The world we know today is no stranger to bigotry and hatred, often times specifically referring to religious or ethnic groups. With Christianity still dominating American values, whether it is in politics or social services, the two religious factions left out in the cold are the Jewish people and the Muslim people. Though anti-Semitism peaked in the 1920’s and 30’s, the effects still linger with discrimination and all around negative feelings at about 9% today . This is in contrast to Islamophobia, which exploded after 9/11 and continues to fluctuate depending on the media cycle, international events, and politics. This process of discrimination is very much so the same for both the Jewish and Muslim, despite the time gap between their worst
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This is a comparative essay on the conditions Jewish-Americans faced in the 20’s onward versus the conditions Muslim-Americans are confronted, compounded by increase in the tensions between both religious groups. It is also an examination of the current climate for both Jewish-Americans and Muslim-Americans and how the political system has influenced American perceptions of the ethnic and religious groups; all the while paying close attention to the lessons that can be learned from the anti-Semitism of the past and present and how those can be applied to Islamophobia.
Disciplines
I will be using the following disciplines: History, Political Science, Social Science, Communication and Religion. The historical discipline is the basis for all the research within this paper and essential to understanding how the other disciplines listed above are used. Looking back at anti-Semitism in the early 20th century and tracing the evolution of Islamophobia up to now requires a historical examination of events leading up to and following this discrimination. Hand and hand with the history, the political climate and circumstances of the time are essential, because the response of the different governments to perceived …show more content…
(See Examples 1-4 in the Appendix). These are useful because they show the portrayal of both religions that the general public is exposed to. Example 1 depicts Uncle Sam helping ‘sick’ Jews by injecting their society with democracy. The idea is that, in order to save the Jews from the plague they are experiencing around the world, especially in Germany, they need to migrate to America and rally around democracy. In contrast, Example 2 challenges Americans to reject the Jewish immigrants because of charges of communism. This idea of ‘cleaning up America’ and ‘Red Plague’ was solely for the purpose of scaring vulnerable Americans into viewing Jews as the enemy. Example 3 switches focus to Islamophobia and the challenges Muslims face when trying to blend in to American society. In the cartoon, a Muslim couple flees from radical Islam in their homeland to America in search of religious freedom, but as soon as they get there, Christians and anti-Muslim groups harass them the same way. Example 4 is less understanding of the Muslim-Americans and portrays Islam as a ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’. A man, who looks to be in a position of power within Islam, changes into an American style suit when told critics were there to speak with him about his activities. Again, like Figure 2, this is
This is a comparative essay on the conditions Jewish-Americans faced in the 20’s onward versus the conditions Muslim-Americans are confronted, compounded by increase in the tensions between both religious groups. It is also an examination of the current climate for both Jewish-Americans and Muslim-Americans and how the political system has influenced American perceptions of the ethnic and religious groups; all the while paying close attention to the lessons that can be learned from the anti-Semitism of the past and present and how those can be applied to Islamophobia.
Disciplines
I will be using the following disciplines: History, Political Science, Social Science, Communication and Religion. The historical discipline is the basis for all the research within this paper and essential to understanding how the other disciplines listed above are used. Looking back at anti-Semitism in the early 20th century and tracing the evolution of Islamophobia up to now requires a historical examination of events leading up to and following this discrimination. Hand and hand with the history, the political climate and circumstances of the time are essential, because the response of the different governments to perceived …show more content…
(See Examples 1-4 in the Appendix). These are useful because they show the portrayal of both religions that the general public is exposed to. Example 1 depicts Uncle Sam helping ‘sick’ Jews by injecting their society with democracy. The idea is that, in order to save the Jews from the plague they are experiencing around the world, especially in Germany, they need to migrate to America and rally around democracy. In contrast, Example 2 challenges Americans to reject the Jewish immigrants because of charges of communism. This idea of ‘cleaning up America’ and ‘Red Plague’ was solely for the purpose of scaring vulnerable Americans into viewing Jews as the enemy. Example 3 switches focus to Islamophobia and the challenges Muslims face when trying to blend in to American society. In the cartoon, a Muslim couple flees from radical Islam in their homeland to America in search of religious freedom, but as soon as they get there, Christians and anti-Muslim groups harass them the same way. Example 4 is less understanding of the Muslim-Americans and portrays Islam as a ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’. A man, who looks to be in a position of power within Islam, changes into an American style suit when told critics were there to speak with him about his activities. Again, like Figure 2, this is