On September 11th, 2001, 19 Iraqi hijackers forever altered the lives of millions of innocent muslims across the world. These hijackers compromised a total of four planes and guided each to hit a certain target. The world witnessed the World Trade Centers’ alarming collapse to the ground, and the side of the pentagon turn to dust. Estimated number of 3,000 Americans1 died on this day, resulting in the most wide-spread witch-hunt in history of mankind. Speaking on the night of the attack, President George W. Bush soothed his people who lived through one of the greatest tragedy in American history. Ostentatiously, he recruited all Americans to combat terrorism, but his quotation of Psalms 23:42 inadvertently excluded Muslim Americans out of the hunting squad, reinforcing them into the same side with the terrorists. The United States of America built itself on the principle of equal rights. However, contemporary man hunt for Muslims shows nothing but the contrary; Muslims are painted as terrorists and subject to constant attack by the government and the people. America, so called the land of the free, still fails to look beyond their narrowly stereotypical outlook.
To understand more about witch-hunts, we need not look further than Salvation by Langston Hughes and the The Ways We Lie by Stephanie Ericsson. Langston Hughes informs the audience about his childhood experience when he forcefully testified his encounter with Jesus. He states the power of “group thinking” by which he was psychologically forced to succumb to peer pressure. Likewise, many Americans are compelled to despise Muslims simply because the society tells them to do so. On September 5th, 2002, an innocent Arabian American was escorted out of the Westland Mall by s...
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...lease him for two weeks until the Spanish government had found the exact match for the fingerprints. Unlike common stereotypes of his skin complexion, Brandon Mayfield is a reputable attorney in the United States and his arrest sounded resoundingly absurd to his peers. As it turns out, the FBI had judged his skin complexion to determine the arrest.8 With the Patriot Act in place, innocent muslims are accused of crimes with which they are never affiliated. Moreover, they are not able to protest their innocence in court because the act suspends their rights. They are held in captivity until the agency is satiated. Though the U.S government has the best intentions to deter terrorists in its soil, it is targeting the innocent and harmless Muslims. To prevent unfair process, the U.S government should repeal regulations that rely on stereotypes and faulty generalizations.
Numerous individuals may be quick to accuse others of wrong doings that are not necessarily the truth. In this matter, it is evident in the Salem Witch Trails, which happened in 1692, where individuals accused their own neighbors of witchcraft because of unforeseen death or sickness. Moreover, it led to 200 innocent human-beings that were accused of worshiping the devil’s work, which led to 19 helpless individuals who were hanged because of these untruthful allegations. Furthermore, the Salem Witch Trails were a historical event that is due to lack of knowledge, selfishness, and inhumanity.
When you think of Islams what do you think of. When you think of the salem witch trials what do you think of. History is very interesting but it can be hard to keep it from repeating itself. We could compare it to the Salem “Witch-hunt” and Islamophobia.. There are many Similarities and differences between the Salem Witch Trials and Islamophobia. This essay will be comparing and contrasting the Salem Witch Trials to Islamiphobia the problem with which we are dealing with right now.
What do you fear in our twenty-first century society? Terrorism, inequality, losing your home, or injustice? Salem, Massachusetts during the seventeenth century feared injustices among the government. Individuals hid and lied to keep safe from being condemned as witches. This era of history is known as the Salem Witch Trials. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible explores the Salem Witch Trials while following the lives of several individuals. The fear and mistrust among the seventeenth century Salem society can be directly related to today’s twenty-first century society. Americans have lost hope and belief in their government creating individuals who are scared to stand up for what is right. Glancing into our twenty-first century world comparisons can be made among the Salem Witch Trial era. Today, compared to seventeenth century, realization of fear of governmental policies, erratic and chaotic life styles, and the condemnation of individuals standing up for what is right become evident and similar in both societies.
September 11, 2001 will be replayed and remembered in the minds of this American generation as one of the greatest tragedies on domestic soil. In one day, the world was dramatically altered; but in the days that followed, no group of Americans was affected more intensely nor uniquely than Arab-Americans. Once in a Promised Land, the 2007 novel by Laila Halaby, depicts the real world aftermath which assaulted one fictional Arab couple. Halaby's work accurately portrays the circumstances Arab-Americans found themselves in after the 9/11 attacks, highlighting several themes relating to patriotism, fear, and shame through her accessible characters and narrative stylings.
Even though Sikh Americans have experienced a heightened amount of animosity, it is quite a warm feeling when communities and groups gather to support victims of hate crimes as stated in this excerpt, "It has happened before in New Jersey. But this time, an act of hateful vandalism has drawn an avalanche of support for a victimized Hindu family, highlighting the growth of networks aiming to assist South Asian-American victims of bias crimes. The family of five arrived home in Wayne last Saturday to discover their house and walkways spray-painted with anti-Indian and anti-Hindu epithets. Police disclosed the incident on Wednesday, and said the family also had been targeted with hate mail and graffiti in January."(Crouse) The community responded by putting out calls and e-mails in an attempt to reach the family. This was done by Asian-American civil rights leaders after they had read about the incidents. Other local actions of support came in the form of one bank branch's offer to cover the cost of removing the graffiti and a contractor's offer to do the work for free. There are many hate crimes that have been inflicted on Sikh Americans, but it is important to realize there are positive and supporting reactions from different communities to try to alleviate this type of racism.
When a giant explosion ripped through Alfred P. Murrah federal building April 19,1995, killing 168 and wounding hundreds, the United States of America jumped to a conclusion we would all learn to regret. The initial response to the devastation was all focused of middle-eastern terrorists. “The West is under attack,”(Posner 89), reported the USA Today. Every news and television station had the latest expert on the middle east telling the nation that we were victims of jihad, holy war. It only took a few quick days to realize that we were wrong and the problem, the terrorist, was strictly domestic. But it was too late. The damage had been done. Because America jumped to conclusions then, America was later blind to see the impending attack of 9/11. The responsibility, however, is not to be placed on the America people. The public couldn’t stand to hear any talk of terrorism, so in turn the White House irresponsibly took a similar attitude. They concentrated on high public opinion and issues that were relevant to Americans everyday. The government didn’t want to deal with another public blunder like the one in Oklahoma City. A former FBI analyst recalls, “when I went to headquarters (Washington, D.C.) later that year no one was interested in hearing anything about Arab money connections unless it had something to do with funding domestic groups. We stumbled so badly on pinpointing the Middle East right off the bat on the Murrah bombing. No one wanted to get caught like that again,”(Posner 90). The result saw changes in the counter terrorism efforts; under funding, under manning, poor cooperation between agencies, half-hearted and incompetent agency official appointees and the list goes on. All of these decisions, made at the hands of the faint-hearted, opened the doors wide open, and practically begged for a terrorist attack. So who’s fault is it? The public’s for being
During the Salem Witch Trials citizens were unjustifiably persecuted for being witches, sometimes leading to executions. In “Here Are No Newters": Witchcraft and Religious Discord in Salem Village and Andover”, Richard Latner argues that the practically militaristic policies and sermons given at the time by frequently changing ministers who acted as leaders and prosecutors. Salem became the “the focal point of this culture of conflict”(Latner, 2006, 94). Latner explains why religion made Salem the host of contagious hostility. Latner is an history professor at the University of Tulane.
September 11, 2001 was one of the most devastating and horrific events in the United States history. Americans feeling of a secure nation had been broken. Over 3,000 people and more than 400 police officers and firefighters were killed during the attacks on The World Trade Center and the Pentagon; in New York City and Washington, D.C. Today the term terrorism is known as the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives (Birzer, Roberson). This term was clearly not defined for the United States for we had partial knowledge and experience with terrorist attacks; until the day September 11, 2001. At that time, President George W. Bush, stated over a televised address from the Oval Office, “Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.” President Bush stood by this statement for the United States was about to retaliate and change the face of the criminal justice system for terrorism.
For a second, the U.S. stood still. Looking up at the towers, one can only imagine the calm before the storm in the moment when thousands of pounds of steel went hurdling into its once smooth, glassy frame. People ran around screaming and rubble fell as the massive metal structure folded in on itself like an accordion. Wounded and limping from the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, America carried on, not without anger and fear against a group of innocent Americans, Muslim Americans. Nietzsche’s error of imaginary cause is present in the treatment of Muslim Americans since 9/11 through prejudice in the media, disregard of Muslim civil liberties, racial profiling, violence, disrespect, and the lack of truthful public information about Islam. In this case, the imaginary cause against Muslims is terrorism. The wound has healed in the heart of the U.S. but the aching throb of terrorism continues to distress citizens every day.
“Many people who were detained on suspicion of their connection to al Qaeda or other anti-American terrorists groups were innocent.” (Belanger, Newton 2). The patriot act weakens the right from protection of unreasonable searches the searches may be racist based on the person’s image. The people who were suspects of terrorism were accused of wrong doing. They had their civil rights taken away and they turned out to be innocent. It is not fair for people getting accused because they look a certain way....
There are some events in history that put the human race to shame; however, these occasions can change our future forever. Society cannot deny that social injustices occur almost every day, maybe even more than once. One large blemish in our history, the Salem Witch Trials, alienated a certain group in our society. These trials were an unfortunate combination of economic conditions, a flock’s strife, teenage boredom, and personal jealousies.
Concerning why the witch hunts occurred when they did the agreed upon opinion by all three author’s is the social unrest and uncertainty felt due to the Protestant Reformation and the schism it created amongst the populace, the effects of recovering from plague and war, and the enforced patriarchal structure of a society that was changing. It was during the Reformation that Christian...
Since the September 11 attacks, numerous Americans have labeled Muslims in the United States as a risk to our country due to the fact that they share their religion with the extremists responsible for worldwide terrorism. Muslim that live in America continue to face isolation and danger because of their faith. Many people are responsible for this labeling, including journalists, politicians, and religious fanatics. Those mainly responsible for giving Muslims in America a modern day scarlet letter are the extremists themselves.
Christianity has been in America since the Colonial Era (1600’s - 1700’s), and for over three centuries has dominated and deeply engrained itself into American Society . Islam, however, has only been introduced recently, and this has caused Islamic Believers (or Muslims) residing in America to be misinterpreted. After the September 11 bombings in 2001, there was a huge hatred for Muslims as they were interpreted as a religion that promotes destruction in the name of ‘Jihad’, or as it is often mistranslated as ‘Holy war’ . Although, the meaning of ‘Jihad’ is much wider than just ‘Holy war’, it is an internal struggle, within each Muslim, “…to be a good Muslim as well as advance the cause of Islam.” The Western understanding of ‘jihad’ however has been twisted to become related to terrorism. Whereas, Christians claim to promote the qualities of hard-work, honesty and moderation, and are therefore highly thought of in American Society, not only because of their supposed all encompassing teachings, but also because of their dominance as a religion in the Western World.
In The Crucible, many individuals in the Salem community lost their lives due to the fictitious thought that witchcraft had arisen in the town. Likewise, many civilians died as a result of police officers belief that the general public preyed on them. This type of paranoia can lead to the destruction of lives. Statistics show that rather than the citizens hunting down police officers, the media exaggerated this idea. This media tactic unnecessarily endangers innocent lives. The idea of a “witch hunt” does not only happen in stories, it has a role in the everyday lives of Americans.