The life of Muslims in the USA is a topic of numerous researches. It is clear that Muslims have to deal with various forms of discrimination. Among those are physical violence, “terrorist” and other stereotypes, Islamophobic political rhetoric, anti-immigrant aggression, hostility toward women in hijab, and many others. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the group that should present Islamic perspective to the American audience, is believed to be radical and dangerous, thus increasing the distrust toward Muslims. Discrimination against Muslims is known to have its long history in America.
Hostility and prejudices toward Muslims block their access to social and political life and significantly lower the level of their civic engagement. In their daily lives, Muslims face fear, hatred, and distrust in educational institutions, in airports, in cafes, in the street, and other public places.
A scary tendency of anti-Muslim violence exists in the USA. The violence threatens the safety of Muslim citizens and immigrants and religious buildings (mosques, religious centers). Even though the violence against Muslims had existed before, its amount rose dramatically after 9/11. The number of attacks on Muslim people or those believed to be Muslim increased from 28 cases in 2000 to 481 in 2001 (Cabili 29). As Erik Love puts it, “the popular American conception of terrorism was closely linked with the racialized image of Middle Easterners” (Love 202). Despite the fact that such linkage (Muslim-terrorist) was no longer considered acceptable in television and films, the popular attitude never disappeared (Love 202). 15 years after 9/11 Muslims are still associated with terrorism; for instance, Muslim school students Ahmed Mohamed and Kiera Wilmot were both called a terrorist, the former for crafting a clock “looking like a bomb” (Richinick par. 2) , and the latter for making an artificial explosion at a Science class (Klein par. 4).
The anti-Muslim political rhetoric employed by Congressmen, state legislators, and other politicians, is another form of discrimination against Muslims. The latest example is the talk of Donald Trump to “60 minutes” when he mentioned terrorism as something related to Muslims (Kaufman par. 10), among the many anti-Muslim things he said. A lot of American politicians, including George W. Bush, gave and give Islamophobic speeches, during which they mention “islamo-fascism” and “islamists” (Love 202). The attitude of American government to Muslims partially arises from their support of Israel in Middle-Eastern region. Wrong beliefs about Islam and Muslim people are approved by the authorities and spread by media (Cabili 11).
Muslim immigrants face even more hostility than those who were born in the US since they have to deal with both Islamophobia and anti-immigrant aggression. Aggression toward women in hijab is another significant issue since Muslim women are attacked on the street for wearing hijab.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, an organization struggling for Muslim civil rights, is distrusted by the American government and is considered dangerous and radical. It’s tendency to accuse all its opponents of Islamophobia raises suspicions (Hamid par. 2). Thus, the group that has a purpose to present Islamic perspective to Americans merely increases the hostility toward Muslims and is criticized by Muslims themselves. For instance, Tawfik Hamid, a doctor, a writer and an advocate for Muslim civil rights, criticized the CAIR for their frequent use of the word “Islamophobia” (Hamid par. 2-4).
Sometimes anti-Muslim discrimination is defined as racism. One the one hand, since racism deals with innate biological characteristics, while religion is not such a feature, Islamophobia is not a form of racism. On the other hand, considering the shift from the biological concept of racism to the cultural one, which has occurred in the 1980s and 1990s, Islamophobia can be recognized as racism (Rana 149). However, despite the popular belief, a Muslim is not necessarily an Arab; Muslims can be Africans, African Americans, Latin Americans, or even white. Islamophobia definitely differs from other forms of racism.
So, an interesting question arises: have the things with attitude to Muslims always been this way? According to Gottschalk and Greenberg, the portrayal of Muslims as aggressive, intolerant jihadi among Americans has already existed as early as the 17th century (Gottschalk and Greenberg 44). This fear toward Islam in European culture can be traced back to the times of the Reconquista and the Crusades. Islam was often associated with the Antichrist in colonial times (Gottschalk and Greenberg 42). Apparently anti-Muslim bigotry has a long history in America, even though the very word “Islamophobia” is quite new and is believed to have been appeared in the early 1970s. (Rana 148).
In conclusion, the discrimination of Muslims has a long history of existence in the United States. It appears as a variety of forms, such as physical violence, anti-Muslim political rhetoric, discriminating laws, anti-immigrant activity, adverse reaction to hijab, etc. The stereotypical image of a Muslim as a Middle Eastern aggressive militant can be traced back to the times of the Crusades, was found in 17th century America, and has become widely popular after 9/11.
Works Cited
Cabili, Diana Mae 2011, “Islamophobia in America”. Honors thesis, Univ. of South Florida, 2011. Web.
Gottschalk, Peter and Gabriel Greenberg. “Common Heritage, Uncommon Fear: Islamophobia in the United States and British India, 1687–1947.” Islamophobia in America: The Anatomy of Intolerance. Ed. Carl W. Ernst. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. 21-51. Print.
Hamid, Tawfik. “How to End ‘Islamophobia.’” Stand With Us. Web. 2007.
Kaufman, Eric Scott. “Donald Trump defends Islamophobia: ‘People who knocked down the World Trade Center didn’t fly back to Sweden.’” Salon. Web. 2015.
Klein, Rebecca. “Kiera Wilmot, Teen Arrested In Botched Science Experiment, Haunted By Felony Record.” Huffington Post. Web. 2014.
Love, Erik. “Confronting Islamophobia in the United States: Framing Civil Rights Activism Among Middle Eastern Americans.” Anti-Muslim Prejudice: Past and Present. Ed. Maleiha Malik. New York: Routledge, 2010. 191-215. Print.
Rana, Junaid. “The Story of Islamophobia.” Souls: A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture, and Society 9.2 (2007): 148-161. Print.
Richinick, Michele. “Ahmed Mohamed, Muslim Teen Arrested for Homemade Clock, Withdraws From His Texas School.” Newsweek. Web. 2015.