Racism faced by Muslims in Modern America
Harika Penematcha
Intro to Modern Middle East
Section 01
Over the years, many Muslims have immigrated from the Middle East to America for a better life for themselves and their family. However, circumstances with Muslims have changed in the way these individuals are perceived and looked at by others as certain situations have occurred such as 9/11. Today, being Muslim in America means you are constantly interrogated and questioned. The ignorant views of some people have lead to so many misconceptions about Muslims and Islam in general. The most common misconception is the fact that Muslims support violence and terrorism. Some people feel that Muslims support terrorism because of a few terrorist groups that exist in Islam. These individuals with barbaric beliefs combine all Muslims with these terrorist groups and merge the two together, thinking they are the same people. For example, when 9/11 occurred many Americans blamed all Muslims for the attack when really it was committed by only one group of Muslims, Al- Qaeda. These Americans failed to realize that Muslim-Americans were also affected by the attack and died because of it as well. Another misconception is that Islam oppresses women. Nowadays, muslim women in the media are shown as having to always wear clothing that covers them such as hijabs, burqas, and chadors, and in this way they are thought of as being oppressed because people tend to think that these women are not able to wear whatever they want to. However, what these individuals fail to realize is that most women choose to wear this type of clothing and they are not forced to. To some women, wearing such clothing can mean the opposite of oppression; they can feel liberated. They can feel as if they are no longer known for their looks and outer appearance but rather their inner self such as their personality, honesty, and intelligence. Women can wear such clothing because it is their personal preference and they just want to be modest. There are many other misconceptions that exist in today’s world about Muslims and Islam, which fail to disappear because of the ignorance of some individuals and their inability to see Muslims for who they really are.
Intro to Modern Middle East
Section 01
Over the years, many Muslims have immigrated from the Middle East to America for a better life for themselves and their family. However, circumstances with Muslims have changed in the way these individuals are perceived and looked at by others as certain situations have occurred such as 9/11. Today, being Muslim in America means you are constantly interrogated and questioned. The ignorant views of some people have lead to so many misconceptions about Muslims and Islam in general. The most common misconception is the fact that Muslims support violence and terrorism. Some people feel that Muslims support terrorism because of a few terrorist groups that exist in Islam. These individuals with barbaric beliefs combine all Muslims with these terrorist groups and merge the two together, thinking they are the same people. For example, when 9/11 occurred many Americans blamed all Muslims for the attack when really it was committed by only one group of Muslims, Al- Qaeda. These Americans failed to realize that Muslim-Americans were also affected by the attack and died because of it as well. Another misconception is that Islam oppresses women. Nowadays, muslim women in the media are shown as having to always wear clothing that covers them such as hijabs, burqas, and chadors, and in this way they are thought of as being oppressed because people tend to think that these women are not able to wear whatever they want to. However, what these individuals fail to realize is that most women choose to wear this type of clothing and they are not forced to. To some women, wearing such clothing can mean the opposite of oppression; they can feel liberated. They can feel as if they are no longer known for their looks and outer appearance but rather their inner self such as their personality, honesty, and intelligence. Women can wear such clothing because it is their personal preference and they just want to be modest. There are many other misconceptions that exist in today’s world about Muslims and Islam, which fail to disappear because of the ignorance of some individuals and their inability to see Muslims for who they really are.
With the ignorance of many individuals comes discrimination. Many individuals target Muslims and participate in hate crimes against Muslims. There have been many cases of Muslims being called names such as “terrorists,” Muslims being talked down upon, individuals not wanting to associate with Muslims, and mosques being burned down. Amber, the student I interviewed, mentioned that she used to be discriminated against in middle school when people on her bus used to call her a bunch of vulgar names.
It is vital to change this mindset of mainstream America. The main issue is that many individuals are ignorant. The main problem with these ignorant individuals is that they tend to not know any Muslims so they do not know what they are really like. They judge all Muslims based on what is portrayed in the media, which is with a negative connotation, and fail to realize that they cannot judge specific individuals based on what they hear when they personally do not know them.
The person I interviewed about this topic of racism faced by Muslims in modern America was Amber Zaki. Amber Zaki is Muslim and has lived in America her whole life. The following link is the audio recording of the interview.
https://soundcloud.com/harika-penematcha/ambers-interview
The person I interviewed about this topic of racism faced by Muslims in modern America was Amber Zaki. Amber Zaki is Muslim and has lived in America her whole life. The following link is the audio recording of the interview.
https://soundcloud.com/harika-penematcha/ambers-interview
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| Amber Zaki |
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