When I first saw this article shared on my Facebook timeline, I was curious to see what a conservative news source had to say about a Muslim-American athlete feeling unsafe in the U.S.
C.E. Dyer writes in his article, “Female Muslim-American Olympian Bashes U.S.A—Claims She Feels ‘Unsafe,’” that Ibtihaj Muhammad, an Olympic fencer who is the first American athlete to compete in the Olympics wearing a Hijab, is basically playing the victim when she explains that she doesn’t completely feel safe in the U.S. Dyer included her statement, which was reported by The Daily Beast, that explains how she feels:
“[I feel unsafe] all the time. I had someone follow me home from practice and try to report me to the police. And this is right on 28th and 7th in New York City…
I want people to know that as hard as [these racist incidents] are on me, they don’t come even close to things we’ve seen like the shooting in North Carolina or the rhetoric around the Khan family at the DNC.
It’s ridiculous and we as a country have to change and I feel like this is our moment.”
Dyer feels like she is bashing the U.S. and is going on a whining tour. He finds it “interesting” that “things are just so terrible in America for this Olympic athlete yet she chooses to stay here?” She probably chooses to stay here because this is where she is from. She was born in New Jersey and she says she has no other home to go to. Why should she have to leave her home?
In another statement to the Associated Press, Muhammad says,
“I wish that, not just my life, but the lives of Muslims all over the world were a bit easier, particularly in the United States. I’m hoping that with my first-time appearance as a member of Team USA here at the Olympics, I’m hoping that the rhetoric around the Muslim community will change.”
To me, it doesn’t sound like Muhammad is bashing the U.S., but just hoping for a better future. She’s hoping for change and equality. She doesn’t want to be scared in the place she calls home.
Everyone is entitled to his or her opinions, but what bothers me most about Dyer’s article is the rhetoric he uses to talk about Muhammad, describing her as a “special snowflake” and telling her to be grateful for the opportunities that she has been given for living in the U.S.
Dyer technically says that anyone who isn’t a conservative is anti-Christian and anti-American, which isn’t true. Why is it that Dyer, who describes himself as a Christian in his bio box, can’t accept Islam? He says, “Muslims have brought this archaic, barbaric Sharia law garbage to America…”
Yes, there are extremists who are dangerous, but there are extremists in every religion. Did you hear about the ultra- orthodox Jew who stabbed multiple people at a Pride Parade in Jerusalem? What about the Christian who walked into Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs and began shooting? He had praised people who attacked abortion providers because they were doing “God’s work.” There are extremists everywhere and it is unfair to target any group based on the few who give the entire religion a bad name.
To make this article even more over the top and ridiculous, Dyer questions which male in her family gave her permission to speak. It’s almost laughable at how absurd the comment it. His last sentence reads, “If things are so bad here, I guess it’s time to find somewhere else to accommodate her sensitivities—provided she has permission from a man of course.” Regressive comments like these are the reason racism, sexism and Islamophobia still exists. It’s sickening.
Yes, Muhammad is an Olympic athlete representing U.S.A. Yes, she says she feels unsafe when she is in the U.S. Rather than criticizing her for “bashing” the States for a way she feels, we should strive to make a change where not only Muhammad, but everyone in America feels safe when they are here.
