http://icnacsj.org/2016/05/first-amendment-make-america-safe-again-by-rejecting-islamophobia/
As an American citizen and a college student I have been vividly aware of the constant discrimination of Muslim Americans and Islam and a religion. The monumental events that have happened in the recent years that have contributed to this discrimination of this religion and group of people have left me in an utter place of shock. First I want to define the word Islamophobia according to Islamophobia.org “Islamophobia is closed-minded prejudice against or hatred of Islam and Muslims. An Islamophobe is an individual who holds a closed-minded view of Islam and promotes prejudice against or hatred of Muslims.” This prejudice is something that has been cultivated by the media portraying Muslims and Islam in a negative light, along with people’s assumptions that all Muslims are terrorist which is so far from the truth.
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On a positive note with the recent rise in social media activism Muslim Americans who once didn’t have a voice are now sharing their stories and experiences with Islamophobe’s. This statement on NBC.com is one of best statements to describe how Islamophobia has effected Muslim Americans “"Whenever I hear the word 'Islamophobia,' I just get really angry because people blame the entire Muslim population over the actions of a few individuals that falsely use the name of Islam in order to justify their actions that are clearly unjustifiable." Samena Hoque told NBC News.” This statement says so much about the prejudice that people have over Muslim Americans. Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the induction of the Patriot Act Americans have been told and began to believe that all Muslims are terrorist. This untrue notion has cause many attacks on innocent Muslim Americans. According to Huffington Post “There were about 260 anti-Muslim hate crimes in 2015, the report notes. That’s the worst total since 2001, when a record 481 anti-Muslim hate crimes occurred. Hate crimes against Muslims and people of Middle Eastern descent skyrocketed nationally in late 2001, following the September 11th attacks.” It is believed that the rise in anti-Muslim hate crimes is due to recent terrorist attacks and the republican candidate Donald Trump making it explicitly known about his hate for Muslims.
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One of the saddest anti Muslim hate crimes that was committed in recent years was, the murder of Deah Barakat and Razan Abu-Salha two college students who were shot point blank by their neighbor Craig Hicks. This is one of the most debated recent hate crimes because Hicks was found to be obsessed with the parking habits of the residents who lived in his apartment building. Upon investigation they found paperwork of residents parking patterns in Hicks apartment. Along with large collection of guns, many people consider this a crime of passion for parking but as acted upon because the victims were Muslim and practicing Islam. When this horrible event happened the media barely covered it. This cause a social media to go crazy with tweets with the #MuslimLivesMatter in order to demand the media to give this tragedy more attention. Personally I can remember this event like it was yesterday, I was walking through the Union and I saw woman wearing Hijabs passing out brown paper bags full of snacks and letting people know about this horrible killing. I immediately stopped and talked to the women in shock that I hadn’t heard anything. I was upset that the media chose to ignore this important issue until it was talked about over social media. As a college student who at one point lived off campus and many hours away from my family I can’t imagine the pain the family was in. Not only that but the injustice that they felt. I am far from a Muslim American but my heart goes out to all the prejudice and hate crimes they have personally been effected by. I have personally always been interested in the culture and different languages of Muslim people. Also the religion Islam itself is just so misunderstood by Americans so I’ve always made it my goal to understand it.
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The Hijab is one of the main reason so many Muslim American women are affected by hate crimes. The Hijab is a public display of being a part of the Islamic religion, in most Islamic practicing countries wearing the Hijab is a choice made each woman. Yet most Americans believe that the Hijab is a sign of male force and women oppression which this is only the case in some Middle Eastern countries. It’s important to note that this is not the case in America, if Americans took the time to just ask women wearing the Hijab questions they have these misconceptions wouldn’t exist.
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Just like if the media said something negative about Christianity or even the state you lived in. You wouldn’t just believe that fact without checking other sources would you? No, of course not you would read and understand different viewpoints. People take what the media says about Muslims and Islam for face value, and yes there are places in this world where people are terrorizing others and using the religion Islam in bad light but that doesn’t mean that ever Islamic practicing human being is a terrorist. If we all had more love in our heart and curiosity in our minds we wouldn’t have these horrible hate crimes nor would people be prejudice towards Muslim Americans. I’m still constantly learning new things about this beautiful group of people, and I am amazed how many sweet and awesome Muslim Americans I have met throughout my life journey. I urge you to learn more about this religion and these people because I promise you, you will be surprised how similar they are to you.
