Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Hate crimes race ethnicity gender and class
Religion and american politics essay
Essay on stereotypes of muslims by media
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Hate crimes race ethnicity gender and class
Muslim Terrorism
Being a Muslim in today’s society is not very easy. The most common misconception about Muslims is that they are terrorists. Even though many people just say to ignore hateful words, it is hard to ignore people when they say “you are a terrorist” right in front of your face. When a person talks about the religion Islam, they cannot take the word terrorist out of their minds because that is the usual stereotype people make towards this religion now. Each global terrorism act that occur will always point their first fingers towards the Muslim community, which gives us no opportunity to prove ourselves as a good community. The religion of Islam mostly consist of peaceful people who mind their own business but because of that
…show more content…
one percent of the Muslim community blamed for being terrorists, the whole community are labeled as terrorists. Terrorism started taking high toll around the world in 1998, with 471 people killed and 5,952 injured. The World Trade Center, Oklahoma City bombing and even the airplane crashes were all blamed towards Muslims as terrorists’ attacks. I was only couple of years old when this all happened but my parents and my brother were usually the center of conversation. They stereotyped against Muslims continuously, day after day. Being a Muslim after the horrific terrorist attacks was not an easy thing to do. Even though a small Muslim community might have caused some of those attacks, it is not fair to accuse all the Muslims in the world of being extremists. Religion and race are one of the most prominent and powerful channels through which to use to identify the enemy in America’s national life (Singh).
The word terrorists is usually consisted of Muslims in the minds of most Americans. The continued utilization of illogical term “Muslim terrorists” signifies how the norm of our society is still a white Christian (Singh). Religious and racial bias keep affecting the community of the United States negatively (Singh). In the wake of terrorist attacks in the 2000s, Muslims have been targeted for hate crimes by racists who found them to be convenient scapegoats for dehumanized, nonwhite "others" at whom they wanted to strike (Singh). Due to their visibility and appearance, Muslim were proportionately singled out for harassment during the hate crime epidemic. The very first attack on a Muslim took place shortly after the second plane hit the World Trade Center. Amrik Singh was looking up at the crash when he realized a small group of men across the street were yelling at him, "Take that f---ing turban off, you terrorist!" They chased him into a subway station before Singh escaped. A group of young white men attacked 60 year old Attar Singh with a nail studded baseball bat (Singh). Balbir Singh Sodhi, was the first person murdered in the post attack hate crimes (Singh). The stereotype of all Muslims are terrorists became a big problem in the 2000s; it created violence, which included injuries and killing of Muslims. These stereotypes are still going on but they have lessened more and more over time but it is still a cause for
concern.
Hijacked planes were purposely flown into the twin towers in New York and killed about 3,000 innocent people. This was one of the most disastrous incident to ever occur during the era. After the release of who caused the attack, lots of people from the Islamic culture were the center of attention right after the event. They were falsely accused of being called terrorists without little to any evidence. It was mainly because of their appearance and beliefs. It was more like racism and stereotypes towards them. Society has painted them to be these terrorists because they were feared and immediately got the wrong idea when they approach them. The day the terrorist attack happened, it sparked a new beginning for their culture. They not only felt scared when they were around them, but they felt like they were going to become a part of a violent attack that they’re going to cause without them acknowledging it. It can be disrespectful and rude to assume they’re terrorist but they didn’t care. It was “[society] [who] feared what [they] don't understand. In a frenzied state of irrational behavior [they] will point fingers and name names and accuse the innocent because [they] are afraid” (Garcia). Society was terrified for their lives. They made them feel unwelcomed and unwanted. The fear exponentially rose and became a problem when they wanted to fly to a destination. Lots of “Americans became paranoid
The term, “Muslim Extremist” was interpreted wrongfully by Americans. A large amount of people believe every Muslim is an extremist, and that at any moment any Muslim could attack. That is not true, just because your Muslim does not mean you are a terrorist. History does repeat itself, but not in every situation, when it comes down to accusing people it has. People find it easy to blame the problems that arise, on other people.
Every time a terrorist attack happens the media jumps all over it, and puts their own twist on what had happened. “Thus, the media has a strong potential to influence how the public thinks about social problems like terrorism, especially because most people only experience terrorism through mass-media accounts...This research also finds that media portrayals of terrorism increase anxiety among the viewing public.” (Chermak, 2006) The media is one of the leading causes of stereotypes, and what influences our beliefs today. When you think of a terrorist, you may think of either a middle aged muslim male or a middle aged white male with some sort of mental or social disorder. This isn 't always the case. A terrorist can be of any race, age, and social class. Due to the media 's influence, we all believe in the same stereotypes and imagine the same description of what a terrorist may look like. This is one of the main reasons behind racial profiling.
On September 11, 2001, since the terrorist attacks, many American Muslims have been stereotyped negatively in the United States. Salma, a Muslim woman, says that the way Muslims have been recognized in the media has played a big role in the antagonism directed at her. “I don’t know how many times I heard my classmates accuse me of being al-Qaeda or a terrorist” (Mayton 2013). Salma, along with other Muslims, even after a decade, are still struggling with trying to find their “American” and “Islamic” identities, while facing verbal attacks for their ethnicity. Too often, the general Muslim population gets lumped in with the immoral acts of a few because of the lack of knowledge about their culture.
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.
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.
Islam is the religion that provides a complete code of life including social as well as personal spheres. Islam has been targeted by many stereotypes including extremism since last few decades. The reason behind these stereotypes are on some facts and to some extent widely propagated through media. Many people involved in criminal activities, get highlighted easily by media and catch the attention of general public if they are Muslims. A major role behind these stereotypes is played by the outcomes of the 9/11 attacks. Muslims have been targeted with stigmatization and other forms of racial discrimination. They have to face tight security at international airports. Employers have also been showing concerns or hesitation while hiring Muslims especially the immigrants. Many reasons beside 9/11 attacks behind Muslim stigmatization in United States have been in existence since many decades.
...lim violence mentioned in class lectures include a taxi cab driver in NYC who identified himself as a Muslim and was shot dead by the passenger, four pieces of construction equipment was destroyed at a future mosque site in Tennessee also in Tennessee, a pipe bomb went off in a mosque in Jacksonville killing somewhere around 60 people. This is only a few example of the many hate crimes committed against Muslims in the United States. Muslims not only face hate crimes in the U.S., but all over the world today which is particularly disturbing in the U.S. which has a Constitution that states all citizens are free to practice their own religion, but clearly as of late, this is not true for Muslim Americans.
In the essay, the writer acknowledges the misunderstandings that come from media images by explaining the contrasts between these images and the teachings of the faith to support her claim that fear is the reason for this misconception. The conception that many people have of Muslims is that they are terrorists, anti-Semites, and fanatics. This conception exsists because television news and newspapers support that stereotype. The broadcast of such stereotypes encourages fear and accusations of the Islamic relegion's teachings. The writer explains that Islam teaches peace, tolerance, and equality. She further states that Muslims shown in the media have violated these teachings ...
After 9/11 has induced negative attitudes towards Muslim peoples who tend to be strongly associated with any act of terrorism. The media has played a colossal role in developing such negative association wherein it constantly portrays Muslim people in combination with violent terrorist acts. It does so in a way that they both go hand-and-hand. In other words, it has made it as though the Islamic religion is synonymous with terrorism. The media has perpetuated Muslim stereotypes over the years that followed the 9/11 incident. Because of this, society has developed, and still has developed, this prejudiced mindset about the Islamic religion and the Muslim communities around the world. People immediately assume that any violent act being depicted through the media is the direct result of Muslims. They automatically generate this idea that the act was performed by a Muslim terrorist even when they were not involved whatsoever. Regardless of whether it was true or not, Islamic religion and its Muslim adherents are at the top of societies’ agenda just waiting for the evidence to be generated so that they can then safely blame them for such world affairs. Again, this has led to the attack on the Islamic religion itself wherein people have come to postulate Islam as an act of oppression, violence and hatred towards non-Muslims. Anti-Muslim sentiments and campaigns have resulted from such misinformation the media has been generating and feeding its viewers.
The horrific events of September 11, 2001, killed 2,996 people and caused at least $ 10 billion in property and infrastructure damage. After September 11, people started point fingers at the Muslims for doing, just because small group of Muslims it doesn’t me that everyone is the same. September 11, have forever changed Americans view of Islam and Muslim. Even before September 11, they were still hate toward Islam and Muslims. These this famous quotes online by unknown person “I’m Muslim, Islam is perfect but I am not. If I make a mistake, blame it on me, not on my religion.” I am here today, to clear the misunderstanding about my beautiful religion, not everything we see or hear is true. “Islam is a violent religion, Islam is a terrorist group,
Mohamedali Gokal, a 24-year-old Muslim man from London, was at the Harrow and Wealdstone Station when it all happened. He was ready to head to an event, a friend alongside him while at the railway station. His friend was conversing on the phone with his father, saying “Assalamu Alaykum.” , which means ‘peace be upon you’ in Arabic. A man was just walking by when Gokal’s friend had just said this greeting, just so happening to hear him.
The official definition of Muslim is an adherent of Islam and in Arabic means one who submits to God (Muslim). Yet many Westerners, upon hearing the word “Muslim,” almost immediately consider the idea of terrorism. The history of Islam itself begins in the Middle East and will therefore be linked to Arabs. Muhammad first introduced Islam in the cities Medina and Mecca of
Muslims are stereotyped as terrorist and a threat to the United States. Ever since the terrorist
Islam, the religion of peace and harmony has unfortunately been corrupted by the deadly terrorist acts which have taken place around the world during these past couple of years. Today the people in this world view Islam as a threatening and terrorist religion. Often, the killing of innocent people, suicidal bombings and terrorist attacks are carried out people who tend to claim themselves as Muslims, though in reality, the dissident actions of these so called named Muslims have nothing to do with Islam. Among all the attributes of God, the Holy Book (Quran) mentions that: he is the source of peace and bestower of security (59:23) people must establish peace in their life. Terrorism what a complete disgrace, however people forget one thing that terrorism is not only found in Islam yet also continued in other religions and countries. But then why Islam? Is it because terrorism has been related to Islam just like peace is to war. The terrorist that claim they are Muslim with pride are oblivious, ignorant and it shows their lack of knowledge. The Holy Quran clearly states that: