Hate Crimes Against Muslim Americans

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Muslim Americans are a group of people that practice the religion of Islam. In America, some people are prejudice towards people who practice Islam, and can go as far as generalizing them as terrorists which is completely unfair. This prejudice is called islamophobia (Schaefer, 2015), and it is still a big issue in our country. This issue needs to be fixed- not all Muslim people were responsible for 9/11 and some people need to stop acting like they were. As a country, people in America need to rise above stereotyping, and move towards acceptance. In America people are supposed to be allowed freedom of religion; anyone should be allowed to practice their religion without being harassed because of it.
However, after the events of September 11th, 2001 hate crimes against Muslim people in the United States rose, with a shocking almost 500 in 2001 (“Hate crimes against Muslims,” 2015). Considering most of those hate crimes occurred after September of 2011, the bulk of those hate crimes happened in just four months. That is shocking and sad. According to Jeremy Markon, the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) has said that the FBI racially profiles people, specifically Muslim Americans, but other minorities as well (2011). This is infringing on people’s rights, and it is unfair. Also, many people are misinformed as far as their prejudice is concerned. Many people have the misconception that Islam is a violent religion, and that women are oppressed under the religion, but those are not accurate representations of what Islam is (Schaefer, 2015). According to “Common Misconceptions about Muslims,” Islam does not promote the abuse or oppression of women, and the concept of “Jihad” is not a violent principle, but rather an inner conflict ...

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...eover, to research the group I would give the assembly about, the textbook for our class was a great resource. Our class was also good research; I truly believe that all majors should require at least a basic diversity class. The internet is also a great resource. People just have to be careful to make sure websites are credible, and not full of false information.
Lastly, no one should feel unwelcome in this country for any reason be it race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, religion, etcetera. The statue of Liberty was once a beacon of hope to many immigrants who wanted a better life, more freedom, or both; freedom of religion was supposed to be one of the perks. Why should we be intolerant to people who just want to live in this country and practice their religion peacefully? America has come a long way when it comes to tolerance, but there is still work to be done.

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