As terrorist organizations become a larger threat to American Safety as a result of 9/11 and threatening rhetoric, Americans began to associate violence and hatred of Western culture with the Faith of Islam.
During this period of time, representation for Muslim-Americans was severely lacking, which rendered them susceptible to being closely associated with the only reference of their faith in the media, radical terrorism. While radical groups claim the name of Islam, their malicious actions do not represent the peaceful teachings of the faith. Every Middle Eastern/ Muslim person knows the feeling of watching the news and seeing bombings, shootings etc. and immediately after the shock and sadness wares off, the secondary reaction is hoping that the assailant was not Muslim otherwise for the next few months a heightened sense of fear would surround our identities.
The biggest turning point for the status of Muslim/Middle Eastern Americans (both are susceptible to the same types of discrimination in America), was 9/11. The horrific terrorist act and it’s high death toll resonated deeply with Americans and instilled them with a deep hatred that has persisted to this day. While Middle Eastern and Muslim Americans condemn the actions they still face blame and association due to their culture and faith which is unrelated to the radical ideologies of terrorist organizations.
The most effective way to combat these stereotypes is for their to be increased representation of education about the Islamic faith and it’s presence in various communities in America. Muslims are also victims of radical groups in the Middle East as any group that disagrees with radical ideologies are at risk of retaliation from terrorist organizations. Muslim Americans are tired of having to justify their faith and reinforce that they do not subscribe to violent beliefs.
3 comments:
I like how you not only talk about what happened and the stereotypes and discrimination caused by 9/11, but also how to combat the stereotypes.
It was interesting reading about a larger scope of effect coming off of 9/11. Although the US seemed to have tightened up national security, the expense seemed to come out of regular Muslim Americans.
good job on this!! i really liked reading about how you gave examples on how to combat stereotypes that Muslims often face.
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