History
Although no subdominant group living in the United States lives without experiencing one form of oppression or marginalization, the 9/11 attacks turned the Muslim American living situation from bad into worse (Jamal and Naber, 2008). The post-9/11 era in America was a frightening one, but increasingly terrifying for Muslim Americans seemingly being blamed for the actions of isolated terrorist organizations in foreign countries (Jamal and Naber, 2008). Even though it is often nonphysical, being labeled with stereotypes, both positive and negative, can be psychologically damaging to an individual (Adams, 2013). More Muslim Americans, particularly Arab Americans, experience some form of stereotyping within their lives than Muslim Americans …show more content…
Even though they still occurred plenty before the towers fell, post-9/11 hate crimes have risen dramatically in the United States (Ciftci, 2012). In 2014, the FBI reported that more than 16% of religious bias hate crimes were committed against Muslims due to their religion (Paragraph 6, 2015). Although this may sound like a rather small percentage, not only is it the second largest reported attacked religious group but many anti-religious hate crimes go unreported out of fear of more retaliation. Hate crimes towards Muslims have been reported across the nation of school campuses, the workplace, towards their households on their property, and also their place of worship, which even affects our local mosque (Ciftci, …show more content…
Due to these threats, security is extremely tight, and as my interviewee, Mr. Amouri, puts it “Every Friday during [prayer], there is an armored security guard near the door. Back when Chicago mosques were receiving shooting threats from [non-Muslim] locals, our guard carried an assault rifle instead of his handgun” (Personal Communication, 2015). Although activist groups, such as the ADL’s Interfaith Coalition on Mosques (ICOM), exist, mosques continue to be threatened, especially those in relatively small cities, such as South Bend, or big cities, particularly New York City (ADL, n.d.). No place of worship, especially any religion which preaches peace and tolerance above all else, should need to have an armed guard in order to feel safe while praying and hearing a sermon. This oppression and violence stems from the idea of Christian privilege. Although not always committed by Christians, these threats and acts of violence rarely, if ever, lead to churches requiring an equipped bouncer, of sorts. Since 9/11, isolated individuals, and sometimes groups, attempt to justify their violence and Islamophobia by means of a vendetta or attempting to avenge those fallen in the attacks. However, in the end, misaimed and ignorantly-based violence damages and destroys more innocent lives, bringing no vindication and making matters worse. Oppression by means of violence and cultural imperialized stereotypes leaves
Although no subdominant group living in the United States lives without experiencing one form of oppression or marginalization, the 9/11 attacks turned the Muslim American living situation from bad into worse (Jamal and Naber, 2008). The post-9/11 era in America was a frightening one, but increasingly terrifying for Muslim Americans seemingly being blamed for the actions of isolated terrorist organizations in foreign countries (Jamal and Naber, 2008). Even though it is often nonphysical, being labeled with stereotypes, both positive and negative, can be psychologically damaging to an individual (Adams, 2013). More Muslim Americans, particularly Arab Americans, experience some form of stereotyping within their lives than Muslim Americans …show more content…
Even though they still occurred plenty before the towers fell, post-9/11 hate crimes have risen dramatically in the United States (Ciftci, 2012). In 2014, the FBI reported that more than 16% of religious bias hate crimes were committed against Muslims due to their religion (Paragraph 6, 2015). Although this may sound like a rather small percentage, not only is it the second largest reported attacked religious group but many anti-religious hate crimes go unreported out of fear of more retaliation. Hate crimes towards Muslims have been reported across the nation of school campuses, the workplace, towards their households on their property, and also their place of worship, which even affects our local mosque (Ciftci, …show more content…
Due to these threats, security is extremely tight, and as my interviewee, Mr. Amouri, puts it “Every Friday during [prayer], there is an armored security guard near the door. Back when Chicago mosques were receiving shooting threats from [non-Muslim] locals, our guard carried an assault rifle instead of his handgun” (Personal Communication, 2015). Although activist groups, such as the ADL’s Interfaith Coalition on Mosques (ICOM), exist, mosques continue to be threatened, especially those in relatively small cities, such as South Bend, or big cities, particularly New York City (ADL, n.d.). No place of worship, especially any religion which preaches peace and tolerance above all else, should need to have an armed guard in order to feel safe while praying and hearing a sermon. This oppression and violence stems from the idea of Christian privilege. Although not always committed by Christians, these threats and acts of violence rarely, if ever, lead to churches requiring an equipped bouncer, of sorts. Since 9/11, isolated individuals, and sometimes groups, attempt to justify their violence and Islamophobia by means of a vendetta or attempting to avenge those fallen in the attacks. However, in the end, misaimed and ignorantly-based violence damages and destroys more innocent lives, bringing no vindication and making matters worse. Oppression by means of violence and cultural imperialized stereotypes leaves