Chinua Achebe once said, “The whole idea of a stereotype is to simplify. Instead of going through the problem of all this great diversity-that it’s this or maybe that…you have just one large statement; it is this.” What exactly is a stereotype? A stereotype is a widely held fixed, oversimplified idea or image about a particular type of person, or idea. Stereotyping is used to negatively portray different groups of people by associating them with a person’s race, ethnicity, or religion. The Muslims in particular, is a certain religious group that has been stereotyped as terrorists, whereas Christians aren’t classified as such if they were to commit the same actions. In Moustafa Bayoumi’s How Does it Feel to be a Problem, he not only perpetuates …show more content…
These misrepresentations are labeling all Muslims as violent radical terrorists when in reality, only a very small percentage of Muslims are actually terrorists. It goes to show that being a Muslims is America’s new problem which it has to face. Muslims have many representations and that’s not where the problem lies. The problem lies on how the Muslims and Arabs are being represented. To us Arabs are, “an foreign policy issue... a law enforcement priority…shadow characters on terror television shows and have become the objects of sociological inquiry.” (71) Is Islam really the violent religion mainstream media outlets paint it out to be or are Muslims being represented by a voice that isn’t …show more content…
Young girls in Muslim households are portrayed as shackled to their faith with enormous amounts of responsibility with little choice. Muslim girls are forbidden from having relationships with boys, however, in “Rasha” the stereotype is subverted when Gabby reveals she isn’t allowed to have a boyfriend due to her Catholic religion. Gabby says, “neither am I,” which shows that Islam is similar to other religions in regards to things like dating. Following 9/11 there were mass arrests of Arabs, Muslims or those fitting the criteria of Arabic descent. Rasha and her family were arrested on suspicion that they were terrorists, while the officials had no proof or warrant for their arrest, just a tip from a person that wasn’t sure themselves. Muslims were not being treated like human beings after 9/11, similarly they were viewed as garbage. “Another agent told them in private tones that they should of expected to be arrested... and that they would be deported within three days… that they would have a better life over there,” shows the attitude Americans had for Muslims after 9/11. (P.81) The hostilities were misplaced and the treatment of Arabic immigrants was inhumane. Families were torn apart because of unjust
What Is a Stereotype? The definition of a stereotype is any commonly known public belief about a certain social group or a type of individual. Stereotypes are often created about people of specific cultures or races. Stereotyping is a big problem, and everyone can be affected by it. There are many ways to stereotype a person such as, all white Americans are obese, lazy, and dumb, men who spend too much time on the computer or read are geeks, that all Mexicans are lazy and came into America illegally, all Arabs and Muslims are terrorists, or that all Americans are generally considered to be friendly, generous, and tolerant. All of these examples of stereotyping are found in the novel, Spare Parts: Four Undocumented Teenagers, One Ugly Robot, and the Battle for the American Dream by Joshua Davis, published on December 2, 2014. This is a nonfiction/documentary book that follows the true story of how four undocumented teens from Mexico, leaving in Arizona, are joined by two teachers who were able to beat some of the best engineering schools
On September 11, 2001, since the terrorist attacks, many American Muslims have been stereotyped negatively in the United States. Salma, a Muslim woman, says that the way Muslims have been recognized in the media has played a big role in the antagonisms directed to her. “I don’t know how many time I heard my classmates accuse me of being al-Qaeda or a terrorist” (Mayton 2013). Salma, along with other Muslims, even after a decade, are still struggling with trying to find their “American” and “Islamic” identities, while facing verbal attacks for their ethnicity. Too often, the general Muslin population gets lumped in with the immoral acts of a few because of the lack of knowledge about their culture.
The misrepresentation of Arabs and Muslims is sometimes flagrant in American newspaper articles. There is often a tendency to attribute other signifiers to the term “Arab. This term is usually, substituted with the term “Muslim.” Richard Cohen, a journalist from The Washington Post epitomizes the deliberate mixing of the terms “Arab” and “Muslims.” He intentionally amalgamates those terms with terrorism; thus, Arabs, Muslims and terrorist become synonymous. Cohen states that “one hundred percent of the terrorists involved in the Sept. 11 mass murder were Arabs. Their accomplices, if any, were probably Arabs too, or at least Muslims. Ethnicity and religion are the very basis of their movement.” (Ibish 124)
What is a stereotype? A stereotype is an often unfair and untrue belief that many people have about all people or things with a particular characteristic. While stereotypes can sometimes be true most stereotypes are based on hurtful and demeaning characteristics that undermine an entire culture. By placing stereotypical images in mass media and video games, people begin to build false perceptions based on schema that isn’t factual. These false images can ruin future relati...
Consequently, it is no surprise that the most powerful media sources are spewing out pieces of hateful rhetoric that result in the “othering” of Muslims in the U.S. With the increase of Islamophobia and American nationalism. are currently driving hate crimes and institutional discrimination, human fear and emotion are becoming twisted and utilized as weapons in of its
According to Dictionary.com a stereotype is something conforming to a fixed or general pattern, especially an often oversimplified or biased mental picture held to characterize the typical individual of a group (dictionary.com).
Stereotype is a sweeping statement standardized image about a person or group with little or no evidence. The primary purpose is to hurt one’s feelings or to attack one’s character. Have you ever stereotyped someone or felt like you were being stereotyped against? How did being stereotyped affect you, or how did it make you feel once you got to know the person or persons? All kind of people make up our society. Within society, there are a massive amount of groups, most of which have been stereotyped in one way or another. We develop stereotypes when we are reluctant or incapable to obtain all information needed to make fair judgments about people or situations. In the absence of the unknown statistics, stereotyping allow us to “bridge the gaps.” Four of many different groups of people are the prime sources of stereotypes in our society are politicians, tattooed persons, feminists and senior citizens. If the thought of these groups of people mentioned directed some sort of negative icon within you then you are a protagonist of stereotype.
Islam in America has historically been misunderstood, and this is due to the misconception of culture and religion as well as lack of education and incorrect portrayal in the media, which gives a skewed idea of Islam. Especially in the United States, Islam has been seen as the “terrorist religion” or a religion for the extremists and a religion in which freedom is not an option. Among the countless misconceptions, the basis of stereotypes by Americans is due to the mix up between religion and culture. Furthermore, the media only fuels fire to these misunderstandings and lack of factual information about Islam causing Americans to lash out on American Muslims without reason.
What is stereotype? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines stereotype as “believing unfairly that all people or things with a particular characteristic are the same.” Stereotypes are everywhere. Stereotypes cover racial groups, gender, political groups and even demographic. Stereotypes affect our everyday lives. Sometimes people are judged based on what they wear, how they look, how they act or people they hang out with. Gender and racial stereotypes are very controversial in today’s society and many fall victims. Nevertheless, racial and gender stereotypes have serious consequences in everyday life. It makes individuals have little to no motivation and it also puts a label about how a person should act or live. When one is stereotype they
In the essay, the writer acknowledges the misunderstandings that come from media images by explaining the contrasts between these images and the teachings of the faith to support her claim that fear is the reason for this misconception. The conception that many people have of Muslims is that they are terrorists, anti-Semites, and fanatics. This conception exsists because television news and newspapers support that stereotype. The broadcast of such stereotypes encourages fear and accusations of the Islamic relegion's teachings. The writer explains that Islam teaches peace, tolerance, and equality. She further states that Muslims shown in the media have violated these teachings ...
A lot of people believe that Muslims, Islam, and/or the Holy Quran encourages killing, fighting, and terrorism. Events such as the 9/11 attack in the United States, the Boston Marathon Bombing, and conflicts in the Middle East causes the media to label Muslims as terrorists. When a specific group of people cause violence to another group it is categorized as ‘hate crime’, but if a Muslim does the same act, the media immediately labels it as ‘terrorism’ (Frater, 2009). As a matter of fact, regarding to the attacks of the mosques in Israel, the media did not use the acts to victimize or stereotype Judaism. Moreover, some extremist groups use Islam as a tactic to gain followers even though a lot of their practices go against the teachings of the Quran. A person would not be considered a Muslim if they spread fear or terrorize others. The Quran clearly states, “You shall not take life, which God has made sacred, except by way of justice and law.” (Quran, 6:151). Islam is against any force or violence towards another person. Often the word ‘Jihad’ is taken out of context by violent militants; it means to strive or struggle for the sake of ones’ self improvement with respect to their spirituality. Religious and political groups use Jihad to justify ...
Stereotype ? a conventional, formulaic, and oversimplified conception, opinion, or image about groups of people on the basis of limited information. ?Television, books, comic strips, and movies are all abundant sources of stereotyped characters?2. Sometimes what we see on a certain television show, hear from someone or read about in a particular article, we form a ...
“Stereotyping is a three-part process” (Floyd, 61). In the first stage, we identify a group to which we believe another person belongs. For example, if a man is wearing a turban, one might assume he is a Muslim. In the next stage, we recall a generalization others often make about the people in that group. For example, many people in the United States generalize all Muslims as terrorists or haters of America. The last stage in the process of stereotyping is applying the generalization to that person. “You are Muslim, therefore must be a terrorist.” Obviously, these assumptions are not accurate, but are examples in the process of stereotyping (Floyd, 61).
After 9/11 has induced negative attitudes towards Muslim peoples who tend to be strongly associated with any act of terrorism. The media has played a colossal role in developing such negative association wherein it constantly portrays Muslim people in combination with violent terrorist acts. It does so in a way that they both go hand-and-hand. In other words, it has made it as though the Islamic religion is synonymous with terrorism. The media has perpetuated Muslim stereotypes over the years that followed the 9/11 incident. Because of this, society has developed, and still has developed, this prejudiced mindset about the Islamic religion and the Muslim communities around the world. People immediately assume that any violent act being depicted through the media is the direct result of Muslims. They automatically generate this idea that the act was performed by a Muslim terrorist even when they were not involved whatsoever. Regardless of whether it was true or not, Islamic religion and its Muslim adherents are at the top of societies’ agenda just waiting for the evidence to be generated so that they can then safely blame them for such world affairs. Again, this has led to the attack on the Islamic religion itself wherein people have come to postulate Islam as an act of oppression, violence and hatred towards non-Muslims. Anti-Muslim sentiments and campaigns have resulted from such misinformation the media has been generating and feeding its viewers.
The contributing factors that led to the growth of Islamophobia in America post 9/11 are a mass hysteria caused by media, influential voices speaking against Islam and an increase of biased stereotypes. Some of the news’s greatest ways of contributing to the rise in Islamophobia is by giving unrealistic over-exaggerations and non-legitimate statistics in order to display an overall false narrative of the actual matter at hand. For instance, Tom Shillue (stand-up comedian) stating on Fox’s The Five that if there is a moderate Muslim voice “out there” now is the time to speak up and Sean Hannity calling for a “Jihad rising worldwide”.