The problem of Islamophobia
While using any of the international terminals in the airport, have you ever noticed a form of discrimination? Instead, have you ever seen someone being given ‘special’ treatment by the NTSA? I have. Last thanksgiving holiday I decided to visit my grandparents in China. At the airport, as we awaited the security check, there were three Arab men in their traditional attire in from of me in the queue. As they approached their turn, one of the men remarked that it was about that time. Having watched several segments in late-night shows, I had an idea of what they were talking about. After a few minutes of a thorough search, they were directed to another room. The men were giggling as though this was not the first time this was happening to them. The process got me thinking of the constant fear and discrimination that the community of Muslim Americans experience in their daily activities in the United States. The problem of Islamophobia was developed through the government and media relation of Islamism with terrorism; however, it is an indication of violation of freedom and affects the Muslim community’s physical, mental and emotional wellbeing; therefore, should be corrected by creating laws that govern the imagery used in representing Muslims in movies and news although lesser solutions such as change of dressing and election of Muslim leaders can help in fighting the bias and allowing the Muslim community to avoid harassment.
The problem of Islamophobia is related to the constant discrimination based on practicing Islam religion. The media and leaders with bipartisan ideals have used the issue of the religion to divide the people in favor of one political party over the other. According to Nesrine Malik, a reporter of the issues of the Middle East and North Africa with Guardian Newspaper, Islamophobia”type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness” (Nesrine). It is the discrimination of a person for revealing signs or characteristics that are considered and Muslim in nature. The perceived Muslimness is shown in the type of clothing such as hijabs and kanzu. In line with the definition, the Cambridge dictionary characterizes Islamophobia as “unreasonable dislike or fear of, and prejudice against, Muslims or Islam.” The dislike is based on the simple fact that a person has chosen to believe in the religion rather than other forms of religion. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
The problem of Islamophobia is serious as it affects the physical, mental, and psychological wellbeing of the members of the society. Believing in the religion has been the reason why the believers are publicly humiliated and, to the worst cases, assaulted, thus impacting on their health. Goleen Samari, a doctor of philosophy at Columbia University explains that “everyday experiences of discrimination are also associated with a wide variety of physical and mental health outcomes, such as coronary artery calcification, high blood pressure, giving birth to low-birth-weight infants, cognitive impairment, poor sleep, visceral fat, depression, psychological distress, anxiety, and mortality” (Samari 1922). In light of this, the continued experience of discrimination has an impact on the health of a person. The case of constant harassment of Muslims in America has increased notably, especially in light of 9/11. The attack on the twin towers was directly linked to the terrorist sects that claim to act according to the teachings in the Quran. The reference of the terrorist groups as part of the religion led to the constant harassment and torture of the members of the religion in public spaces. As a result of the continuous harassment, Muslim Americans are withdrawing from society, thus increasing psychological challenges. The suffering of the group of humans should be challenged as it places a burden of treatment and instability in society. According to the World Health Organization report in 2003, “In the United States, mental illness is considered responsible for an estimated 59% of the economic costs deriving from injury or illness-related loss of productivity, followed by alcohol abuse at 34%” (19). Therefore. The treatment and lack of productivity lead to a burden in society. We should all care as the constant harassment and discrimination of the Muslim Americans has an indirect impact on the economy and taxpayers.
Moreover, we should be concerned with the harassment of the Muslim community as it shows disregard for the rights and freedom of the people, which might affect the rest of the society if not rectified. The constant harassment of the Muslim Americans in the democratic nation expresses the disregard for the law and rights by the government. Moreover, the continual indifference and lack of action against the perpetrators of the hate crimes reveals the acceptance of discrimination in society by law enforcement. As Muslim Advocates, an organization fighting for equal treatment of the Muslim community highlight in a press statement, “American Muslims should not have to face harassment and death threats for becoming public servants. America is a place of religious freedom for all people—including Muslims—and Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib” (Muslim Advocates). Thus, it is the right of Muslim Americans like any other member of society to express their rights and pursue public office. The press conference calls on all members of the community to make a point of fighting the forms of discrimination as it is a social vice (Muslim Advocates). The fight against discrimination is the social responsibility of all members of the society as it reflects on the inability of the government to protect you if your rights were also violated. As members of the American community, standing up against these vices should be a priority as it shows the possibility of the government to violate personal rights based on race, religion, and sexuality, to mention but a few. It is a case of today; it is the Muslim community, and tomorrow might be you.
Although Islamophobia is an indication of the disregard for human rights and causes mental illness, the opposing argument is that the case of Islamophobia is a social construct by the left-wing to express the danger of democracy and is not as bad as the media tries to purport. The opposing group argues that, the issue of Islamophobia is based on the political agenda of the left-wing that scares people on their rights being violated. The manner in which Islamophobia is presented in the political sphere created the concept that the rights of the people are at stake. As a result, causing the massive need to protect the group of people by choosing left-wing leaders. Imran Awan, deputy director of the Centre for Applied Criminology at Birmingham City University, writes in a collaborate piece with CNN that, “we are seeing British Muslims as a group suffer as a result of bad journalism that fuels extremist and far-right fringe groups such as Anjem Choudary and Muslims for Crusades” (Awan). The case of Islamophobia has been turned into a case of the far righters and left-wingers. As the far-right indicates the religion as being responsible for the current terrorist attack and incitement of people to attack, the far left creates an extreme analysis of the constant routines. The refutation argument explains that islamophobia issues have become a political pointer for the far left. The problem of the continual harassment of the Muslim community is socially constructed issues to cause panic and hatred towards the government. The increased contempt for one wing of the political divide aids in the advancement of the political aspirations of the other groups. As a result, the increased talk and emphasis on Islamophobia is only a tool used by the left-wing of politics.
In line with the refutation of the case, a weak solution for the crisis is a change of the characteristics and clothing that aid in public identification of religion. The transformation of the Muslim characteristic would reduce the constant harassment they experience in the public spaces. The weak solution is that if Muslims stopped covering their head and faces, they would not be identified as Muslims. This would not be harassed. The Muslim Americans, as well as the followers of the religion in other parts of the country, wear defining clothes such as hijabs, kanzu, and long black dresses for the women. The religion requires the women to cover their bodies entirely as the men have distinctive clothes of worship, especially on Fridays, which are the main worship days. According to a report analyzed by Abigail Hauslohner, a national reporter of immigration and immigration policies, “Those who appear Muslim — either because of the way they look, dress or speak — are significantly more likely to experience discrimination for being Muslim, and women overall are more likely to report discrimination than men” (Hauslohner). The dressing is the automatic identification of the religion. A more modern and acceptable method of dressing would be essential in stopping the constant harassment of the group of people. A change in the attires in public will ensure that the discrimination towards the community. However, this is a weak solution because it would mean the community is hiding rather than being proud of who they are. The expectation of the community to change their way of dressing, which is a proclamation of their belief, would not be the solution as it limits them from being free in the land of the free, United States of America.
The intermediate solution would be for the community to elect more representatives to create awareness for the challenges facing the community. One of the perpetrators of Islamophobia is the systematic injustice by the leaders. For example, the leadership of Donald Trump has been expressed as the reason for the rise of Islamophobia in the community. as Adeel Hassan, a reporter on identity and discrimination writes, “Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights group with chapters across the country, said it had recorded 1,664 hate crimes against Muslims in 2018” (Hassan). The statistic is expressed as rising considerably based on the racial and religious polices by the president. moreover, according to an incident reported by New America, an organization hoping to expose the crimes against the Muslim Americans, “All Muslims dead on 10/30,” alongside swastikas and the hashtag “MAGA,” a commonly used reference to the Trump campaign slogan.” Therefore, electing more of the Muslim American background would aid in the change of the narrative and liking for the community. However, this argument is not reliable as it would focus on electing leaders based on religion and race rather than policies. Moreover, the election of the leader would not change the imagery in the minds of people about the relation of the religion with the terrorist groups. More leaders of the Islam background will continue to be viewed as a threat to public security as people’s view of the religion does not change.
Although the change in dressing and the election of more Islam leaders would offer short term solutions, the change in the media narrative about the community in the media is a better solution. The media has created the concept of Muslim Americans as a threat to the stability of the people. As Craig Considine, a lecturer of sociology at Rice University, explains, “media determine the content and importance of Muslim identities, by which they are then shaped by racial meanings. The reaction of Americans to the genre of action-adventure film, and its increasing use of Arabs and Muslims as villains” (167). Whence, the media has created the concept of Islam being related to hatred and crimes against humanity. Moreover, the author of Islamophobia in America, C. Ernst, an analyst on the issues of discrimination explains, the development of propaganda on the celebration of the victory against the western in 9/11 in the media in 2010 (1). The different incidences express the role of the media in the creation of a bias towards the community. The image of a terrorist being linked to Islam as well as the infamous; ‘Allahu Akbar’ quote before killing millions of people has brought unnecessary hate. Therefore, educating the media and using the legislature to control the expression of the community as murders will be a better start. The solution will be implemented by creating legislation that inhibits the creation of films against the religion and the use of religious phrases. Moreover, creating stringent rules on the neutral reporting of the cases and education on correct imaging of the media will be effective. Ideally, the restrictions will be based on ensuring the concepts presented in the mass media are backed with evidence and research; thus, truth and correct presentation of the community.
The first reason why this will be a good reason is that it will break the reference to terrorism through the image of a religious person. As lecturers from Griffith University explain, “Much of what is known about Islam and Muslims in Western societies is derived from the mass media” (Rane et al., 29). Therefore, change in the media narrative will lead to an increased chance of the perception of the people. Secondly, the change of the media perspective of the Muslim Americans would mean the representation of a new image of the community, thus offering a neutral approach and understanding of the community in the future generations. The third reason why laws and education of the media would change is the fear of being held accountable for the aspect of spreading propaganda and false information. As analysts are studying the representation of Muslims in Greece and German media, explain, “One of the problems with Greek journalism is the lack of strict codes of ethics, including how to deal with hate or racist speech” (Collins and Apostolou 7). The lack of ethics is also highlighted in the reporting about the community in America. The change of people’s ideas of Muslim Americans, the introduction of a new figure, and the repercussion of the law will allow the media to spread a positive message.
Even so, the limitation of the media in telling the stories of Muslim Americans how they see fit is an infringement of their rights. In the same way that Neil Vigdor, a breaking news reporter for the New York Times, is allowed to criticize the actions of the delta airlines of Islamophobic acts, it should be criticized too. As professors at the University of Utah explain, “attention from the mass media is widely seen as critical to the success of the terrorist campaign” (Hoffman et al. 896). Thus, allowing the right-wing media to express different opinions is essential. The right-wing should be allowed to express their views of the religion and the teachings that are interpreted to represent terrorism. Moreover, the character presented in movies and entertainment production is simply for entertainment and does not incite people to hate on the Muslim American community. as a result, the education and laws restricting a different opinion on the community is against the democratic right of the media.
In conclusion, the problem of Islamophobia is a real challenge in the community. The majority of the members of the community have suffered withdrawal, thus leading to mental illness and physical challenges as well. As citizens, this is a burden on the taxpayers and illustrate a growing problem on the violation of the freedom of people. The challenge of human rights can be resolved by the wearing of less distinguishing clothes and electing more leaders. However, this is not long-lasting solutions. The change of the media will aid in the shift in the narrative improvement of the imagery of Muslim America and the identification of people spreading hate; nonetheless, this will be an infringement of people’s rights. Islamophobia is based on the increase of imagery of the members of the community as villains; thus, the change in the narrative is essential in the media.