Another Warped Western Perception Of Islamophobia

Imagine a 17-year-old woman wearing a headscarf walking on the sidewalk. She is on her way to school, minding her own business like everyone else. Suddenly, a couple walks up behind her, hits her on the back of the head and rips off her scarf. People scream things like, “’I would not leave you until Osama bin Laden dies; this is going to constantly happen to you till you die’” (Saedi, 2012, p. 10-11). No one witnessing these interactions speaks up for the girl or tries to prevent these people from harming her any further. Several American Muslims faced this kind of harassment after 9/11. Actions not permitted in front regions of society (Goffman, 1959) became acceptable. Fifteen years have passed since the incident, but Islamophobia is still …show more content…
Numerous individuals view the requirement to wear a hijab demeans and constricts Muslims women. Studies show that most people perceive hijabis as less attractive, less intelligent and less likely to be employed (qtd. in Saedi, 2012). This perception of hijabis may stem from the idea of social fronts. All social interactions are done behinds fronts of some sort: layers of personalities people present to give off a certain image of themselves (Goffman, 1959). However, these fronts should remain unacknowledged by both the audience and the performer (Goffman, 1959). The hijab is too obvious a front in American society; an audience cannot help but acknowledge …show more content…
Forming a foundation amongst peers can help fight those temptations. As Muslims grow older and better understand Islam and Islamophobia, they start to reinforce their community’ values and educate those around them (Kane, 2013; Pashman, 2016).
In New York, a group of hijabis in raised awareness to anti-Muslim sentiments and its impacts on the daily lives of Muslims (Kane, 2013). One of the girls spoke about being repeatedly stopped by a police officer to be inspected on her way to school (Kane, 2013). Another group of Muslims in Chicago banded together and expanded their own faith in Islam (Pashman, 2016). Adults are teaching children what Islam truly is so that they can defend their beliefs correctly, if ever need be (Pashman, 2016). Muslims aim to achieve group solidarity so that their team can give off a more positive image of Islam to society.

Most Muslims aim to present themselves in a peaceful manner to society. They want to nullify the image of extremist and aggressiveness linked to Islam. On the contrary, some are influenced by the negativity and start to believe that Islam is a violent religion; these people aim to present themselves in a way that rids them of any association with