’s book entitled “Muslims in America: A Short History.” This book was written in 2009 in New York City, NY. It analyzes how as Muslims immigrated to North America and as they tried to indulge in the culture, they were judged with prejudice and bias. Because the book was published in 2009,a historian studying post 9/11 American can learn that the author had many years…
Very recently, it may have come to your attention that an assigned novel in AP Language and Composition, Zeitoun, has been come into question on its credibility. The riveting narrative, written by award-winning author Dave Eggers, Zeitoun depicts the struggle of a man, Zeitoun, and his family after the catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina and life during the War on Terror. According to several news articles, it is known that Zeitoun has been arrested and charged for domestic violence and stalking against his now ex-wife, Kathy. Although it is not confirmed by Eggers himself that he was aware of these crimes, it is implied in local news articles. Hence, the novel is in controversy on whether it is still a good influence for students at Mills High School.…
Low Self-esteem Exhibited Through Oppression Self-esteem fluctuates day to day and hour to hour. In the novel, Does My Head Look Big In This, Randa Abdel-Fattah shows how oppression divides society into two distinct groups of the dominant and the subordinate. This invisible barrier between the social classes causes the inferior individuals to question their morals and values. This results in anxiety and a decline of self-esteem. Likewise, Simone’s journey to lose weight, Leila’s arguments with her family, and Amal’s experience wearing the hijab explore how oppression lowers self-esteem.…
In this paper, I will explore the connection between the ideas of Stuart Hall, Uma Narayan and Edward Said. During discussion my classmates and I realized how the three writers discussed similar themes in their work and I thought it was quite interesting. The three writers talk about the Western media’s depiction of people who belong from different ethnic backgrounds.…
Sikhs are one of the brown, dark skinned people who have been the targets of anti-Muslim hate crimes. They have been misunderstood because of their beard and turban. In a 2013 survey made by Stanford University and by the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, it was found that 49 percent of Americans think that the religion of Sikhism is a section of Islam. Sikhism and Islam are two separate religions. In this survey it was also concluded that some Americans tend to mix Sikhs and turbans with al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, The Islamic state or with the Taliban.…
Sikhs in Canada face many struggles while they are attempting to fit into mainstream society, while identifying themselves as Sikhs (CITE). Canada identifies it self as a multicultural society that accepts all races and ethnicities (CITE). Racism has always been present in society, but it hasn’t been upfront and obvious to minorities. This all changed after September 11, 2001, after the attacks on the twin towers members in society collated Sikh individuals with terrorism (CITE). Within Canadian society, Sikhs can often be related with national safety and “immigration problems” (CITE).…
“Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the number of hate crimes directed against Arab Americans, Muslims, and Sikhs escalated dramatically”(Peterson,1). Americans were so greatly struck with grief of this consumingly tragic event that the only question people had was why and who would do this. Responsibility of the terrorist attack was placed on an extremist group Al Qaeda who were Muslim, but many Americans took out their aggression and frustrations toward their race as a whole. Consequently, blaming a person or a group for a tragic situation or…
Yet the media did not report this underlying fact” (Balkaran). In 2001 the nation was struck with a horrendous devastation that not only people feared but used as an excuse to discriminate against minorities. This started an onset of racial profiling of Muslims, Arabs, South Asians, or any Middle Eastern with dark skin. The media not only prolonged this racial profiling that was going on in airports, newspapers, businesses and etc., but increased it because they themselves were doing it. Nasir Almasri an American Muslim said “unfortunately, the media and the general public still ask American Muslims and the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) how they are responding to the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks … as though we were affected any differently, as though we were watching the events from the outside” (Almasri).…
In today’s multicultural society, individuals identify themselves and live within the context of their identity, race, class and culture. Social inequalities experienced by the African American race was due to the sign of hopelessness shown because of the social class they were born to, as well as, the way they were raised. Due to the lack of job opportunities and education, families in urban communities suffer because it creates tension. In Dorothy Allison’s essay, “A Question of Class,” she explores her identity by focusing on her experiences as what she refers to as “southern white trash”. The inescapable impact of Allison being born in a condition of poverty that this society finds shameful, contemptible and somehow deserved was something that she spent her whole life trying to overcome and deny.…
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 .…
Bifocal, written by Deborah Ellis and Eric Walters, is the story of two high school boys, Haroon, a Muslim and Jay, who is white and a Christian. The narration switches between the perspectives of the two boys. The novel takes place in post-9/11 Canada, when Islamophobia was (and still is) rampant. Through the voices of Haroon and Jay, Ellis and Walters convey the argument that racism is a complex and prevalent issue in today's society.…
To better understand why bullying is still an issue, there are numerous components that are linked to bullying that need to be identified and explained. Two cultural beliefs and biases that may influence bullies are ethnicity and religion. Often times, society confuses ethnicity and race. One can have only belong to one race but can belong to multiple ethnic groups.…
Cultural beliefs and biases relate to the social issue of bullying in many ways. There is a strong correlation between bias and bullying. Victims are often targeted because of certain characteristics such as race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, income equality, religion, or gender expression. While creating the concept map, I did not fully grasp the definition of biases based bullying, rooted in prejudice and stereotypes related to a person’s identity. A current example of biases bullying in schools is students bullying and harassing Muslim students.…
There are many forms of bullying, and traditional bullying and cyberbullying are only a few of them. Traditional bullying is classified as the original form of bullying—face-to-face interaction, while in the past decade a new form has rapidly emerged, cyberbullying, resulting in a twenty-four hour access point into the victim’s life. If one was given the choice to decide the type of bullying they had to face, would they choose to be bullied face-to-face or interrogated on the internet? Is the answer that simple? No, and the aftermath of bullying never goes away.…
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…