Prejudices can always be rationalised: racial segregation is upheld as natural. Complaints about sexism get dismissed as emotional outbursts. Muslims encounter a particular version of this: according to hostile politicians and journalists, anger against them is their own fault. Being frightened of their faith is normal – and “Islamophobia” is just a fancy word, invented to shield extremists from criticism.
Gaslighting is always hard to counter. To state what should be obvious, however, no belief system has a monopoly on either wisdom or ignorance and violence. Outliers exist in every group. The existence of flawed individuals doesn’t justify gross generalisations, though – let alone the claim that slurs are harmless.
