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Pico Lyer, writer of The Terminal Check was an Indian who was born in England and raised mostly in the United States of America. Lyer has chosen to live in Japan for about twenty years, and still receives questioning while at the airport. Chronicle Editorial Boards, The Stigma of Being Muslim in America, talks about how Muslims in America are being murdered all the time because of the color of their skin. Both the editorial, The Stigma of Being Muslim in America and the story, The Terminal Check use personal experience and facts about the population of the world as a whole to show the stigma of being a Muslim, Arabian, or any ethnicity from the Middle East. All these shootings and personal events prove that not only Americans fear people from …show more content…
In the encounter, he was faced with racial profiling at its finest. There he was, sitting calmly, just drinking his tea when he was approached and asked to show his passport. When they saw he was British, they wanted to know why he was in Japan, and also what his phone number and address was so that "If there is some unfortunate incident, some terrorist attack, then we will know you did it", one of the police officers explains (Lyre 440). Lyre was by no means a terrorist, yet because of the color of his skin he was ridiculed, wrongfully accused, and put down. While the opening paragraph of The Stigma of Being Muslim in America talks about the Chapel Hill shooting where three young Muslim students were shot and killed and also how the Quba Islamic Institute chose to forgive a man who burned down their gathering place. So here is a culture that comes to America to study and learn here in America and they are getting shot for just living their lives. Their gathering places are being burned down, and the people doing it are being forgiven for it …show more content…
They are a reminder of America’s long and deeply ambivalent history with Islam, Arabs, and the Middle East.” (Makdisi 1). Makdisi feels that the fear of Muslims was not always there; stating that Thomas Jefferson read the Quran and was very interested in the religion. Protestant missionaries wanted to save and convert the people that practiced Islam; the missionaries did not fear Muslims or Arabs (Makdisi 1). Makdisi goes on to say that the fear of Muslims did not start until the end of the 20th century mainly because the new wave of Immigration in the 1960’s. Makdisi says, “rather, the stigmatization of Arabs and Muslims occurred principally because of the politics in the Middle East and because of the enormously consequential United States role in the region” (Makdisi 1). Makdisi blames the United States ' involvement and support in Israel and states that the Iranian hostage situation was "similarly a direct response to the United States support for t he Shah of Iran” (Makdisi 1). Makdisi argues that the people of the United States were hurt by the policies our own country had in place. Both Lyre and Makdisi agree that the attacks on September 11th, 2001 only reinforced the stigma that was there and make it easier for the world to view all Muslims, Arabs, and all people from the Middle East in a negative
the prejudice, hate and violence that seem to be so deeply entrenched in America's multiracial culture and history of imperialism, Takaki does offer us hope. Just as literature has the power to construct racial systems, so it also has the power to refute and transcend them… The pen is in our hands.
Amin Ahmad was born in Calcutta, India. He now lives in Washington D.C. as a published author and has had some of his work appear in such prestigious journals as The Harvard Review (1). Knowing the intelligence and high credibility of the author makes his argument more substantial. Over the years he has built himself up in spite of being an immigrant. Ahmad is no longer looked down upon, because he has worked hard for his position in society. However he still feels the burden of discrimination when people judge him before they learn more than just his skin color. If no one takes the time to learn about his success and only look at the color of his skin or the looks of his passport then all of his hard work is for nothing. Ahmad did not let the world’s hate keep him from living his dream. He got passed the poverty and judgment to pursue his education and make something of his self. Not only is this inspiring; it is heat-warming. It is as if he is proving everyone who ever doubted him wrong. Everyone who looked down upon him with a watchful eye or whispered behind his back should be sulking in their seats.
From the beginning of the speech X tells the audience that his religion is Islam and that he is a muslim, but then proceeds to tell his audience that his religious preference has no ill effect on his passion for fighting for equality. Another part of the speech that builds his credibility is when he mentions that the audience and himself have the same problem. In his speech he says “They don’t hang you because you’re because a Baptist, they hang you ‘cause you’re black. They don’t attack me because I’m a Muslim, they attack me ‘cause I’m black.” This builds his credibility because he is relating to his audience over a common problem. The common problem is them being darker complected,or black, and being treated unfairly by lighter skin, or white,
Mr. Lajvardi was also an immigrant, but was from Iran, he later received his U.S. citizenship at the age of nineteen. Mr. Lajvardi was not noticed much in school, but when news broke out that a revolution had erupted in Iran, and American hostage were taken, all his classmates suddenly started to pay attention to him and heckle him. His parents, who were respected doctors in their town, were also being subjected to this stereotyping, many businesses in the town had put up “NO IRANIANS” signs in their windows, and this was spreading all across the country. By Stereotyping people based on their race, we are subjecting them to cruelty that they do not deserve, solely based on actions that reflect only a few people of that whole
In this article, Kasam explains her experience being a Muslim American on a college campus and the challenges she her and fellow Muslims face on campus. She explains how she is a club leader at Quinnipiac University for a Muslim group. She claims that there is not a lot of Muslims who attend that University. She also believes that many Muslims at the school are afraid of coming out and telling other people on campus that they are Muslims; keeping a low profile. She provides statistics on hate crimes against Muslims around the world, and she also expresses her concern to her Muslim friends on campus. This article was published in the College Xpress for mainly college students to view. Kasam is a staff writer for the Quinnipiac Chronicle who mainly writes stories about incidents on and around Quinnipiac University. This article will help me explain the various problems that Muslim students around college campuses face
The support and awareness that is offered also serves as psychological help as well. Hemant Wadhwani, president of the Asian American Political Coalition says, "Expressing solidarity helps counter the feelings victims of bias crimes often have of being rejected and different culturally."(Crouse) This kind of negative racial action can have a real impact on the human mind and can definitely affect the Sikh American community. When they Sikh Americans see th...
Harris, Colin. "Why Do We Fear Others Who Are Not Like Us?” Ethnics Daily, 20 June
For a second, the U.S. stood still. Looking up at the towers, one can only imagine the calm before the storm in the moment when thousands of pounds of steel went hurdling into its once smooth, glassy frame. People ran around screaming and rubble fell as the massive metal structure folded in on itself like an accordion. Wounded and limping from the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, America carried on, not without anger and fear against a group of innocent Americans, Muslim Americans. Nietzsche’s error of imaginary cause is present in the treatment of Muslim Americans since 9/11 through prejudice in the media, disregard of Muslim civil liberties, racial profiling, violence, disrespect, and the lack of truthful public information about Islam. In this case, the imaginary cause against Muslims is terrorism. The wound has healed in the heart of the U.S. but the aching throb of terrorism continues to distress citizens every day.
Targets of suspicion: the impact of post-9/11 policies on Muslims, Arabs and South Asians in the US. (2004, May 1). Retrieved from http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/special-reports/targets-suspicion-impact-post-911-policies-muslims-arabs-and-south-asians-us
Islam in America has historically been misunderstood, and this is due to the misconception of culture and religion as well as lack of education and incorrect portrayal in the media, which gives a skewed idea of Islam. Especially in the United States, Islam has been seen as the “terrorist religion” or a religion for the extremists and a religion in which freedom is not an option. Among the countless misconceptions, the basis of stereotypes by Americans is due to the mix up between religion and culture. Furthermore, the media only fuels fire to these misunderstandings and lack of factual information about Islam causing Americans to lash out on American Muslims without reason.
Americans felt rage towards those with Middle-Eastern decent, especially after the September 11 terrorist attack. The audio of Shirley Jahad in Anti-Muslim Hate Crimes, reports of people who have faced acts of force and threats the early weeks after September 11, because they appear to be Arabic or are Arabic. There are scores of reports of violence who are or who look Arabic. For example, in San Diego a Sikh 51 year old woman, Sorhan Balar was stopped at a light when a man opened her car door and said “this is what you get for what you people have done to us.” She was hit on the head. Even though she ducked, she still received a cut on her head. The backlashes towards Arab-Americans were a way for Americans to vent. Some have taken patriotism to an excessive level after the terrorist attacks that brought down the World Trade Center towers.
How can you tell apart a terrorist or a thug from a regular working member of society? Just because someone dresses or looks a certain way does not determine who they are as a person. After the 9/11 attacks that took place many Americans started to fear and dislike anyone who looked remotely Middle Eastern or dressed in hijabs and turbans. Your typical white American family would most likely never have to experience being stopped and questioned when they are traveling through the airport. As a nation, we are generalizing and discriminating between these people simply because of how they look which makes us no better than how we were years ago during the civil rights movement. In the story “The Terminal Check” by Pico Iyer, Iyer describes his encounters in the airport as a British born Indian. He had one encounter in the O...
In the first scene we observe a Muslim man inside a firearm store, attempting to buy a gun. The owner is a white Caucasian male that presents a negative attitude towards the customer because of his Muslim background. This feeling triggers in the owner, negative attitudes based on the assimilation and stereotypes with the Muslim race. Being immediately associated with the Al Qaeda terrorist group, which was responsible for suicidal bombers that have killed thousand of Americans.
Muhammad Ali, a famous boxer, once said, “Hating People because of their color is wrong. And it doesn’t matter which color does the hating. I’s just plain wrong” (Goodreads, 2015). For many centuries, ethnic conflict between the humans have existed immortally due the never changing differences of culture and values, spinning the cycle of war. Fortunately, some have ended however some still remain immortal in the eyes of those who have experience struggle to this date. The lack of awareness of problems in a cultural crisis concerning those who fall victim to a system and society that discriminates and alienates. With assistance of Critical Race Theory, this essay will examine how the role of race with has affected has caused consequences within the lives of marginalized groups within society through the lives and their relationship with those in their communities.
F. Hasan, Asma Gull (2000). American Muslims; The New Generation. New York. The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc.