Discrimination In America

The United States is a unique country. It is part of a few other countries that allows its citizens to be free to express themselves. Like other countries, the United States has set a standard or a social requirement for its citizens. There seem to be a social requirement to only speak english, have english name, wear certain clothes or practice a certain religion, Christianity. To some foreigners, this seems to be the the American standard, however, there can never be one standard for Americans. People from all over come to the United States so they can have the ability to practice their own religion without fearing being targeted. America's culture is a mixture of other culture so there could not be one standard. However, some people are targeted because they do not fit into America’s standard. To emphasize, the practice of Islam appears to create issues for some Americans. Islamophobia is common in the United States. Some Americans fear to be seen a practicing Muslims. Some free is they express their different religion in America thy will be personally targeted. Therefore, some often try to fit in the false American standards. In this paper I will argue, Muslim feel pressured and obligated to fit the American standard

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.

Islam is an ill-perceived religion throughout most of the Western world. Once known as a quiet and peaceful religion, the general perception of people from other religions and most of the world upon Islam is quite distorted. Ever since the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, an influx of discrimination and prejudice towards Islam and Muslims has spread throughout the world. In “Understanding Islam,” by Kenneth Jost, an article about several accounts of how Muslims are mistreated and stereotyped throughout the world, brings up a recent poll within the United States says that 45 percent of those surveyed has an unfavorable view of Islam. The article also states that a CBS poll

In recent years, Muslims and Arab Americans have become hot topics of conversation in politics and everyday life. Terrorist attacks and other cruel acts committed by individuals and groups who claim Islam have become quite frequent in the United States and across the globe, even in countries where Islam is the dominant faith. These acts have resulted in many people becoming cautious, fearful, and prejudiced against all Muslims and Arabs. Many of these judgements are preconceived and based off of misunderstandings and incorrect assumptions about the Islamic faith. In reality, Islam and Christianity are not so different; many of the values of Christians and Muslims actually coincide.

Muslim culture is becoming very wide spread throughout America, Europe, and other countries around the world. With their growth also comes misunderstandings, misinterpretations, and misconceptions. There are many stigmas that come with the idea of being of Muslim culture, however the dishonor of all Muslims being terrorists is by far the largest. Throughout the article titled, Understanding Islam, by the CQ Researcher, we learn in fact how quickly the Muslim culture is growing. The Researcher describes Islam as the second-largest growing religion. The culture itself has been known to teach virtue, patience, and faithfulness however, ever sense the attacks placed on September 11, 2001, most Americans and even other countries stereotype all Islamic beings as evil and promoters of terroristic actions.

Currently in the United States, Islam is the third largest faith following Christianity and Judaism (Religious Landscape Study). Sadly, with Islam being the third most popular religion, most Americans hold false views and miss informed judgements towards Muslims community, their practices, and beliefs. Prior to attending the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City, I knew very little about my Muslim neighbors. During my time at the mosque, I learned about the Qur’an, how to write in Arabic, and the history of Islam.

The current portrayal in 21st century mass media of the the Muslims in both america and the Islamic world appears to negatively impact the religion. While conflicts and terrorist actions involving Islamic extremist are important the way that they are reported upon often leads to misconceptions among the general public of what the Islamic values are and how they affect society. The mass media uses frames when discussing the Islamic community which often portray Muslims as either oppressive or violent, and further the idea of a false threat. The language that is used to describe such events often creates a connection to Islam without making the difference between extremist and traditional Muslims clear. While the 21st century should cover acts of terrorism the way that actions are displayed should be changed in a way that is less general and is a more accurate and fair representation of the Islamic community.

The United States is famous for its history and journey to becoming the world’s most powerful source. The country is renowned for it foundations on liberty and is frequently labeled the free world. Yet, as powerful as it may appear to others, the United States suffers from an internal cancer that affects almost every American at some point in their lives. For those who are followers of Islam, a dark image of America surfaced after the September 11 terror attacks. Many muslims and non-muslims who mistaken as muslims were attacked and harassed for no apparent reason. Many illogical Americans assumed that because the attackers were muslims, then all muslims believe in terrorism and the radical idea of Islam, yet this assumption is far from the truth. In fact, many muslim-americans were saddened by the attacks as any other American was. But in this time of persecution, muslims were not seen as fellow Americans.

It is many issues involving religion in today’s society like hatred, terrorism, and discrimination. I’m going to focus on terrorism. Terrorism is often associated with Muslims of Islam. The people of today’s society often think since one person from a religion did something horrific, that everyone of that religion is a terrible and do terrible things. I can’t help but not to think Muslims could feel discriminated here in America and or they could think Americans believe they’re not trust worthy all because someone in their religion impacted America so negatively. I also believe it could get extremely uncomfortable for Muslims in America because they are constantly

It is easy to shape our understanding concerning Muslim culture within modern Western society based on what the media exhibits to others. This ongoing fight for equality has derived from media, throughout historical events. Terrorist attacks; most famously 911 have created further inequality within Muslim culture. The media is partially to blame for this phenomenon as bias and misinformation is misused to sway public opinion. While these attacks were malicious and catastrophic, Muslim culture itself should not take the blame for the wrong doing of a certain few. That being said, racism and discrimination began well before the terrorist attacks, and will also be assessed. Although racism and discrimination are not exclusive to Muslims, this is an issue that needs to be addressed as extreme matters as, “Muslim Americans continue comprising one of the disadvantaged minority groups in the USA” (Zainiddinov, 2016, p. 2718). This fuels the segregation of Western and Muslim culture, as Muslims view Western as Muslim hating and discriminating. Modern Western culture has wrongfully depicted Muslims for many decades and although this cannot be reversed, few strategies have been offered to improve their safety and overall wellbeing.

The modern view of Islam in the United States is often influenced by the stereotype created by westerners based on the history of military conflict between the United States and Islamic countries. In turn, the view of Americans has shifted in Islamic countries due to the religious generalization that has been developed. It is widely known that the United States and Islamic countries have had military conflict in the past, with examples such as the September 11th attacks or the location and assassination of Osama Bin Laden, however the negative social interaction between these two communities is seldom addressed within western society. It is the misconception of the Muslim religion and Islamic culture that is to blame for these social biases which have placed Muslims in America into a social subjugation predominantly by people of non-Muslim religious affiliation in western society. In parallel and due to this subjugation, a negative opinion of Americans in Islamic countries has been adhered. To address this issue in a two-hour briefing with the President of the United States, the topic of religious generalization and the physical and social harm it has caused to the Muslim community will be addressed. Likewise, it is to the concern of the President of the United States that the American reputation has been harmed – as it is his job to uphold the American reputation within the international realm.

Religion and ethnicity are two of the many common factors in the U.S. that encourage individuals to discriminate and be prejudice to certain groups belonging to those factors. The Islamic Religion is a form of religion that has very different beliefs, worship practices, and values. Other religious groups and even outsiders, don’t understand their religion because they’ve never experienced it first hand. Many religions believe in one god, other in many gods, and some in no gods at all. Although other groups may think that the Islamic religion doesn’t contribute to the American culture, other than their own, they are wrong. An ethnic group in the U.S. that suffers discrimination and prejudice consistently is the Muslim American ethnicity. Muslim Americans are scared by the mistakes and decisions individuals from their ethnic group have committed. The Islamic Religion and the Muslim American ethnicity differ from other groups in many ways like, beliefs, values, and practices, which results to them being victims of discrimination and prejudice.

Islam may be the most misunderstood religion in the United States. The impression that majority of non-Muslim Americans have is usually obtained through the media which typically represent Islamic countries or groups in the middle of a Holy War. These wars are usually waged by Islamic Fundamentalist who use terrorism and other violent acts to get their messages across giving Islam a negative reputation. Because of the lack of understanding of this highly visible religion, many conflicts arise between non-Muslim Americans and the people who live in Muslim worlds. Consequently, this causes problems among our different cultures by creating various political and religious battles that

Since the horrific events of 9/11, Islam and Muslims especially has been the crux of much censure and debated in the media. Muslims have been widely discussed by themes of ‘migration’, ‘terrorism’, and ‘war’. In the meta-analyses on the representation of Muslims and Islam in the media between 2000-2015, there is the rise of Orientalist discourses in many mainstream media channels. The relationship between Western nations and Muslims has been reinterpreted as divided societies. Thus, the ‘clash of civilizations’ proposition has gained acceptance in intellectual debates and media coverages. There is also a dominant antagonistic view about Islam and Muslims in many western countries (Ahmed and Matthes 2016). The meta-study and recent many researches show that Muslims and Islam tend to be negatively framed, which consequently led to the domination of the mass media via displays of fear and anger as well as anti-Muslim sentiments (Bail 2015). In this context, Muslim intellectuals have faced fierce criticism from various journalists and academics. For instance, prominent Muslims intellectuals Tariq Ramadan has been criticized by doublespeak for general western society and internal Muslims communities (Fourest 2008) and Khaled Abou El Fadl has been blamed by being a stealth Islamist due to his works on Islam and politics

Throughout this research, I used a variety of primary and secondary sources. My primary sources were achieved through the use of interview and surveys to gain people’s perspectives towards Islam and through Islamic stereotypes. My secondary sources include media’s presentation of Islam, articles featuring political arguments, and sources that demonstrating what Islam is really about. Through this research, I discovered that the media has affectively shown the negative portrayal of Islam, practically focusing on the negatives representation of Muslims. This affected the public’s perception on Islam as they would act differently at front of Muslims people because of hatred, fear and being racially abusive.