Muslim American Stereotypes

Lone Survivor, American Sniper, and Restrepo are newer movies that attracted a lot of attention on the big screen. These movies are war-based and action packed. Many people love these movies and others like these but what they do not realize is this movies create terrible stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims. These popular movies, along with other factors, causes mass prejudice and discrimination against Arab-Americans and Muslim-Americans. Many Americans see Arabs as terrorist or not true Americans but that could change once America become comfortable with the middle eastern culture.

Americans believe that Muslim are terrorists because of the media’s views. Also, The labor Department to increase sensitivity to and combat instances of potential discrimination or harassment against individuals who are or are perceived to be Muslim, Arab, Afghani, Middle Eastern, or South Asian, EEOC charge statistics for workplace discrimination claims involving religion, ethnicity, national origin, and citizenship indicate that the reported incidence of such conduct has continued to increase” (Stan, 2014). “A qualified Soutn Asian man who wears a Sikh turban applies for a cashier position at a retail store, but the company fears that such religjous attire will make customers uncomfortable and drive them away, thus costing them business;

In 2012, a woman by the name of Imane Boudlal is forced to quit her job at Disneyland because she wanted to wear a hijab. She was hired before she decided to start wearing it, and when she eventually started wearing a hijab, Disney told her she was not allowed. If she wanted to wear her hijab, she would have to work out of sight of the customers or wear a hijab that Disney designed for her. These hijabs did not meet her standards and she would not be forced to work in the back so she ended up quitting before she was demoted or fired (Huus, 2012). This case of discrimination is not unique to Imane Boudlal. Muslim woman across America face huge amounts of discrimination and cruelty in the workplace for wearing a hijab while at work. There are

Most people assume that because the Islamic prophet Muhammad is Arab, that all or most Muslims are Arab. This is however not true. Arab and Muslim are not synonymous. This perception comes from false stereotypes of the religion and people. Islam was first created in the Arabian Desert, now know as Saudi Arabia, and its first practitioners were Arab. This is a key factor as to why people believe this.

Orientalism, is a current of European ideas, focused on the East. West is interpreting the stereotypes about the Eastern world and its culture. West has made a stereotype proving to themselves that the Muslim Women are not given the space and value in the society and are weak. Gender inequality, patriarchy and sexual objectification is a global issue for Muslim women. Also, the issue for Muslim women for becoming political and religious agents due to veil. Many stereotypes are proposed and to explain the origin of these stereotypes Leila Abu-Lughod wrote “Do Muslim Women Need Saving?”

“America was founded on the principle of religious freedom. As a nation we must continue to seek the fair treatment of all, even as we grapple with the concerns raised by the recent terrorist attacks. When people come to work and are unfairly harassed or otherwise targeted based on their religion or national origin, it undermines our shared and longstanding values of tolerance and equity for all (Yang, 2015).” This is a very true and important statement, yet discrimination is still seen daily. Muslims make up less than two percent of the U.S. population but they were part of a quarter off the 3,386 religious discrimination claims filed with the EEOC in 2009 (Greenhouse, 2010). Below is an analysis of the impact

Islam is often thought of as a religion of violence, hate, and oppression. This way of thinking is usually bred from ignorance of Islamic values. The reality is that not all Muslims act like the stereotypical Islamic terrorists you see in movies or in the news. Islam teaches a plethora of good values and, for the most part, produces good people. My own father is Muslim and he is a very ethical person!

Dawoud, a 25-year-old man, said: Another area where I personally felt discrimination, was about two months after 9/11 when I was looking for my first co-op term job. My résumé stated that I was involved with Muslim organisations and I wouldn’t get any interviews. I never really blamed it on having Muslim on my résumé. The career counsellor suggested that, instead of saying ‘Muslim Students Association’ I say ‘MSA Campus Club’ and instead of saying Young Muslims Canada’ I say ‘YM Canada’. She thought it might have something to do with it. And as soon as I did that, I got offers and interviews. So after that fact it became obvious that, yes, I was probably being discriminated against. Other interviewees also recalled similar experiences, suggesting that young Muslims are vulnerable to facing economic and professional obstacles due to employment discrimination” (Nagra, 2011).

What comes to mind when you think of the Middle East? Do you think of its rich history, beautiful weather and lively cities like Dubai, Cairo and Beirut? Or, do you think of constant raging wars, corrupt government, and bone dry deserts? Sadly, when the initial question is asked, many answer with the latter option. Your perception of the Middle East comes from what you are exposed to. In our everyday lives, we see things that help us form opinions and it’s often things that are one sided. The Middle East, in the American media, is shown to be a land of sandstorms and savages. These depictions are what fuel hatred and stereotypes. Racial and cultural profiling, specifically that of Middle Eastern people, in the media perpetuates stereotypes,

Many religions have misconceptions about them, but most of them are not true, how do I know this? because I’ve done research on them and found out that most of them are false, we recently have done a world religion project and have learned more about our religions we studied, studying them was easy because most the information was easy to understand, my paper is gonna be about the stereotypes of the Islamic people.

When Islam was first born, it represented a challenge for the Christian Europe at that time and people found it difficult to accept values and norms as well as traditions that were different than their own, although, the presence of different ways of thought and intellectual challenge gave opportunity for trade and knowledge in important fields such as medicine. But, the idea of Islam remained problematic and somehow it was associated with historical stereotypes that narrow-minded Europeans had because of the few Muslims who identified themselves during certain attacks. These stereotypes or long-living traditions if one can say tarnished the image of fifteen million European citizens who were habitants and lawful citizens of different European

Is every Muslim a terrorist? Do all Mexicans eat jalapeños? Do all elderly people need to surrender their driver’s licenses? These questions represent different examples of stereotyping that are present in today’s society. Stereotyping, a predictable opinion or belief, can be connected to race, ethnicity, or religious affiliation. We make very different judgments about people we think to be terrorists, criminals, psychopaths, television stars, hitchhikers, and perverts. Stereotyping could be beneficial and highly accurate in some cases; however stereotyping most Muslims as terrorists can be misleading and unfair.

I'm a Muslim and I despise Islamic terrorists and the local run of the mill bigot. I and a great bulk of fellow Muslims are striving to improve our status through quiet, moderate and pacific means. Muslims have faced discrimination and prejudice in almost all aspects of their lives. Violent methods have been practiced by other groups under the guise of religion. Oblivious to their own ignorance and often harboring twisted political motivations, many leaders, consisting of mainly Westerners, tend to label pretty much all Muslims with terms such as 'aggressive', 'militant' and 'uncivilized'. They mention that Islam is the 'religion of the sword’, Muslim activists are 'terrorists’, and Muslim countries that dare to even challenge Western policies are 'evil'. Once you get news that that one of us is a Muslim, you label us as an ‘outsider’, and we are automatically at the receiving end of your injustice. I view myself and other Muslims as the afflicted rather than the afflicters. I feel as though we have to desperately be on the defensive. We consider ourselves to be the objects of violence and not the initiators of violence. We as Muslims across the world consider ourselves to be the victims. To support my claim, let’s take a tour.

A study of British Muslims found that religious affiliation was a stronger predictor of discrimination than race or ethnicity (Sheridan, 2006). It follows that women may be more likely than men to encounter discrimination on the basis of their Muslim identity because their attire (i.e., the hijab) can convey this identity visually (Allen & Nielsen, 2002). King and Ahmad (2010) noted that applicants who wore Muslim attire had shorter and more interpersonally negative interactions compared to applicants who did not wear Muslim attire. Ghumman and Jackson (2010) also found that visibly identified Muslim women have low expectations for receiving job offers. A recent publication by Ghumman and co-researcher Ann Marie Ryan of Michigan State University, titled, “Not welcome here: Discrimination towards women who wear Muslim headscarf,” This study addresses discrimination that individuals who wear religious attire encounter during the hiring process. Hijabis, as a member of the Muslim group, are also subjected to stigmatization in the workplace and there have been numerous cases of workplace discrimination claims against Hijabis (Pluralism Project, 2004). Hijabi Muslim women should experience stereotype threat in the work context, but non-Hijabi Muslim women should not, or at least experience less stereotype threat. Unlike non-Hijabi Muslim women,

Religious discrimination has been another issue, Muslim in the United Kingdom have been victims of negative perceptions. Since 9/11 and 7/7 people developed’ islamophobia culture (O’Brien & Kevin, 2003). Social psychology research suggests that there is nothing that in principle prevents the likelihood, given certain circumstance of any group becoming perpetrators of unfair treatment by religion (Calvin, 2016). The over presentation of islamophobia culture by the media become a moral panic over world (Grobler, 2013). Police view Islam as individuals with devious minds, prone to radicalizations and terrorists. A fairly consistent body of research shows that relative to other religious groups in Britain, Muslim report and experience discrimination of high magnitude than any other religious groups (Grobler,