Historical Background
It is necessary to examine the historical context of Muslim terrorism in the United States to understand the evolvement of Muslim extremism today. Juergensmeyer (2003) supports this stance by stating that contemporary acts of violence are influenced by historical violence perpetrated in the religious past. The assumption could be made that Muslim extremism in the United States is a more recent phenomenon; on the contrary, this is not true. By understanding history enlightens to where foundations and structures were built to support Muslim extremism and terrorism activities that exist in the United States today.
One of the first elements of Muslim influence in the United States occurred in the early 20th century with the formation of the Moors Science Temple founded in 1913 by Noble Drew Ali in Newark, New Jersey and then later reorganized in Chicago in 1919 (Vidino, 2009; Dannin, 2002). Ali’s interpretation of Islam mixed Christianity, Buddhism, Zoroaster and Confucius (Vidino, 2009). In 1929, Ali was charged with and imprisoned for murdering Claude Greene an opponent within the organization (Dannin, 2002). Shortly after being released from bail, Ali disappeared and was presumed dead because he was never found (Dannin, 2002).
With the influence of the Moors, the Nation of Islam, another unorthodox organization of Islam, was founded in 1930 by Wallace Farad in Detroit. Farad claimed he was a prophet to “awaken a dead nation in the West; to teach them the truth about the white man” (George and Wilcox, 1996, p. 317).Only for a short time as the leader, Farad disappeared without a trace in 1934 and was replaced by Elijah Mohammed (Vidino, 2009; George and Wilcox, 1996). Elijah Mohammed established...
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... may be exaggerated but has some validity because the majority of American mosques are funded by Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Arabia funding is supported by the doctrine of Wahhabism, which supports the ideology of extreme purity in Islam through violence.
A poll conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2006 found that 68 percent of American Muslims expressed an unfavorable opinion of al Qaeda (Jenkins, 2010). The remaining responders of the poll included 27 percent that declined to offer an opinion and five percent that offered support for al Al Qaeda. This poll illustrates; there is a mixed message of whether the extremism is coming from the mosques or actually from more lone-wolf and smaller groups of people. The history or Muslim extremism and violence clearly reflect a past of vitality and illicit activity, which makes it a pertinent threat in today’s world.
airliners in the United States. Two planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, a third struck the Pentagon, and the fourth plane crashed in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people were killed including over 400 police officers and firefighters. America's view on the world and Muslims all over, forever changed. Muslims are judged and criticized still today after these events. Muslim Americans after 9/11 should have a right to live freely in America, can help us stop Islamic terrorism, and can
Muslim Immigration into the United States Introduction A current American dilemma is that the people in war torn countries want to seek refuge in the United States, and because America is considered the “melting pot”, we want to help them (allusion). However, Americans want protection, and due to the recent uprising in terrorism, we are unsure of whether or not to allow them access. Muslim immigration into the United States has become a more prevalent issue now than in previous years due to ISIS
Why people are afraid of Muslims The belief that Islam encourages terrorist activities first began after the catastrophic events on September 11, 2001. On this day, Islamic extremists hijacked four planes that were flying above America, which caused approximately 3,000 deaths (Kean). Our nation as well as the attitude towards Muslim individuals have changed since this unforgettable day in history. The initial understanding and perception of Muslims often root from stereotypes that concern Middle
the fear of terrorism and tragic and in the most recent acts of terrorism around the world we have created the stereotype that all muslims are terrorists, because many of the acts of terrorism happened to be done by those of a muslim extremist group, but not by standard muslim communities. The first reason that supports the that not all Muslims are terrorists is the number of attacks that happen in the United States is actually carried out by non-Muslims, the Huffington Post states, "According
Islamic terrorists are estimated to comprise approximately 10% of the Muslim population, which is equivalent to 160 million out of 1.6 billion people. A terrorist is defined as a person who engages in violence and the infliction of fear in order to gain something either for themselves or for their people. Most Muslims are not terrorists. It is stereotypical to deduce that all Islamic people are involved terrorist groups, however, there are many people who are involved in these groups. Islamic terrorist
The biggest challenge that the United States faces, according to the members within the United States National Security establishment, is terrorism. While suicide terrorism is not the only form of terrorism the United States has been faced with, it has recently been growing into the more common type of terrorism in this age. There are several theories that are associated with suicide terrorism, such as those of Robert Pape and David Horowitz, and it is interesting to analyze and compare the theories
the United States, there is an inherent media bias against Arabs and Muslims as foreign threats to domestic security. Stephen Franklin argues that "Islamic nations are often portrayed in news reports as uniformly intolerant and anti-democratic" (Franklin 17). Unfortunately, such coverage has contributed to the public and government misconceptions of all Arabs and Muslims as terrorists. According to Fawaz Gerges, "terrorism has emerged as one of the most important political issues in the United States
The Threat Of Domestic Terrorism. Following terrorist attacks perpetrated by Muslims, such as the San Bernardino Attack, in which there are high civilian casualties, there is always an inevitable discussion surrounding the threat of islamic extremism and international terrorism. Such discussions are led by mass media and politicians and many argue demonize all Muslims, lead to xenophobia and islamophobia and do little more than fear monger. Many people also criticize the seeming hypocrisy of covering
have a dream of coming to the United States for more opportunities and a better life. However, they don’t know that when they enter the United States they will be judged and discriminated against. Muslims can definitely relate with this. America views all Muslims as terrorists. “I thought that coming America would be an opportunity, not a place to be judged for something that you really can’t control.” This is how majority of the Muslims that live in the United States feel. On May 2, 2017, a survey
Terrorism as a Controversial Issue In this world there are many different topics of controversy. With every controversial topic comes different views and arguments explaining why people believe what they do. There are problems that can be just within one country or throughout the entire world. Terrorism affects everyone in the world, specifically us as Americans, which is why it is one of the biggest controversial topics. Of course with a topic as big as terrorism, there are emic and etic perspectives
President Donald Trump’s executive order barring citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US for 90 days quickly plunged many in the U.S. and around the world into an atmosphere of fear, confusion, and anger. I am an American citizen born in Iran. For more than 30 years I have contributed to the economy and well being of Los Angeles, California, and the nation. I helped build and manage a thriving civil engineering company, I am an employer, pay taxes, I am a homeowner, environmentalist
Terrorism against the United States has been a security issue that forced the government to establish the Department of Homeland Security in 2002, which is tasked with spearheading counter terrorism measures. American has experienced terror attacks on its home soil and against its foreign interests, making terrorism the biggest threat that is facing the country in the twenty first century. It is evident that even small terror groups can access weapons that can inflict catastrophic damage against
war on terrorism just a few days after the attacks, but little did he know that this very decision would also bring devastating consequences to many countries. Over time, people have been losing faith in the war and in its purpose. Consequently, countries whose economies have fallen under the Military Industrial Complex have manufactured a societal fear against Muslims and jihadists. As a result, they are now being stigmatized and portrayed as the enemies of democracy, and of the United States in particular
1996, p. 21) Huntington recognizes the significance of the realist approach that the nation states will stay as the most influential actors in international relationships, but he refutes that nations’ interests can be described without any reference to culture (Huntington, 1996, p. 34). Instead, he suggests the civilization paradigm in which “supra-national civilizations” that act principally as nation states and practice their own civilization’s interests in a global setting that is structurally comparable
though, my father is not Muslim, the stranger used “your people” to insinuate that my father was a Muslim and the shooters were his people. However, if I had gone to dinner that night instead of my father, I would not have received the same backlash that my father did because I would have been perceived as a Muslim woman. Western Islamophobia, and white racism carry