Muslim Women and the Effects of 9/11: The Need to Understand How to Treat the Psychological Aftermath

1699 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The impact and role the media has on public perception of Muslims

Discrimination, prejudice, and racism are all terms far too similar and encountered by multiple cultures. A vast amount of individuals have experienced these different terms, unfortunately some individuals belonging to certain minority cultures experience them more often than others. After the attacks on 9/11, the Muslim culture became a major target for actions such as discrimination. The media, especially in regards to women and their attire, fueled warped views about this culture. There are beliefs that women in this culture are oppressed and forced to wear a veil, or hijab, however their views and opinions are not taken into account regarding these statements that are being portrayed through the media and its watchers who are not aware of the cultural beliefs and traditions.

After the 9/11 events occurred, people were affected in variety of ways. The social work field was and continues to be in great need due to all of those who were affected. Although everyone was affected by this event, the Muslim community faced a double conundrum post-9/11. Not only were they affected by feeling the fear, trauma, depression, and confusion as the rest of the population, they also were left to face the unfortunate hatred that was directed towards them due to what was being said in the media, and how people perceived that information. Therefore, Muslim individuals and communities, especially women who wear a veil, were faced with more discrimination and stereotyping to deal with, along with dealing with any trauma, stress, and fear that the rest of the world was feeling as well.

Although many of these women may need help in dealing with all of the different issues they were left to face, many of them did not and are not receiving ...

... middle of paper ...

...les, 51(5), 329-338. doi: 10.1023/B:SERS.0000046616.11468.cf

Hassouneh, D.M. & Kulwicki, A. (2007). Mental health, discrimination, and trauma in Arab

Muslim women living in the US: A pilot study. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 10(3), 257–262. doi:10.1080/13694670600630556

Jasperse, M., Ward, C., & Jose, P.E. (2011). Identity, perceived religious discrimination,

and psychological well-being in Muslim immigrant women. Applied Psychology. doi: 10.1111/j.1464-0597.2011.00467.x

Livengood, J., & Stodolska, M. (2004). The effects of discrimination and constraints

negotiation on leisure behavior of American Muslims in the post-September 11 America. Journal of Leisure Research, 36(2), 183-208. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Marsiglia, F. F. & Kulis, S. (2009). Diversity, Oppression & Action: Culturally grounded social

work. Chicago, IL: Lyceum Books.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Laurie Ouellette's Building The Third Wave

    680 Words  | 2 Pages

    However, we cannot completely assume this article is going to persuade all women to progress beyond these issues by uniting and devoting themselves to these underlying conflicts. Some readers may fear the impossible of completing such a great task as this because this problem has continued to linger from the 70’s into now. Overall, Laurie has accomplished a great task in showing her dedication to women’s rights and their future by delivering the problems and also giving the readers insight on how to solve them. In detail, Laurie not only explains the issues she has seen, but also she explains her personal experiences so the readers can better relate to the message she is trying to

    Read More

  • People Wearing Turbans are Stereotyped as Terrorist

    1071 Words  | 3 Pages

    The way Muslims have been treated after the 9/11 incident is very different than before. Before 9/11 there was certainly some discrimination towards Muslim Americans, but after the attacks happened, between the years 2000 and 2001, the Federal Bureau of Investigation reported a 1,700 percent increase of hate crimes against Muslim Americans (Khan & Ecklund, 2012). “While trying to adapt to the outcome of 9/11, Muslim Americans dealt with an increase in negative stereotypes spoken by the common culture, and Muslim immigrants faced more negative attitudes than any other immigrant group” (Khan & Ecklund, 2012). Since the 9/11 attacks, people who dress with a substantial resemblance to Muslims worry about the upcoming hatred and unfriendliness from people of other ethnicities (Khan & Ecklund, 2012). While listening to the media, one can hear reports of negative stereotypes towards people who resemble the Muslim religion, which may be assumed that these people are violent. Negative attitudes that Muslim Americans experience may have detrimental effects on their success in America and their success of achieving the American Dream.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Lila Abu-Lughod’s Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?

    816 Words  | 2 Pages

    Abu-Lughod, Lila. "Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections On Cultural Relativism And Its Others." American Anthropologist 104.3 (2002): 783-790. Print.

    Read More

  • Muslims and the Discrimination That Came After 9/11

    887 Words  | 2 Pages

    Following the 9/11 attacks, classmates, employers, and to a certain level the US government have shown bias against the Muslim religion. Muslims working in the US have been under fire. Hundreds of Muslims have been discharges and harassed by their employers based on their faith since the attacks took place. Trans State Airlines laid off First Officer Mohammed Hussein because of his Arabic appearance and Islamic beliefs. Hussein had an exceptional work history and was unable to reason with the charges which caused him to be laid off. Muslims going to school throughout the United States have also encountered discrimination. School children of Middle Eastern origin have been beaten and abused by their own classmates. An Iraqi boy that happened to be named Osama was repeatedly harassed because of his name. The Unites States government has also been antagonistic towards the Islam religion since the attacks took place. Some Muslims applying for citizenship had their background checks illegally deferred. Federal raids aimed at “terrorists” in the US targeted people recognized as Muslim leaders. None of these Muslims had any connection terrorism. One of them, Dr. Al Alwani, was an outspoken critic of extremism and ...

    Read More

  • Racial Bias against the Muslim-Americans in our community

    1785 Words  | 4 Pages

    As the racial targeting, hate-crime increased, racial discrimination bullying, becoming victims of prejudice, and having unequal publicity because of bias racial after 9/11 towards the Islam-Americans. It was often proven how Islam-Americans have become pariahs in all religion that are in the categories of Islam, because of the similarity in the image that a Sikh-American or Muslim-American holds. However this bias view in society towards the Islamic-American is certainly wrong because it has created an unfair environment in communities for them which leads them to become and feel pariahs, as it should be change by speaking up, changing the way we socialize around the topic as it may spread.

    Read More

  • The Psychological Impact of Terrorist Attacks

    2449 Words  | 5 Pages

    Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress disorder (ASD) are two stress disorders that occur after a traumatizing experience. PTSD is defined as a disorder that follows a distressing event outside the range of normal human experience and that is characterized by features such as intense fear, avoidance of stimuli associated with the event, and reliving the event. Acute stress disorder is defined as a disorder that is characterized by feelings of anxiety and helplessness and caused by a traumatic event. It also usually occurs within a month of the event and lasts from 2 days to 4 weeks. Dealing with experiences like the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 and the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks in 2001 were difficult for people and easily classified as traumatizing experiences. For times like these when a large number of people experience a traumatizing experience and will probably develop PTSD or ASD, there is no precedent for how to treat them. The only tool that can be used at these times is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), to classify the disorder. No real solution exists for a treatment process for an incident of this scale. The three journal articles I will be using show statistical data about how people dealt with these experiences and what percent of them developed PTSD or ASD. They also show how many people showed signs of these disorders but never contacted a professional to help treat it. Even as far away as Brussels, expatriates of the United States felt the effects of the attacks of September 11th.

    Read More

  • Lucy Diggs Slowe: Equal Rights For Women Of Black Women

    1044 Words  | 3 Pages

    There were many times during my research for this topic that I became emotional reading the stories of these women who had to endure the pain and the ridicule of people telling them they were not worthy, they were less than, when they knew they were capable of so much and if given the chance they would

    Read More

  • Islam in America

    2522 Words  | 6 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Discrimination In The Workplace Essay

    1638 Words  | 4 Pages

    Discrimination against people due to their color has always been recognized in the workforce and has been dealt with accordingly by the law. It used to be the most well-known form of discrimination within the workforce. Today most companies have begun stating that they adhere to the law of equal employment opportunities for everyone, but them stating it is completely different to them actually practicing what they preach. For example, there is one ethnic group who companies have begun discriminating against since the attack of 911 on the twin towers. Muslims have been singled out as the bad guys by many, thus they have been treated as such. There was a case in which Ali Aboubaker, 56, was bullied and discriminated against at work due to his religion, race, and most importantly appearance. He kept a long beard that was long and unkempt, which resembled those worn by men from Afghanistan. The company seemed to forget that Ali had four college degrees and only seemed to pay attention to his physical demeanor. At times it was even noted that his coworkers called him a terrorist in front of his manager, and they were never reprimanded for it. Due to his appea...

    Read More

  • The Misconceptions About Women in Islam

    1311 Words  | 3 Pages

    While people in the west think that women in Islam are oppressed, they do not know that Islam liberated women from oppression. There are many people who have opinions about the religion of Islam, but mostly about the women who follow it. Westerners have this idea that women in Islam are disrespected, mistreated and oppressed. In actuality, these allegations are incorrect. Women in Islam have rights and are not oppressed. The veil is widely misunderstood and many do not know what it represents. In many ways, men and women are equal as much as they are not; and this is in every religion.

    Read More

  • Massive Anti-Islam Sentiment in the United States

    3211 Words  | 7 Pages

    Islam is a monotheistic religion, centered around the teachings of the Qu’ran and serving Allah (meaning God in Arabic). However, this Abrahamic religion has been harshly discriminated against in the United States for years. Most prominently throughout the last twelve years, post September 11th, 2001. Unfortunately, issues such as socialization through the media, power distribution, religious ignorance, stereotyping and visible differences have contributed to the ill attitudes towards Muslims. This paper will examine how Americans have been socialized in islamophobia within the United States.

    Read More

  • Muslim Bag Experiment

    1538 Words  | 4 Pages

    Racism is a noun with a long history behind it. As described in the dictionary, it is the hatred or intolerance of another race but not even this simple definition can truly capture the nature and actions that follow its prejudice. As demonstrated in news and on social media, one can clearly see that, even within our very developed country, there are still many who carry animosity for other ethnicities and continue to discriminate those associated. One group, in particular, that is being targeted are the women who willingly choose to demonstrate their Islamic culture by wearing traditional headwear, such as the Burqa. Their choice in clothing does not only display their faith but has also been one of the many catalysts for anti-Islamism. As

    Read More

  • Islamophobia Essay

    2152 Words  | 5 Pages

    Post September 11, 2001 the life of a Muslim women living in America changed forever. Islamophobia is the prejudice against Islam or Muslims. Islamophobia is not a new concept, it has roots hundreds of years ago, however after 9/11 it became much more prevalent in America. Following 9/11 Western media used Islam and Muslim women who covered to inflict fear in American citizens. Western media framed Islam as a dangerous and hateful religion that needed to be stopped. At the same time the media became obsessed with Muslim women who veiled and wanted to save these women from their oppression. However, these articles written about the oppressed Muslim women did not feature Muslim women and their experiences veiling. They were not given a voice

    Read More

  • Women in Islam

    834 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout centuries Muslim women have been working to receive their rights and privileges that the Quran states they should have; however, due to male authority and the natural order of things it hasn’t been easy. As a result, the focus of Jane Smith’s article expresses the certain issues women faced and the reforms made towards them, areas that still are facing inequity, inequality due to the natural order, and Westerners views toward the issue.

    Read More

  • Women In Islam

    1553 Words  | 4 Pages

    Today, people think that women were liberated in the west and that the women's liberation movement began in the 20th Century. Actually, Islam preceded all the existing systems in introducing women's rights more than fourteen centuries ago. The women's liberation movement was revealed by God to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in the seventh century. A whole package of new rights was given at once to women by their creator without their having to strive to get them. The Qur'an and the Traditions of the Prophet (Hadith and Sunnah) guarantee every Muslim woman certain rights and duties.

    Read More

More about Muslim Women and the Effects of 9/11: The Need to Understand How to Treat the Psychological Aftermath

Open Document