The increase in terrorist attacks and news articles headlined ISIS, promotes the stereotype that all Muslims are terrorists. Living in this biased, Caucasian community, Amal is constantly discriminated for wearing the hijab, and for following her religious practices; unfortunately, her unwavering determination to uphold her religious identity backfires when she is refused a part-time job at a local restaurant for wearing the hijab. Consequently, incidents like this work towards lowering Amal’s self-esteem and making her question her decision-making skills. To add on, Amal’s high school bullying experiences work towards demoting her self-worth. One day during class, Tia says to Amal, loudly so everyone can hear it, “there’s this article in Marie Claire about Muslim girls getting circumcised in Nigeria” (171).…
Following the events that occurred on September 11, 2001, Muslims have been subjected to the vile stereotype that projects all Muslims as terrorists. In Brent Staples’ essay “Just Walk on by: Black Men and Public Space,” he argues that black men are victimized because of society's perception of them. This can be compared to the victimization of Muslims due to society’s image of them as well; however, this stereotype is incorrect based on statistics, evidence, and my personal experience. In this society, the argument is that the actions of Muslim terrorists come from their religion.…
“The most widely discussed issue in the U.S. Muslim community is the negative image of Islam in the American media, an issue that was cause for concern even before 9/11” (Struggling… Stereotypes 1). American Muslims experience stereotyping and harassment on a daily basis. The racial profiling towards American Muslims has almost been solely based off of the 9/11 attacks and the stereotypes are not only coming from uninformed citizens. Presidential candidate Donald Trump is known for his racist remarks and views on Middle Easterners. “Throughout this primary campaign, polls have shown over and over that many Republicans agree with Trump’s extremist rhetoric” (Jackson 2).…
The main subject of Islam: Empire Of Faith is to educate watchers about the history of the Islamic culture and how it affects the world today. Some things that were good about the film was that it evaluated and explained on what the Islamic people believe. Another thing is that it deepens our understanding of how the Islamic faith started and grew into the large religion it is today. Some things I didn't like about the film's context…
Ever since the horrific events of 9/11, the media have targeted and used Muslims and Islam to saturate inconsistent and sensationalised news to subconsciously plant a seed of fear and suspicion towards the Islamic faith. Muslim extremists, alongside the general Muslim population, receive a disproportionate amount, mainly in Western countries, of intense scrutinised worldwide media coverage, discussion, stereotypes and are generally brought upon in a negative light (The Guardian, 2005). Nevertheless, Marsden and Savigny (2009) state that: There is nothing new in claiming that security concerns dominate the media agenda, nor indeed that the causes of these security concerns are often linked to particular religious communities in political and…
Putting Islam terrorism in the worst end of the spectrum, and keeping it in a whole separate place seriously worsens daily lives of billions of innocent Muslims. According to The Student View, of the 1.57 billion Muslims, approximately 31,000 is involved in ISIS, 36,000 in Taliban, and 10,000 in Al Qaeda, which proves that there are at least about 1.56 billion Muslims who aren’t involved in any sort of terror act (Source B). Feeling culpable for something they didn’t commit, these Muslims are being implicitly or explicitly insulted in public which unavoidably…
No matter what we say or do, Muslims have seen a threat to society. The public should understand there is no common American national culture” (Appiah,50). There are no just Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Muslims. America is a country of no “common culture”, but a sea of diversity and of different…
Muslim Women in Sports Muslims are often portrayed in the negative light and have been severely oppressed over these last few years. This class was a very such a great experience understanding the Islamic culture in media and in the pop culture. We covered the various stereotypes and stigmas that are link and related to Muslims. We even discussed about Muslims in politics, news coverage, advertisement, the Internet, and television and film. Not to leave out the discussions of the growing ideology to segregate and prohibit Muslims form the United States of America, which is being preached by the U. S. President.…
In the article “Islam in America,” by the authors Jonathan Cruiel and Malise Ruthven, they explain in their view on how Islam is portrayed in America. They believe that originally, Islam wasn’t a really issue at all, but it changed ever since 9/11. For example, American Islam existed and Muslims were living and socializing with other communities and their religios identity wasn’t an issue “The 9/11 attacks forced American Muslims into a period of introspection and a realization that their faith was being defined by a horrific event and its aftermath that they had no control over. ”(The Shock of 9/11).…
Muslim American Women Muslim women in America are constantly reminded of their intersectionality on a daily basis. They are marginalized due to their gender, religion, ethnicity, and in addition, Africa-American, Muslim women are also subjected to racism. These Muslim African-Americans are often torn between “relating to their religious brothers and sisters or to their ethnic peers” (Ahmed). Muslim women must also deal with the public’s perception, which often views them as extremists (Mogahed). This erroneous perspective is propagated by the media’s coverage of terrorism and the Muslim religion (Halimah).…
Bias and prejudice have resonated in cultures throughout time. Prejudice begins as a perceived opinion or idea without evidence to support it; eventually, it evolves to a greater concern: racism. In the United States alone, nearly one thousand hate groups have taken root and amplified the issue of racism in the U. S. Major events that negatively depict a minority can undermine progress towards equality. This is discussed in an interview with Professor Abu-Lughod where she explains how Muslim women are perceived in the wake of the war in Afghanistan.…
Commonly, because of immigration enforcement practices and unfavorable law enforcement conduct that is carried out publicly on individuals of the Muslim descent, or appearance, many Americans stereotypically racialize the Muslim and Arab community as a threat to society, therefor unethically and wrongfully marginalizing and criminalizing them as a result. Furthermore, “in the case of Arab Americans and Muslim noncitizens, the racialization process draws on interpretations which associate phenotype with religion, resulting in profiles that are based on what a Muslim “looks like”” (Sheikh, 82), creating the stereotype in which infers that all Middle Eastern looking individuals follow the Islamic religion, when in many instances such assumption is not factual. As such, individuals with characteristics that resemble Islamic terrorist, often are falsely detained, deported, or undesirably publicized throughout the media, making the migrant experience far from desirable for many Middle Eastern immigrants as well as many American Muslims. Likewise, “events following 9/11 including the War on Terror, the emergence of Homeland Security, and the Patriot Act, as well as more micro-transformations such as heightened security at airports, have…
While media’s main purpose is to merely inform the public, it often ends up affecting public opinion. This is the case with immigration and religion. When religious immigrants are portrayed in media as a certain way, society often creates prejudices and stereotypes. These stereotypes—whether they seem positive or negative—will have an overall negative impact on the lives of the immigrant and religious groups involved. When media portrays immigrants with differences from the majority of the public, a division is formed as “desirable” versus “undesirable” immigrant groups and this further reinforces stereotyping, especially against “undesirable” immigrants .…
Even the reassuring words of Muslim leaders and mosques have had scarce effect on convincing the general public. The simple truth is, most people don’t actually know much about the Muslim faith, and what it really states. Rather they justify their hatred through stereotypical understandings; after all, if one’s a terrorist, they’re all terrorists aren’t they (Abu-Nimer, 2015)? This is why education is vital.…
There is no reason for the United States to return to internment camps and segregation with the progress for equality ongoing, but with the rise of terrorism and racial targeting, Muslims are scapegoats in a country that is constantly undergoing change. Islamophobia, or the fear of Islam, is not the reason to justify hate crimes against millions of people attempting to live their lives. Muslims do not have the opportunity to seek justice like the Civil Rights movement groups did as Muslims are already seen as a threat to US society and will be meet with strong resistance from all sides, even among their own people. Exploring how Islam impacts United States culture and society, demonstrating how Islamophobia is spread through social media and…