Since its foundation, The United States of America has prided itself in being a sort of “melting pot” of cultures and people. Over time, people from all over the world immigrated to the US. This includes, even today, people of many different faiths. One faith in particular has seen a lot of controversy: Islamism. Especially in light of events like the attacks in the US on September 11, 2001 or even more recent attacks in France and England that are attributed to radical Islamist groups, people who practice the Islamic faith (Muslims) have received a lot of criticism. In turn, this makes it difficult for Muslims to come to the United States. This became especially true on January 27, 2017, when recently elected President Donald J. Trump signed
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The increasing difficulty in coming to the US in the first place was already discussed briefly when mentioning President Trump’s ban on immigration from predominantly Muslim countries. But even for Muslims who are already in the country, this means dealing with mounting Islamophobia based in misconceptions about their religion and lifestyle. “Ignorance about and hostility toward Islam continue to present several challenges. The pressure to assimilate (i.e., to ‘normalize’) was and still remains very high.” (Haddad, 2004, p. 184) This means that even though the US has been a “melting pot” of cultures and people, it is currently trying to get millions of people to simply assimilate into American society. While many Americans celebrate multiculturalism in the US, they also allow “ignorance… and hostility” to cause them to try to minimize an entire culture.
In conclusion, it is a common misconception of Muslims and Islamism combined with fear regarding recent terrorist attacks all over the globe that are attributed to radical Islamist groups that have caused Islamophobia and Muslim immigration to be such a controversial issue within the United States. This means that pressure to assimilate into American society is very high, and Muslims who do not satisfactorily comply are faced with a lot of backlash. It remains to be seen who is right about immigration and how to bring an end to this
The increasing difficulty in coming to the US in the first place was already discussed briefly when mentioning President Trump’s ban on immigration from predominantly Muslim countries. But even for Muslims who are already in the country, this means dealing with mounting Islamophobia based in misconceptions about their religion and lifestyle. “Ignorance about and hostility toward Islam continue to present several challenges. The pressure to assimilate (i.e., to ‘normalize’) was and still remains very high.” (Haddad, 2004, p. 184) This means that even though the US has been a “melting pot” of cultures and people, it is currently trying to get millions of people to simply assimilate into American society. While many Americans celebrate multiculturalism in the US, they also allow “ignorance… and hostility” to cause them to try to minimize an entire culture.
In conclusion, it is a common misconception of Muslims and Islamism combined with fear regarding recent terrorist attacks all over the globe that are attributed to radical Islamist groups that have caused Islamophobia and Muslim immigration to be such a controversial issue within the United States. This means that pressure to assimilate into American society is very high, and Muslims who do not satisfactorily comply are faced with a lot of backlash. It remains to be seen who is right about immigration and how to bring an end to this