I am a Christian. I went to a Catholic high school and was brought up as a Christian, and that means that treating everyone with love and compassion. Since I was a kid, I have seen many examples of xenophobia towards people of Middle Eastern descent. Islamophobia is a growing problem in this country, and I do not see why people have this hate towards anyone who is a Muslim. Yes, I am fully aware that what happened in 2001 was a tragedy and something that will be in United States history forever, but there is no need to push all people of the Islam faith into one corner, even though less than one percent of Muslims are radical.
When I was in high school, my religion class senior year was about world religions, including Islam. I learned the five pillars of Islam and the traditions of the religion. I am happy I have this knowledge because it allows me to not have any prejudice towards Muslims. For all those who do not know, the five pillars of Islam are the five basic rules all Muslims need to live by, such as fasting during Ramadan, having a pilgrimage to Mecca, praying five times a day, almsgiving, and professing faith to the prophet Muhammad. None of these principles, however, have to do with being extremist or committing acts of terror. Also, for those who do not know, Islam is related to Christianity because a prophet in Islam was the son of Abraham that he had with Hagar in the Bible. Also, the Quran and the Bible share some similarities in content, such as Abraham, since both are Abrahamic religions. These are just a few of many facts about Islam that people need to know in order to become educated in the religion.
But the question comes up, “Why be so hateful towards Muslims?” There is almost a link to nationalism and hate of Muslims because of what a small few did. However, accepting different cultures is something that our country is based on, so wouldn’t that be patriotic? For Christians, picture a scenario that we are treated terribly for something a small amount of Christians believe in -- how would you feel? Imagine if in this country Christians were hated because of a hateful group, like the Protestant-led group the Ku Klux Klan. I am totally aware that groups such as ISIS are very different than the KKK, but the Ku Klux Klan is a group that commits crimes in the name of a religion, and we believe that their beliefs are wrong. Many people in the world, including Muslims, believe what the Islamic terrorist groups are doing is wrong, so why is it different for Muslims?
I believe that there needs to be an education about a group before one can have any opinion about it because some beliefs are based of not knowing what a group is about. Islamophobia is a problem, and it is because people are uneducated about the religion, whether it is calling President Obama a terrorist, the media proclaiming that Muslims are attempting to create Sharia Law in this country, or many other accounts of prejudice. Islam is a religion of peace, and the large majority of Muslims agree that there is no need for violence, so there needs to be something done to get rid of this stigma.
