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Islam Oppression, Muslim Terrorist, Sharia Barbaric

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Islam-Oppression, Muslim-Terrorist, Sharia-Barbaric. From the horrors of the 9/11 attacks to the brutality of ISIS, these connections, these perceptions, and these views have been reinforced and amplified. These beliefs have come to manifest themselves in actions. In July of 2009, Marwa El-Sherbini was stabbed to death in a courtroom in Dresden, Germany by Alex Wiens after testifying against him in regards to verbal abuses over her wearing of the Islamic headscarf, the hijab. In August of 2012, Wade Michael opened fire on a Sikh temple killing six, while believing they were Muslim. In November of 2014, four mosques in Quebec were vandalized in one week. This has been the atmosphere in which Muslims have come to live. Attacked and berated, the Muslim community has had to deal with the rise of a new wave of discrimination; one that signals out Muslims as uncivilized, oppressive, barbaric warmongers. It has had to deal with the rise of Islamophobia. And what is Islamophobia? Is it anything that someone says against Islam? Can anyone criticize the religion and its doctrine? Does the term infringe on the individual’s right to free speech? Does it stifle public debate and openness, both of which are hallmarks of a democracy, by labelling those who oppose Islam as irrational, bigots? And so, definitions become important. Islam, in the simplest sense, is a religion with its own unique traditions and practices. A phobia, as defined by Merriam Webster, is “an exaggerated, usually

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