Update: To make this more clear, though the screencaps at link are, frankly, obvious - no one has suggested results are being blocked. What they don't do is offer any negative search phrases as they do with all other religions.
Damn, I tried it myself. It's true. You can try it with a number of religions and it's the same thing.
Type in Christianity is... at Google and you'll get everything from Bullchit, or a lie. That's true for all the major religions. But type in Islam is... and there are no alternatives to click on, one way or another. What's the deal, Google?
Here are some screen-caps that prove it, as well. They proved out in my test. What is Google afraid of, exactly?
Google is afraid of a fatwa against them, therefore they are behaving in a way that makes them feel safer. Kinda rational, actually.
Posted by: Al in St. Lou | Tuesday, January 05, 2010 at 02:07 PM
You can still google "Islam Churchill"
Posted by: Lon | Tuesday, January 05, 2010 at 02:27 PM
The same is true for "heterosexuality is" and "homosexuallity is" ... no negatives for hetero; but plenty for homo ... is Google afraid of straight people too? Hahaha! I hope you are not suggesting that your screenshots are scientific proof of anything.
Posted by: Frank | Tuesday, January 05, 2010 at 02:50 PM
Maybe, just maybe, there aren't as many people doing searches for negatives on Islam, and maybe, just maybe, not as many linked pages to negative pages on Islam.
Posted by: GadgetDon | Tuesday, January 05, 2010 at 02:56 PM
If you'd take a moment to do some actual research beyond a typical kneejerk reaction, you could hop on over to Google's keyword tool and give the term 'Islam is' a try. You'll find that, lo and behold, not many people search that term, thus it doesn't appear in the search box.
Amazing, huh?
Posted by: Rick B. | Tuesday, January 05, 2010 at 03:05 PM
How do you, or does anyone else know who searches what there, RB? You're only source is Google, apparently. Given all of the inflammatory rhetoric over Islam, now we're supposed to believe they are the one squeaky clean religion via Google users? Sorry, not buying that without proof independent of Google saying so.
Posted by: Dan Riehl | Tuesday, January 05, 2010 at 03:20 PM
google is evil. I am not surprised as this is typical ultra-liberal progressive behavior.
Posted by: OldNuc | Tuesday, January 05, 2010 at 03:46 PM
Yahoo and Bing work just dandy...
Posted by: astonerii | Tuesday, January 05, 2010 at 05:33 PM
You're using the wrong search criteria. Although, this is correct, try instead "Muslim is ". Then, you start seeing the same as other religions. Why "muslim" instead of "islam"? It was just a snafu. Sorry. I know you all want to hate Google.
Posted by: r351574nc3 | Tuesday, January 05, 2010 at 05:53 PM
On the other hand, Bing does provide recommended searches.
Posted by: Drstanly1 | Tuesday, January 05, 2010 at 06:20 PM
Interestingly, when you type in "Christianity is..." "Zoroastrianims is..." Buddhism, etc you always get a mention of "Islam" in the suggested searches. As noted, "Islam is..." gets nothing. Odd, that. Well, not really.
Posted by: Eric | Tuesday, January 05, 2010 at 06:51 PM
Actually, when I type "Muslim is", I do get alternatives -- but only very positive ones. (Perhaps that will change as Web pages appear and disappear, but it's what I found just now.)
If I try "Muslims are", again I get nothing at all. (Then again, "Jews are" gets nothing also. There's more here than meets the eye.)
Is this yet another example of Google's left-wing bias and/or excessive PC-ness, or just a buggy product still being worked out? I'd say, probably a little of both.
Posted by: Daniel in Brookline | Wednesday, January 06, 2010 at 04:33 PM
What Does "Islam" Mean?
The word "Islam" itself means "Submission to Allah." The religion of Islam is not named after a person as in the case of "Christianity" which was named after Jesus Christ, "Buddhism" after Gutama Buddha , "Marxism" after Karl Marx, and "Confucianism" after Confucius.
Similarly, Islam is not named after a tribe like "Judaism" after the tribe of Judah and "Hinduism" after the Hindus. The Arabic word "Islam" means the submission or surrender of one's will to the will of the only true god worthy of worship, "Allah" (known as God "the Father" in Christianity).
Anyone who does indeed submit to the will of Allah as required by Islam is termed a "Muslim," which means one who has submitted to the will of Allah. Many people in the West have developed the sad misinformed trend of calling Islam "Muhammadenism" and it's followers "Muhammadins." This is a totally foreign word to Muslims and unrecognized by them. No Muslim has ever called his religion "Muhammadenism" or called himself a "Muhammadin."
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Posted by: learningquranonline | Friday, January 08, 2010 at 06:37 PM