Bannered with the line “It isn’t Islamophobia when they really are trying to kill you,” the blog Bare Naked Islam is run by New York-based Bonni Benstock-Intall. Bare Naked Islam describes Islam as “a totalitarian political cult-like ideology.” The site regularly features discussions promoting violence against Muslims, including comments like, “I want [Muslim] blood on my hands” and “Ban all mosques, blow up those that exist.” When one of its commentators was arrested for “carrying out an attack at a mosque and threatening to kill the only occupant,” Benstock-Intall called it “very sad news” and expressed support for the attacker. WordPress removed the blog for violating a policy on content that contains “threats or incite violence towards individuals or entities.” PayPal suspended the site’s account.
Bare Naked Islam is an online community known for promoting violence against Muslims.
The website’s “About” section states that “Islam is NOT just another religion but a totalitarian political cult-like ideology, which compels its followers into blind obedience, teaches intolerance, brutality and locks all Muslims and non-Muslims in a struggle deriving directly from the 7th century nomadic, predatory, Bedouin culture. [sic]”
The blog has featured threats of violence targeting mosques, including the comment “I want [Muslim] blood on my hands” and “Ban all mosques, blow up those that exist.” User “Andika” commented, “I’d LOVE to follow them – down a dark alley and bludgeon them.”
In early 2013, organizers of the Texas Muslim Capitol Day felt compelled to ask for police protection because of threats made toward them on Bare Naked Islam. The threats included statements such as, “A big bunch of muzzies all in one place eh?? Why not give em a warm Texas welcome … How do you Americans say? LOCK AND LOAD! [sic]” posted by user “chris.” [“Lock and load” is a slang military command to prepare weapons for battle by locking a magazine into the weapon and loading ammunition into the chamber.]
Another commenter, “Joel Carson,” wrote, “Call out the texas militia and kill or capture all participants. What in hell is going on in texas? [sic]”
Frequent Bare Naked Islam commenter Geoffrey Ryan was jailed for “carrying out an attack at a mosque and threatening to kill the only occupant” in Britain. Intall greeted news of the attack with a post titled, “VERY SAD NEWS: One of BNI’s favorite British counterjihadist commenters has been arrested for setting off a smoke bomb at a mosque.” In the post, which was later deleted, Intall wrote, “Feel free to post messages to him here and I will forward them. We do not condone this act of violence but we support the courageous counterjihad efforts of the EDL, Geoff Ryan and all the defenders of freedom against Islamization.”
The blog has featured other threats of violence targeting mosques, including the comment “I want [Muslim] blood on my hands.”
In 2017, PayPal suspended the site’s account. The site moderator noted, “I am pretty sure the reason has something to do with the kind of blog BNI is.”
In 2011, WordPress.com removed the blog for violating the hosting company’s terms of service (TOS), which prohibits blogs that “contain threats or incite violence towards individuals or entities.” Articles and comments posted on “Bare Naked Islam” urged attacks on and desecration of American and European mosques. Intall found a new service provider shortly thereafter.
The majority of the most recent posts by the site hyper-sensationalize the phenomenon of the “Islamization of the West.” The site’s bloggers laud Islamophobic decisions made in France and spread falsehoods about Muslim immigration in the UK. BNI falsely linked the influx of Muslim immigrants to France with the fleeing of Jewish individuals from the country. Additionally, the bloggers continually perpetuated the stereotype that Muslim immigrants, all across the world, are closely connected to Islamic jihadism and possess violent capabilities.
Most of the other posts attacked the Biden Administration, especially with regard to decisions made in Afghanistan and the recent incursion of Afghan refugees worldwide. In recent posts, bloggers have spread the narrative that the current Administration are Taliban, ISIS and al-Qaeda sympathizers. The posts also recurrently attempt to shed suspicion on the integrity and character of innocent Afghans refugees.
BNI has also not backed off from demonizing the CAIR, dubbing the organization a “designated terrorist organization.” In its most recent posts, BNI criticized CAIR-Minnesota for demanding an investigation of a possible bias motive for an attempted arson targeting of a Muslim cemetery in the state. CAIR-Michigan was also attacked for aiding a Muslim woman seeking to file charges against a Michigan police department that forced her to remove her hijab during an arrest booking. In typical BNI fashion, the Muslim complainant’s hijab was referred to as a “headbag” and her physical appearance was attacked, being described as “grossly overweight.” CAIR was also severely attacked for its anti-bullying efforts in educational settings, with bloggers claiming the organization was trying to make bullying appear as a “Muslim only” problem. Additionally and not surprisingly, BNI admonished CAIR’s tireless efforts to prevent Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. from building a hotel on the ruins of a bulldozed Uyghur mosque in the Xinjiang Province.
In an ironic twist, the website has started to include posts entitled “BNI Mental Health Break,” which contain random, uplifting stories, like those about animals. These posts are intended to provide faithful followers of the site with light and positive stories, totally unrelated to the main content of the website which exudes hate and racism.
Sample of Comments on BareNakedIslam.com:
