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Racial Stereotypes Of Muslims

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Stereotypes is a fixed, over generalized belief about a particular group or class of people (Cardwell, 1966). Stereotypes are used to making interactions with new people easier. However, it also means people forget differences of individuals and assumes based on generalization. Stereotypes eventually leads to social categorization which creates prejudice towards groups. Racial stereotypes such as described in “Look, Mohammed the Terrorist is Coming!” by Nadine Naber, they describe the stereotypical “Mohammed”, an Arab or Middle Eastern Muslim man with a beard and brown or dark complexion that usually fits the profile of a terrorist. It’s not only Muslims who becomes victims of this stereotype, majority of Middle Easterners, including Christians, Muslims, and even atheists, and majority South Asians, including Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs. Another stereotype of Muslims that media has constructed is around hijabis. Often if a Muslim woman is wearing a hijab, oppression, conservative, traditionalism is associated with them. Rarely is it asked, “was it your choice”. Every woman wearing a hijab may not have to option to chose to wear it or not, but often, it is the women’s individual decisions to decide to wear a hijab or not. Some will wear it when they feel they are ready, some will wear it to be closer to God, and some will wear it as a step towards being religious. No matter what the reason, it doesn’t mean oppression, or being narrow-minded. In every major religion, there is a

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