Taking a Look at Islamophobia

On September 11th of 2001, more than 3,000 people died during the terrorist attacks. The event changed the lives of not just the people whose loved ones died on that day, but also of those who belonged to the Islamic world. The experience of Muslims who lived in America in 2001 and those who were yet to come here would never be the same again. After 9/11, the number of hate crimes against Muslims in the United States increased and their everyday lives changed forever due to the rise of islamophobia and the vicious influence of the American media.

What is and what isn’t Islamophobia? The term is used to describe prejudice against, hatred towards, or fear of the religion of Islam or Muslims. It came into wide usage in 1997, upon the publication of a report by the Runnymede Trust, a nonprofit English think tank. This report described, “closed views” of Islam,

Although Islamophobia stems from religious differences and oppression today's it is present because way too many people have the perception that Muslims and anyone from the Middle East is a terrorist and has an evil agenda. "Although every Muslim is not a terrorist, every terrorist is a Muslim" (Gul,2011). This view of Islamic and Middle Eastern people is present for many reasons. One being how they are being portrayed in the media. Whenever something ISIS related is reported the views of non radical Islamic people are rarely shown and if it is it's a two or three minute segment (Obeidallah, 2014). Of all violent crimes committed in the US each year the crimes of Muslims are bring to public attention more than others yet they only account for 160 of thousands (cite). In most Hollywood movies you will find nothing but Muslims being portrayed as the assailant. Another cause for Islamophobia in our society is how the government portrays people in predominantly Islamic communities. The US is constantly in need of oil and many other natural resources that are in abundance in the Middle East. With someone these countries refusing to share for the proposed prices the US has waged war against them to gain control over these

Due to the current political state of this country, the fear of Islam has been magnified especially, when the president of the United State has an anti-Islamic campaign. Islamophobia is the fear of Muslim identified individuals, this is a topic most people avoid because it is both religion and a political issue. In my time with Housing & Residential Education, I have seen many hot topics and Islamophobia is not one of those topics. The fear of Islam will be around and will not go away until we shed the light on it or bring more awareness. I am tired of feeling like a terrorist because of my identity or getting stopped at the airport because I am young, educated, and a Muslim man. My female Muslim sisters and friends have it worse than I do

Islam is a monotheistic religion, centered around the teachings of the Qu’ran and serving Allah (meaning God in Arabic). However, this Abrahamic religion has been harshly discriminated against in the United States for years. Most prominently throughout the last twelve years, post September 11th, 2001. Unfortunately, issues such as socialization through the media, power distribution, religious ignorance, stereotyping and visible differences have contributed to the ill attitudes towards Muslims. This paper will examine how Americans have been socialized in islamophobia within the United States.

After 9/11 people started viewing muslims differently. People felt unsafe and scared around them. Other people dislike muslims because of their beliefs and religion. But, 9/11 isn’t the only thing the muslims did to get disliked. Muslims were responsible for multiple terrorist attacks in different countries.

Islam is the religion that provides a complete code of life including social as well as personal spheres. Islam has been targeted by many stereotypes including extremism since last few decades. The reason behind these stereotypes are on some facts and to some extent widely propagated through media. Many people involved in criminal activities, get highlighted easily by media and catch the attention of general public if they are Muslims. A major role behind these stereotypes is played by the outcomes of the 9/11 attacks. Muslims have been targeted with stigmatization and other forms of racial discrimination. They have to face tight security at international airports. Employers have also been showing concerns or hesitation

In hearing a lot of complaints about president elect Trump's Islamophobia, it's been surprising to learn how uneducated the average person is about the history of Islamophobia in America. The current blinkered attitude towards Muslims worldwide is not a product of happenstance. To quote a former American President:

Islamophobia is the fear of Muslims, or the religion of Islam, according to BBC (2017). Some people blame all Muslims for terrorist attacks, that are caused by terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda, Isis, and Boko Haram. These organizations allegedly follow Islam, I say they allegedly follow Islam, because if they had indeed studied Islam, they would understand that Islam is a religion of peace, not terrorism. The word “Islam” means submission to God’s will and obedience to God’s law. It derives from an old Arabic word meaning “peace”. (What is Islamophobia? – CBBC News Round. (2017, June 19).

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

The muslim race is a race that has been oppressed for a long time. Though muslim racism has been ongoing for a long time it didn't get too big until 9/11 happened and then more and more people started seeing muslims as terrorists. Quickly since the more and more instances of bombings have been happening around the us which traces back to terrorist groups such as Isis. Quickly the racism grew there is even a word for it called islamophobia which is the dislike or prejudice against islam or muslims. We didn't take too many actions to prevent it before but on 2017 donald trump issued a 90 day muslim ban.

“Islamophobia is prejudice towards discrimination against Muslims due to their religion, or perceived religion, national, or ethnic identity associated with Islam because Muslims have different beliefs and values”. (Islamophobia wikipedia 1) Like anti-semitism, racism, and homophobia. Islamophobia describes mentality and actions that domain an entire class of people. Jews, African-Americans, and other populations throughout history have faced prejudice and discrimination. Islamophobia is simply another reincarnation of this bigotry. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary,a phobia is an exaggerated, usually inexplicable and illogical fear of a particular object, class of objects, or situation. It may be difficult to determine or communicate the source of this fear, but it exists. From this definition we can see how is so unfair to connect the word phobia to Islam specially because the word Islam in arabic means peace and safety. All that means that a lot of people don’t know nothings about Islam and the unknown can easily provoke fear.

Islam is the religion that is followed through Muslims about the teachings through Muhammad by the prophet Allah. Today Islam is considered as one of the most prominent religions followed throughout the world. Though Islam is thought of has one of the most popular religion across the world, many still lack the understanding of what Islam is. Following 9/11, the perception of Muslims changed thus proposing the idea of Islamophobia. Defined by the Oxford English Dictionary Islamophobia is the unfair prejudice or discrimination towards Muslims due to race, religion, or ethnic identity. The idea changed the way that all Muslims were perceived throughout America and the world. Muslims today face discrimination throughout the society. Following 9/11 the Muslim people are being treated unfairly because of their religion by the exclusion of the Muslim culture in American society, Muslims are being targeted and harmed in public, and Muslims are perceived as a terrorist or threat to national security.

Before the September 11, 2001, hatred towards Muslims in the United States started in 1923, when Muslims started migrating to the United States, an unlike increased presence. The hatred towards Muslims, also known as “Islam phobia”, was first featured in The Journal of Theological Studies. Many Muslims were targeted, the religion of Islam, Muslims, or any ethnic group perceived to be Muslim were characterized as having “bad faith and cruelty”, according to prejudice Americans.

In Oxford English Dictionary, Islamophobia is defined as “intense dislike or fear of Islam, especially as a political force, hostility or prejudice towards Muslims.” This term was first used in 20th century and had its’ own definition at 1970s. Particularly, after the 11 September events -which a radical Islamic group claimed its responsibility- in U.S.A. most of the non-Muslims in the world knew the Muslims with violence. The Berkeley Institute on Racism Studies says that Islam is often seen as a religion of violence which supports terrorism and has a violent political ideology. This perception of Islam is enlarging globally more and more because of some reasons such as terrorist attacks in non-Muslim countries, effect of media on the people, misunderstanding of Islam, and lack of the true representative