut off our heads.

Programming note: We also got a whole big bunch of comments on our coverage of the Duggar Situation, which we will bring you in a special Dear ShitFerBrains later in the week.

[WaPo]