"Europeans messed it up" you write ... but I "made up" the premise of the article, right.
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What is it that you want me to "prove" to you?
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You demand answer, terrified that this hatched-of-a job leftist piece (needed by this paper's monthly/weekly/daily insurance quota  - "see we are not THAT 'conservative' ") is easily discredited by simple historical facts.

"And no, he didn't excuse muslims for their own share of historical racism." 

You are giving him points for something he did not write...hilarious.

"Doug" steered clear of history at all, just picked up choice words -"Europeans", "racism", "colonialism"... and that is what this column had to do with, mission accomplished!!

As for the "concept" of Muslim identity (do I sense some romantic notion here) - any serious writer who has guts will write about how Arabs differentiate themselves from "the other" Muslims, write about Pakistan and its influence on "the concept of Muslim identity', and much more.... one character left.