Historically, the United States of America has a long history of shaping its ideology from a series of significant events of unspeakable brutality. This forces Americans to draw conclusions, which often leads to denouncing a particular body of people. For example, the enslavement of African Americans, the decimation of Native Americans, and the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Currently, while enduring several years in the U.S., Muslim Americans face difficulties as a human being would. However, these hardships differ due to U.S. discrimination triggered by 9/11, current terrorist events, and negative reinforcement from the media and the general public. Muslim Americans experience the harmful effects of terrorism because …show more content…
has contributes to the issues that Muslim American experience, which are prejudice and discrimination. In the U.S. perspective, Islam–and therefore all Muslims–are associated with the stereotypical Western views. More precisely, stereotypes such as: representing Muslim women as being oppressed (Peek 281), associating Muslims as terrorists (Sethi 145-146), and categorizing them as “un-American” (Peek 278). For example, oppression is when several related forces conspire to immobilize, reduce and mold the lives of individuals (Frye 152). Muslim women are portrayed in the media as an oppressed victim by being forced to wear her headscarf, forced to be submissive to men, and forced to stay in the domestic environment while women in the west in the same situation are seen as choosing that lifestyle (Peek 281). With regard to being seen as a terrorist and un-American, several Muslim American may seek to prove otherwise. For example, one man that had a poster in his house of a quote from the Qur’an, but he took it down after 9/11 to avoid possible assault and placed two American flags in his car (Peek 282). An example of how Muslim Americans can feel alienated from American communities can be demonstrated when U.S. citizens grieve over the victims of the World Trade Center, they do not think of Muslims (Peek 282). Muslim Americans lost their loved ones and were accused (Peek 282). This illustrates how terrorism has profoundly affected the lives of …show more content…
perceptions of Islam and Muslims. These post-9/11 views the U.S. has towards Islam and Muslims generated stereotypes regarding members of the Muslim community. Furthermore, current events, such as terrorist attacks, and negative reinforcement from the media and the general public, reinforce these views. Presently, as the public witness terrorist attacks, they become conscious of the threat of terrorism. The mostly negative image that the media provides, allows the U.S. public to find the reaffirmation and justification about their post-9/11 perceptions regarding Muslims. As a result, the U.S. public rationalizes their post-9/11 views regarding Muslims. These events continually influence the perceptions the U.S. has concerning Muslims and terrorism, and the issues that Muslims face in the America. These past and present views that the U.S. has towards Muslims, consequently leads to the issues that Muslims experience. In other words, past events, such as 9/11, established the creation of how the U.S. views Muslims, and current events, such as terrorist attacks, the media, and the general public, reinforced the way the U.S. views Muslims. All things considered, acts of terrorism influence how the U.S. views and thinks about Muslims. Altogether, it has been shown that Muslim Americans also experience the harmful effects of terrorism, because acts of
They are a reminder of America’s long and deeply ambivalent history with Islam, Arabs, and the Middle East.” (Makdisi 1). Makdisi feels that the fear of Muslims was not always there; stating that Thomas Jefferson read the Quran and was very interested in the religion. Protestant missionaries wanted to save and convert the people that practiced Islam; the missionaries did not fear Muslims or Arabs (Makdisi 1). Makdisi goes on to say that the fear of Muslims did not start until the end of the 20th century mainly because the new wave of Immigration in the 1960’s. Makdisi says, “rather, the stigmatization of Arabs and Muslims occurred principally because of the politics in the Middle East and because of the enormously consequential United States role in the region” (Makdisi 1). Makdisi blames the United States ' involvement and support in Israel and states that the Iranian hostage situation was "similarly a direct response to the United States support for t he Shah of Iran” (Makdisi 1). Makdisi argues that the people of the United States were hurt by the policies our own country had in place. Both Lyre and Makdisi agree that the attacks on September 11th, 2001 only reinforced the stigma that was there and make it easier for the world to view all Muslims, Arabs, and all people from the Middle East in a negative
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 antagonism directed at her. “I don’t know how many times 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 Muslim population gets lumped in with the immoral acts of a few because of the lack of knowledge about their culture.
Hijacked planes were purposely flown into the twin towers in New York and killed about 3,000 innocent people. This was one of the most disastrous incident to ever occur during the era. After the release of who caused the attack, lots of people from the Islamic culture were the center of attention right after the event. They were falsely accused of being called terrorists without little to any evidence. It was mainly because of their appearance and beliefs. It was more like racism and stereotypes towards them. Society has painted them to be these terrorists because they were feared and immediately got the wrong idea when they approach them. The day the terrorist attack happened, it sparked a new beginning for their culture. They not only felt scared when they were around them, but they felt like they were going to become a part of a violent attack that they’re going to cause without them acknowledging it. It can be disrespectful and rude to assume they’re terrorist but they didn’t care. It was “[society] [who] feared what [they] don't understand. In a frenzied state of irrational behavior [they] will point fingers and name names and accuse the innocent because [they] are afraid” (Garcia). Society was terrified for their lives. They made them feel unwelcomed and unwanted. The fear exponentially rose and became a problem when they wanted to fly to a destination. Lots of “Americans became paranoid
The way Muslims have been treated after the 9/11 incident is very different than before. Before 9/11 there was certainly some discrimination towards Muslim Americans, but after the attacks happened, between the years 2000 and 2001, the Federal Bureau of Investigation reported a 1,700 percent increase of hate crimes against Muslim Americans (Khan & Ecklund, 2012). “While trying to adapt to the outcome of 9/11, Muslim Americans dealt with an increase in negative stereotypes spoken by the common culture, and Muslim immigrants faced more negative attitudes than any other immigrant group” (Khan & Ecklund, 2012). Since the 9/11 attacks, people who dress with a substantial resemblance to Muslims worry about the upcoming hatred and unfriendliness from people of other ethnicities (Khan & Ecklund, 2012). While listening to the media, one can hear reports of negative stereotypes towards people who resemble the Muslim religion, which may be assumed that these people are violent. Negative attitudes that Muslim Americans experience may have detrimental effects on their success in America and their success of achieving the American Dream.
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.
September 11, 2001 America was hit by terrorist attacks. American citizens were shocked, outraged at the attack on our own soil. After initial hours of shock, grief, and anger it became apparent that the suspects in the attacks were Arab Muslims—American Muslims and Arab Americans. For American Muslims and Arab Americans the tragedy was doubly painful. The whole World watched in the horror that the twin towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacked. There were a lot of calls, questions if any friends or loved ones were in these planes or inside these buildings. Muslim Imams gave a lot of speeches, articles, lectures that to prove that Islam is not evil religion, they say that “terrorists were Muslims, but these people do not belong to our community here; they used Islamic names and did evil”. In their lectures they cited in Qur’an to support their statements “Islam is a religion of tolerance and peace. In our sacred book, the Noble Qur’an, we are taught the value of innocent life in these words: ...
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 changed America and the world forever. When we hear about terrorists in the news, most often the media is referring to a person of the Islamic descent. The actions of a small group of radicals caused society to generalize about the entire Muslim community. Research done by Jack Shaheen, a professor of Mass Communication from Southern Illinois University and a consultant to CBS News, showed that the media has the ability to create false stereotypes of Muslims. The government enforces stereotypes here at home, which influence policies. During times of conflict, the media functions as the carrier of government policies. (Alexandar, Hanson, 64). Through this form of mediatization, prejudice and misconceptions about the Muslim community has risen.
In fact, it has been estimated that there was a “449 per cent increase in media attention when the perpetrator was Muslim” between 2011 and 2015, therefore proving how the media specifically targets the Islam community. Despite the finding that “Muslims committed just 12.4 percent of attacks during the period studied”- a small amount that contradicts the many beliefs among Americans exposed to the violent stereotypes about Muslims- these attacks “received 41.4 percent of news coverage”. Attacks committed by Muslims clearly receive more coverage than any other attack overall. In fact, the media shows an evident bias towards the Muslim race, for it was revealed that Muslims tend to receive a significant amount of coverage compared to non-Muslims. For example, the Boston Marathon bombing, perpetrated by Muslims, “generated 474 news reports, amounting to 20 percent of the media terrorism coverage during the period analyzed”.
When media coverage or portrayals have immense impact on the world, such an impression have tendency to obscure how individuals view certain things. Sometimes the outcome of these views can be positive, but majority of times these views perpetuates stereotypes, and stigmatizes a group that have nothing to do with the cause of whatever current event is relevant. With recent current events, such as the Paris Bombings or the Carlie Hebdo Shootings, Muslims are being falsely grouped into “terrorists,” which is making them become a marginalized group. Muslims are trying their best to get rid of such a stigma by speaking out and addressing their transgressors.
With today’s political climate and foreign policies arising from terrorist attacks from mainly Muslim terrorist groups, the Islamic faith is one of the many oppressed religions in the United States. All of these stereotypes of Muslims being terrorists and blood hungry individuals stemmed from the nationalistic fear instigated by the horrible events that happened on September 11, 2001. Additionally, the influence and popularity of Christianity in the United States throughout history aided in the religious oppression of people of the Islamic faith since they were not only associated with terrorism, but they were seen as foreign as well. However, all of these accusations and stereotypes surrounding Islam as an influence of terrorism are made because
The world we live in today compared to 30 or 40 years ago has been able to comprehend and learn how to get along with people of different nationalities, economic status, ethnicities, religion and even those who are trying to find their gender identity to name a few. America is a melting pot of different cultures, races and ethnicities; however there are people who still seem to not be able to accept change or at least understand that being different does not give a person the right to discriminate. At the least, we should respect and try to accept these differences because that only brings us one step closer at fighting racism. There are several characteristics of diversity such as culture, disability (mental, learning, physical), political
299). The study consisted of having in-depth personal interviews to share their experiences of being a Muslim American woman (Anderson Droogsma, 2007, p. 300). Veiling to these women was a way of freedom while also having a Muslim identity (Anderson Droogsma, 2007, p. 301). It was also a source of behavior control, to not be sexually objectified, a way of commanding respect from others and even a source of checking their own behavior (Anderson Droogsma, 2007, p. 301). One of the women interviewed said, veiling to her was a way to feel connected to other Muslim woman who veil (Anderson Droogsma, 2007, p. 302). Veiling can be a way to feel connected to your religion and God as well as being connected to those who practice the same faith, it can be considered an act of membership. Many of the women interviewed noted they have been removed from planes, been treated unfairly, and have had strangers shout at them all for just being Muslim and being more visibly recognized from veiling (Anderson Droogsma, 2007, p. 303). This is an example of how media can affect the general population. When the media only shows radicals and compares all Muslims to being terrorist or dangerous they are actually putting Muslim people at risk of being assaulted in public. Muslim woman in particular are more at risk for being assaulted as they are more identifiable. So while veiling can be a source of empowerment and freedom for women it is a double-edged sword because it also puts them at further risk of being
...lim violence mentioned in class lectures include a taxi cab driver in NYC who identified himself as a Muslim and was shot dead by the passenger, four pieces of construction equipment was destroyed at a future mosque site in Tennessee also in Tennessee, a pipe bomb went off in a mosque in Jacksonville killing somewhere around 60 people. This is only a few example of the many hate crimes committed against Muslims in the United States. Muslims not only face hate crimes in the U.S., but all over the world today which is particularly disturbing in the U.S. which has a Constitution that states all citizens are free to practice their own religion, but clearly as of late, this is not true for Muslim Americans.
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”.