Terrorism: Paris Attacks and Impact on Minority Religions

On November 13th, 2015 the world was shocked to discover that terrorists had attacked Paris, however in the latest string of terrorist attacks one must pose the question of whom terrorism impacts the most. Traditionally, in terrorism the victim is the group or region in which the attack is target. Recently, we have seen a large shift in the brunt of the backlash being placed toward minority religions that are simply blemished by small groups of extremists, thus painting an unjust image of the religion entirely. In the case of the Paris attacks, the extremist group, ISIS, has showcased views drastically different than a majority of Muslims, yet the media and millions of people globally have created the misconception that such an anomalistic

Racialization is the process of attributing complex characteristics to racial categories (TEXTBOOK), and due to recent attacks from extremist groups; various negative attributions are consistently being unfairly linked to Muslims. With ISIS promoting religious violence and dangerous attacks, many non-Muslims have projected the hateful and violent beliefs to the religion of Islam as an entirety. Internalized racism, the internalization of racial categorization into a person’s identity, is also a plaguing concern amongst the Muslim race. With such projections being placed onto the Muslim demographic, we have seen cases of individuals go on to embrace the hate and join extremist groups themselves. Despite being a rarity, the growing condition of racialization seen around the World is leading to a similar upward trend in internalized racism. This alarming trend must be eradicated from the spectrum of our society, as it negates a key point of sociology and promotes biased stereotypes. Continuing this paradigm shift would encourage such stereotyping similar to that have which plagued various demographics in history (i.e. Blacks, Aboriginals). Eliminating such misconceptions from society, including but not limited to those currently facing Muslims, would spear head improvements in the equality between

As Daniel J. Myers states, computer networks and instant communication have allowed organizations and groups to form and execute social movements in an immediate and relatively simple fashion (Myers, 1994). Social movements can be seen across social media and the Internet; however a key aspect I have noticed is the hypocrisy and contractiveness that such movements represent. An overwhelming example that is extremely popular today is the All Lives Matter that is gaining large traction in both domestically and internationally. The movement is centralized around bringing spotlight to the racial profiling and inequality facing certain races, however the movement is primarily focused on issues facing Black individuals. As Grace Hartley points out, many individuals supporting causes such as All Lives Matter attempting to prove that all live should be cared for not just those of minority, are also those publishing hateful posts and comments regarding Muslims. Seldom are groups such as KKK associated with Christianity however as recent media has showcased ISIS is often being cast as representative of Muslims as a whole. Such hypocrisy is not simply limited to the general public, but also some of the World’s most powerful politicians. Despite many supporting the All Lives Matter movement, it is evident that they are prone to turning a cold shoulder to refugees and