People are like, “Aah! What are they saying?” Just “God is good!” Normal religion stuff!" This is the a spot on representation of how a majority of Americans are when they hear I am a Muslim or my name is Osama. For the past, i don't know how many, years when ever I tell someone my name is Osama or I am a Muslim, the first response is a joke about my name, or a flash of fear in their eyes on what I would do. Thankfully I never had the experience of anyone attacking me, but I know fellow classmates in Michigan, (where I grew up) that felt threatened of their lives because they were outside. During the Obama administration, this incidents were less often, but ever since Trump took office, it feels like almost every week, you can find an incident where someone was attacked or harassed for being Muslim. This is for two main reasons I see, one is Trump seems to support this type of discrimination, and two, the media doesn't help make people feel safe about Muslims. One of Trump's accomplishments in his presidency was his "Muslim ban" which really seemed like a pointless ban. He tried to ban people from Muslim countries to enter America, and all I thought during that was, what stops them from flying to a different country and then entering America. But because he kept talking about the ban, and how we need to stop Muslims from entering the country, that stuck in people's head on Muslims are bad. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the amount of anti Muslim groups quardrupled during 2016. Also multiple law organization noticed within the past year that hate crimes are spiking up. Also the media doesn't help, like Aziz said on SNL. If there is an evil organization group in the film, very likely that it is Arab or Islam based. This is slowly changing, but only because director have taken chances with some Middle East and Asian actor and they are now successful and they can campaign for diverse villains and point out the racism involved making a Muslim the villian. Hopefully this shift in media can help people see how Islam and terrorism are not synonyms, but until people start learning about Islam and not relying on what just the media says, hate crimes and the War on Terror will never truely end.
Friday, August 4, 2017
Blog #7: Islamophobia
In this country, ever since 9/11, Americans have been afraid of what they don't know. That is only natural, humans have evolved due to this trait and has save people in different scenarios. But when it comes to fear of a religion, that leads to more problems then solutions. Thanks to the media, when people hear of Islam, all they think is terrorist and repressive government. Aziz Ansari said it perfectly in his SNL monologue on January 21, 2017, "... Because any time they watch movies, and TV shows, and a character is Arabic, or they’re praying or something like that, that scary-ass music from Homeland is underneath it, it’s terrifying!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
In an editorial posted by USA seen from a Paki, author Osama Imran ridicules the national government as well as Donald Trump by attacking the religious discrimination against Islam. He additionally incorporates personal anecdotes to highlight the problem and how it affects common citizens.
ReplyDeleteImran begins his argument by stating that ever since 9/11 Americans have become more afraid of religions, specifically Islam. The media contributes to these fears by bombarding individuals with gruesome news and images depicting attacks which link Islam to terrorism and oppression. The author could of strengthened their argument by adding opinion polls here. These polls can reveal Americans’ fear and bias towards Muslims. Statistics could also be used to emphasize the growing percentage of individuals who fear the religion and its followers. The author then introduces personal experiences on how Islamophobia has affected them and the people they know. Imran recalls how a majority of Americans he has met often joke or become frightful when they learn that his name is Osama; he also states that many of his fellow classmates felt threatened and feared for their lives simply because they were Muslim. These anecdotes support the author's central claim because it reveals that Islamophobia hurts common individuals and infringes upon their rights. Discriminating against Islam is an issue because it undermines American core values that state that each and all citizens have the freedom to practice their own beliefs.
Furthermore, the author claims that after the election of Donald Trump for president, the problem has become much worse. The “Muslim ban” has created discrimination which “seems pointless” and prevents Muslims from entering the country. The argument could of been better supported if the author included more info, such as which countries were included in ban as well as statistics on how many people are affected by it. By placing the travel bans Trump further portrays Muslims as dangerous and should be avoided. Imran also states that anti Muslims groups have quadrupled in the last year and hate crimes have increased at an alarming rate. Once again, the use of specific statistics would solidify the argument because numbers are objective. The last point Imran makes is that the media also contributes to Islamophobia because often times if there's an “evil organization” or a “villain” in the film, it is likely that they are Arab or Islam based. I agree with this statement, but I would like to see specific examples of films where this is the case.
All in all, I agree with Imran’s opinion. Trump’s decisions are not in the best interest of the country and his policies seem to further increase discrimination against Muslims. The editorial is constructed well, and their seems to be few flaws in the reasoning. The commentary, however, could have been strengthened by citing the information through hyperlinks. America must properly educate themselves rather than relying on what Trump or the media says about Muslims and Islam. The hate and discrimination violates the First Amendment and immediate action must be taken in order to protect every citizen’s rights.
After reading this editorial, I agree with Osama’s argument on Islamophobia. Whenever Islam is mentioned on the media, it is often linked with terrorism. The media helps in spreading bad news about Islam and does not focus on the good side. In Osama’s argument, he mentions the issue of Islamophobia spreading because the media often portrays Islam as something to be scared of. He effectively states the effects of the misuse of media, especially when it comes to educating people. People are likely to believe what they hear from the media, and when the media spreads news that Islam is linked to terrorism, they will believe it. Whether it be a movie or a news article, they will associate a Muslim with scary music or the shouting of “Allahu akbar!”, which only means “god is great!”.
ReplyDeleteOsama says as a Muslim himself, people often give him a negative response because they are taught by the media to associate a Muslim with a terrorist. I agree with Osama because as a Muslim myself, I have experienced the hate firsthand. If I am seen in public with my headscarf, I receive disapproving looks as well as people pulling their kids to get away from me. Their lack of knowledge on Islam causes them to think that I am a terrorist. It is important to inform the public on Islam so they know that it is a peaceful religion that is misrepresented.
I agree with Osama when he argues that President Donald Trump is making matters worse for Muslims because his attitude towards the religion is increasing the people's fear of it. Osama says that the passing of the “Muslim ban” has caused many more people to think that Islam is a terrifying religion. As he is an authority figure in America, people are likely to listen to what he has to say. His disapproval for Islam is publicly spread through the media, which enforces the idea of terrorism and Islam as the same. Osama also uses an article that shows the statistics of how much anti Muslim attacks has increased in the past year.
In the history of America, there has always been the “other group” that has experienced exclusion or resentment, which includes the African American, Catholics, and Japanese immigrants. In this era and time, Muslims is now one of the “other groups” that have experienced an increase in discrimination and exclusion. Osama states that this is slowly changing because the use of Muslims being portrayed as villains in films has changed, which can hopefully reinforce the idea that Islam does not mean terrorism. I agree with this statement, and I hope that we can use the media to educate people on the truth about Islam and get rid of their fear.