Islamophobia: The Next Hazing
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confusingly claims that Islamophobia is both exaggerated and warranted,
there is no doubt that discrimination against Muslim Americans exists and
that fear mongering is at new heights. Couple that with the fact that the United
States has a proven history of placing different minority groups in the “hot
seat” of discrimination and it is a rough road right now for the moderate
American Muslim.
Dar, a senior at UW-Madison whose parents are Pakistani-born, says that
while Madison has been an overall very accepting and welcoming to
Muslims, MSA has still received a number of email threats along the tone of
“you don’t belong here,” etc. Nationally, anti-Muslim sentiment has taken on
many different forms. An advertisement that is ripe with fear mongering by
Republican House candidate Renee Ellmers embodies the very ignorant idea
that all Muslims are terrorists. A very ominous narrator depicts Islam
conquering cities, say in 638 A.D. for example, and building “victory
mosques.” “The terrorists haven’t won and we should tell them in plain
English, no, there will never be a mosque at Ground Zero.”
Surely, Park51 has sparked emotions and debate and everyone has the
right to speak out for or against the community center. Yet, Ellmers goes much
further: she outright labels a peaceful American Muslim group as terrorists
and draws references to ancient battles (maybe we should research battles in
the name of Christianity to be fair). Let’s not forget the fact that she is running
in North Carolina and essentially has no say in whether the community center
is built or not built. It appears Islamophobia has become one of her campaign
tools.
Then there is Pamela Geller, dubbed the “Queen of Muslim Bashers,” who
leads the group “Stop the Islamization of America.” She is one of the biggest
opponents to Park51 and has cooked up a number of conspiracy theories
about the proposed community center (among many other things.)
The aforementioned, of course, are extreme in their beliefs. But what about the
average American. The polls are showing that negative feelings towards
Islam are on the rise. After 9/11, the Pew Research Center says that 59
percent of Americans had a favorable view of Islam, today that number is only
30 percent. Likewise, a 2006 Washington Post-ABC News poll found that, at
that time, 46 percent of Americans had a negative few of Islam (seven percent
higher than after 9/11.)
Islam, it seems, is taking the fall for its extremists. Dar calls it a “crazed
political climate.”
“Fear, unfortunately, is always a great motivator,” Dar says.
Yet, Dar says it is important for American Muslims not to ignore the
condition of the Muslim world today.
“Bad things happen there (in certain Muslim countries),” Dar says. “There
are atrocities going on there. It is important that Muslims stand up against
that. It takes real courage to do so.”
Yet, he also stresses that moderate American Muslims are, indeed,
consistently speaking out against the actions of extremists in the Muslim
world. Maybe they are expected to do this too much.
“The fact that we have to state the fact, ‘hey we’re normal,’ is embarrassing,”
he says. “Muslim leaders have spoken out time and time again against
extremism. It’s a bit of a double standard. Muslims are probably the only group
that you can openly vilify and nobody will say anything about it. It’s almost like
people are willing to accept that being Muslim is not the most desirable
thing.”
Still, Dar hopes that the sentiment towards Muslims in America will
improve. He works toward this in very simple, yet meaningful ways, by just
talking face to face with people and working towards creating understanding
of Islam and its followers. MSA also hosts a number of interfaith events and
dialogue in the hopes of spreading understanding.
“I don’t think we are going to end this sentiment overnight,” Dar says. “It’s
going to take a lot of work by a lot of Muslims.”
It will also take a lot of work by Americans-be they black, white, Asian,
Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Pagan, gay, straight, old, young and so
forth. The time-honored tradition of targeting certain groups for discrimination
and using fear mongering as a tactic for doing so, is nothing for Americans to
honor. Of course, we can always turn the TV off when fear mongers are
sensationalized for news stories and surround ourselves with those many
Americans who care for their neighbors, friends and family; who denounce
discrimination; and who would never use fear-based tactics to manipulate.
there is no doubt that discrimination against Muslim Americans exists and
that fear mongering is at new heights. Couple that with the fact that the United
States has a proven history of placing different minority groups in the “hot
seat” of discrimination and it is a rough road right now for the moderate
American Muslim.
Dar, a senior at UW-Madison whose parents are Pakistani-born, says that
while Madison has been an overall very accepting and welcoming to
Muslims, MSA has still received a number of email threats along the tone of
“you don’t belong here,” etc. Nationally, anti-Muslim sentiment has taken on
many different forms. An advertisement that is ripe with fear mongering by
Republican House candidate Renee Ellmers embodies the very ignorant idea
that all Muslims are terrorists. A very ominous narrator depicts Islam
conquering cities, say in 638 A.D. for example, and building “victory
mosques.” “The terrorists haven’t won and we should tell them in plain
English, no, there will never be a mosque at Ground Zero.”
Surely, Park51 has sparked emotions and debate and everyone has the
right to speak out for or against the community center. Yet, Ellmers goes much
further: she outright labels a peaceful American Muslim group as terrorists
and draws references to ancient battles (maybe we should research battles in
the name of Christianity to be fair). Let’s not forget the fact that she is running
in North Carolina and essentially has no say in whether the community center
is built or not built. It appears Islamophobia has become one of her campaign
tools.
Then there is Pamela Geller, dubbed the “Queen of Muslim Bashers,” who
leads the group “Stop the Islamization of America.” She is one of the biggest
opponents to Park51 and has cooked up a number of conspiracy theories
about the proposed community center (among many other things.)
The aforementioned, of course, are extreme in their beliefs. But what about the
average American. The polls are showing that negative feelings towards
Islam are on the rise. After 9/11, the Pew Research Center says that 59
percent of Americans had a favorable view of Islam, today that number is only
30 percent. Likewise, a 2006 Washington Post-ABC News poll found that, at
that time, 46 percent of Americans had a negative few of Islam (seven percent
higher than after 9/11.)
Islam, it seems, is taking the fall for its extremists. Dar calls it a “crazed
political climate.”
“Fear, unfortunately, is always a great motivator,” Dar says.
Yet, Dar says it is important for American Muslims not to ignore the
condition of the Muslim world today.
“Bad things happen there (in certain Muslim countries),” Dar says. “There
are atrocities going on there. It is important that Muslims stand up against
that. It takes real courage to do so.”
Yet, he also stresses that moderate American Muslims are, indeed,
consistently speaking out against the actions of extremists in the Muslim
world. Maybe they are expected to do this too much.
“The fact that we have to state the fact, ‘hey we’re normal,’ is embarrassing,”
he says. “Muslim leaders have spoken out time and time again against
extremism. It’s a bit of a double standard. Muslims are probably the only group
that you can openly vilify and nobody will say anything about it. It’s almost like
people are willing to accept that being Muslim is not the most desirable
thing.”
Still, Dar hopes that the sentiment towards Muslims in America will
improve. He works toward this in very simple, yet meaningful ways, by just
talking face to face with people and working towards creating understanding
of Islam and its followers. MSA also hosts a number of interfaith events and
dialogue in the hopes of spreading understanding.
“I don’t think we are going to end this sentiment overnight,” Dar says. “It’s
going to take a lot of work by a lot of Muslims.”
It will also take a lot of work by Americans-be they black, white, Asian,
Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Pagan, gay, straight, old, young and so
forth. The time-honored tradition of targeting certain groups for discrimination
and using fear mongering as a tactic for doing so, is nothing for Americans to
honor. Of course, we can always turn the TV off when fear mongers are
sensationalized for news stories and surround ourselves with those many
Americans who care for their neighbors, friends and family; who denounce
discrimination; and who would never use fear-based tactics to manipulate.
Laura Salinger is
a freelance
writer based in
Madison, Wis.
a freelance
writer based in
Madison, Wis.
By Laura Salinger
“Islamophobia must be recognized for what it is, a
social cancer as unacceptable as anti-Semitism, a
threat to the very fabric of our democratic, pluralistic
way of life.” --John Esposito
Terry Jones. Just the name alone produces an
uncomfortable shudder and the notion of what media
can spur on when it plasters the airwaves with the
image of a man who was once largely unknown.
Without such glaring media attention, the atrocious and
ignorant act of burning Qurans may have remained just
the act of a loony pastor and his small handful of
followers. Abominable, yes. But without the eyes of the
world on these reckless actions, it would have taken
on a very different meaning had it remained out of the
American mainstream media and then the global stage.
Though unable to create a sizable congregation,
Pastor Terry Jones managed to create uproar and
capitalize on the anti-Muslim frenzy that sits ominously
at the fringes of our society and at the forefront of
current media coverage. Islamophobia (despite the fact
“Islamophobia must be recognized for what it is, a
social cancer as unacceptable as anti-Semitism, a
threat to the very fabric of our democratic, pluralistic
way of life.” --John Esposito
Terry Jones. Just the name alone produces an
uncomfortable shudder and the notion of what media
can spur on when it plasters the airwaves with the
image of a man who was once largely unknown.
Without such glaring media attention, the atrocious and
ignorant act of burning Qurans may have remained just
the act of a loony pastor and his small handful of
followers. Abominable, yes. But without the eyes of the
world on these reckless actions, it would have taken
on a very different meaning had it remained out of the
American mainstream media and then the global stage.
Though unable to create a sizable congregation,
Pastor Terry Jones managed to create uproar and
capitalize on the anti-Muslim frenzy that sits ominously
at the fringes of our society and at the forefront of
current media coverage. Islamophobia (despite the fact
that spell check doesn’t like it) is a term consistently batted around in the American media today and has now become, some say, the
newest American irrational fear. The fact that Pastor Jones could incite such a worldwide reaction is scary, at best. While many
moderate thinkers say ignore the likes of Jones (hopefully he goes away for good), it is impossible to ignore the growing anti-Muslim
sentiments that plague this great country, a based on the foundation of freedom of religion.
For Muslim student leader Rashid Dar, president of the Muslim Students Association at UW-Madison, this notion of Islamophobia,
or rather a fear of any minority group, is nothing new when looking back on American treatment of minorities.
“America hazes its minority groups before including them,” he says. “I hope sometime in the near future we can be included in
‘normal’ America.”
While FOX News has speculated that Islamophobia is a media myth and divisive figure and alleged Islamophobe Daniel Pipes
newest American irrational fear. The fact that Pastor Jones could incite such a worldwide reaction is scary, at best. While many
moderate thinkers say ignore the likes of Jones (hopefully he goes away for good), it is impossible to ignore the growing anti-Muslim
sentiments that plague this great country, a based on the foundation of freedom of religion.
For Muslim student leader Rashid Dar, president of the Muslim Students Association at UW-Madison, this notion of Islamophobia,
or rather a fear of any minority group, is nothing new when looking back on American treatment of minorities.
“America hazes its minority groups before including them,” he says. “I hope sometime in the near future we can be included in
‘normal’ America.”
While FOX News has speculated that Islamophobia is a media myth and divisive figure and alleged Islamophobe Daniel Pipes