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Within the past twelve years, Islam has grown to be the second largest religion practiced around the world. Growing up, there weren’t many Muslim people that practiced Islam as there are now. Ten years ago, I would only see about one or two Muslims as I walked down the street, but now I see many more. In Philadelphia, there are more than 200,000 people who are Muslim, and 85% of those people are African-American. In this city when people see African-American Muslims who are garbed up they don’t discriminate against them. To be a Muslim in this society it causes controversy because people are constantly pointing out all of the flaws within them.

Since the attack of the World Trade Center on September 11, media and society in the United States have distinguished Muslims as some sort of extremists and enemies. Because of this, there is a continuation of discrimination against Muslims which can be very concerning. The majority of Muslims have been living in fear of being judge or discriminated against because of their faith. These muslim are also facing the danger through violence and vandalism due to their appearance. As a result of the September 11 attack, the damage have been greatly exerted on Muslims as they have struggled to live in a society that appears to despise them.

I did not come from an area that had a sizeable community of Muslims but from an area that was rather uneducated about Muslims. My first memory of realizing this was in my freshman year of high school, when students in my World Studies history class frequently confused “Islam” with “Muslim.” Instead of practicing “Islam,” they practiced “Muslim.” I kept quiet and experienced incredibly ease that it was not me making that mistake in front of the class because, I will admit it, I confused the two as well. As time went on, we of course earned the proper usage of the two words, but also a new situation arose that made it more complicated - the rekindling of the Israel-Palestine conflict. I preferred to stay out of these discussions because I was hyperaware of the fact that I knew too little about the conflict to contribute any sort of educated comment. Additionally, there was some sentiment of Islamophobia circulating the student population. I distinctly remember talking to one of my older brother’s friends about this Jordanian boy in our Spanish class. This girl, who was Jewish, which is important to note, said to me, after me remarking how nice he is, “Oh, I can’t be friends with him because he is anti-Israel.” She had not spoken more than ten words to this boy, but came to this conclusion simply based on the fact that he is Middle Eastern. Her saying this to me blew my mind. I had grown up with this

In Saitama Sanfo’s opinion piece, Islamophobia In America, she makes a point to direct attention to the amount of prejudice Muslim people receive and the amount of misrepresentation their religion is given. Through lack of accurate media representation, Islam has become synonymous with terrorism and Muslims have been subjected to a large amount hate crimes and slander towards themselves and their beliefs. Due to the constant generalizations of the entire religion, Sanfo made it a point to call out the double standards hidden amongst the negativity.

A study done in 2016 showed that there were 3.3 million Muslims in America, which is about 1% of the population. There has been mass controversy and mixed feelings in the American population about new races, and ethnic groups rooted in fear caused by the media. The media has cultivated islamophobia, which is the dislike of or prejudice against Islam or Muslims, especially as a political force. The American Psychological Association states, “According to a Federal Bureau of Investigation report released in November, the number of assaults, attacks on mosques and other hate crimes against Muslims in 2015 was higher than at any other time except the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11. In 2015, there were 257 anti-Muslim incidents, up from 154 in 2014—a 67 percent increase. In 2001, 481 incidents were reported.” Racism is ingrained in society, and is being emphasized through the media. For example, the Ontario Humans Right Commision had a complaint filed of islamophobia in Maclean’s Magazine. Although this is in Canada, it shows that islamophobia is widespread through borders. Maclean’s magazine created articles targeting Muslims that were seen as cruel and hateful. The Ontario Humans Right Commision says, “ Complaints filed with the Commission against Maclean’s magazine concerning an article “The future belongs to Islam” allege that this article violates human rights contrary to the Code. The complainants also claim that this article is one of twenty-two (22) Maclean’s articles targeting Muslims. Complaints have also been filed with the Canadian Human Rights Commission and other provincial human rights bodies.” However, even with targeting Muslims, the Commission decided not to proceed with the complaints filed against Maclean’s magazine. The media creates stereotypes and an overgeneralization of Muslims that is detrimental to this group. Islamophobia in the media can be masked in subtle

Psychologists performed an experiment and found that, “half the study participants had depression serious enough to warrant further assessment, they found. A quarter reported moderate to severe anxiety” (Amer, 2011). The depression rates are higher than they are in the general public. This proves that the racial-profiling, hate, and discrimination are affecting the Arab-American community. These results can also be extended people from Middle Eastern and Indian backgrounds. “Though many Americans do not disagree, the continuous questioning – and the increasing anti-Muslim sentiment and activity – seem to suggest, according to CAIR-Chicago Communications Coordinator Leena Saleh, that there is an undue “stigma that still surrounds Muslims over a decade later” (Almasri, 2011). To this day, the prejudice and hate that have plagued the Muslim community have not ceased. Until the people are properly educated about Islam and its people, and until the majority stand up against the radical groups, nothing will

In her talk about confronting anti-Arab and anti-Muslim racism, Carol Fadda-Conrey began by explaining the astonishing boom in Arab-American writers, which is related to the growing biases against Arabs and Muslims, not only after 9/11, but also taking place before it too. Fadda-Conrey emphasized the fact that these biases and stereotypes against Muslims and Arabs have existed since before 9/11, but this group of people in present day has experienced heightened hostility in America due to the assumption that all “Arabs and Muslims are terrorists”. Furthermore, the stereotype has turned into the fact that specifically Muslim men are the terrorists, and the women are oppressed and in need of Americans help to save them. One way she discussed

Islam has always been a controversial topic ever since the events of September 11th, 2001. Even before then, Muslims have faced prejudice. Nowadays, with allegations on social media and of recently elected leaders, it has not gotten any better. As a Muslim myself, I find it very important that this topic be addressed.

The research bases off on surveys on how much of the general public believes Muslims in the United States face discrimination which appears to be a majority. While data also conclude that many Americans have reservations about the role of Islam in society and also argues that conflicts arise from misunderstandings. Polling conveys that half of Americans believe Islam and Muslims by media is bias and unfair.

Many Muslims, and Arab citizens in general, are treated unfairly for the idiotic notion that all Muslims are terrorists. In 2011 a survey was taken determining how certain countries view Muslims. 57% of Italy’s population respect Muslims, while 28% don’t. In contrast to that, only 40% of the United States of America population respect them and 52% do not(Islamophobia: Understanding Anti-Muslim Sentiment in the West). “In 2001, a 1600% increase in hate crimes toward muslim people was seen as 481 hate crimes were reported in a single year, compared to only 28 the year before,” (Social Change: 9/11). Since the attacks on September 11, hate crimes and racial profiling have gone up in the United States.

I have also participated in the oppression of this group by having negative thoughts when I see Muslims or think about the future and riding in a plane. Due to these negative thoughts, it is very likely that in the back of my mind, I was categorizing people (Cleveland, 2013). Cleveland gives the example of a good Christian and bad Christian. In the case of being around someone who was Muslim, I would have used the categorization strategy of good people versus bad people. My thought process would have been that “well, because these people fall into the Muslim group, they are bad people. Muslims are associated with violence and terrorism, so these people that I am surrounded by are violent too.” This is a thought that needs to be broken and changed.

Muslims are a fine example of an ethnic group who people show prejudice towards. The past has already created a poor image of them, but the recent terrorist attacks involving ISIS have created even a bigger spectacle out of all the Muslims, depicting Islam as inhumane. People find a logic to put every accusation on them. “The mere mention of Islam tends to generate an immediate negative reaction from most people as they associate it with terrorism, hostages, and the explosive situation in the Middle East” (Emery). The public sees Islam with one perspective, ignoring many individuals who may have nothing to do with the past incidents. “This religion has been misunderstood since its earliest beginnings when Muhammed was scorned by the Jewish and Christian communities he tried to convert (Emery). Christianity and Islam are closely related, yet some Christians think of it as strange and erotic because of the way Muslims dress, act, and speak. “The fall of Jerusalem to Islam in 638 A.D and the subsequent exploits of the Crusaders between 1095 and 1291 escalated the level of mistrust and hostility between both the religions” (Emery). It’s quite absurd that such inequity is shown towards them as there has been an instance when an American was involved in a terrorist attack. Timothy McVeigh, a Baptist blew

Laila Lalami, American novelist and essayist, talks about how many people were quite unfamiliar with the term “Islamophobia,” just a short while ago. However, this term is popular today, and it is not a rarity to fall under this title in America today. Lalami includes how authors like Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris argued that there is no such thing as “Islamophobia”. Lalami being a Muslim shares her encounters with racists and people who showed discriminatory actions towards her and her family. Despite the fact that there are Muslim extremists that participate in evil doings today like ISIS or the Taliban, Muslims are still ordinary people with morals and good ethics to follow. Lalami includes several real-life examples of how the Muslim

Due to our technological advances, we all have access to news websites. The facts and statements that are presented in news articles can alter our judgment. As a Muslim American, I truthfully hoped that there were more articles like the Huffington Post article. It is understandable that news channels are supposed to present facts, but it is also essential to realize that news articles are a great platform to spread positive thinking. Especially due to our current circumstances and a new president, who is known to discriminate against minorities including Mexicans, Blacks, and Muslims, it is necessary for news articles to challenge common stereotypes and generalizations that are used to identify minorities. The issue of Syrian refugees is one that is familiar to the United States and is part of a larger national problem. There has been a constant history of “racialization of Aarbs, Muslims, and South Asians after September 11 [9/11 terrorist attack]” (Muneer 493). More recently, “91 were reported aggravated or simple assaults motivated by anti-Muslims bias in 2015, just two shy of the 93 reported in 2001” and in 2016 “there were anecdotal reports of continued rise in anti-Muslim hate crimes this year” (Kishi). Therefore, Muslims, Arabs, Pakistanis, and non-Muslim South Asians (Sikhs,Hindus) to name a few are heavily profiled and become the victims of anti-Muslim assaults. If we allow the ratification of the Syrian refugee ban, the Muslim immigrant ban, and a Muslim registry then we would institutionalize the discrimination of Muslims or those who are “Muslim looking” (Muneer 496). In addition, we would normalize the common stereotypical ideology that Muslims are rightfully characterized as terrorists. Under President Trumps leadership, Muslims already feel the “need to make themselves appear as “normal” as possible by white, Christian standards” (Eltahir). However, people shouldn’t

In the United States, Muslims have become the target of a discernible rise in hate crimes and verbal abuse. As the country continues to reel in the aftermath of the horrific acts conducted by ISIL, Hezbollah, and Hamas; Anti-Muslim sentiment is becoming more widespread and accepted. With Muslim-Americans experiencing an increase in verbal and physical abuse, reports of women wearing hijab being spit at and having their veils torn off, and the burning of mosques occurring more frequently, it becomes impossible to not wonder how it has become possible for attacks on Islam and Muslims to be accepted as a natural response in America. Public opinion directly affects the treatment of Muslim-Americans. Some argue that Islamophobic rhetoric churned