As college students, we are exposed to literally hundreds of cultures everyday, though we may not realize it. Culture is defined as learned patterns of behavior and attitudes shared by a group of people(Martin and Nakayama 2013). I think culture and especially our cultural history is strongly related to identity and it is not a coincidence that we are studying these topics back to back. Our identity is what it is because of our cultural history and how we were taught to act by our family. Though having a strong sense of culture is wonderful, we also have to be mindful of others' cultures and what they represent; what their history is. I am choosing to discus the way Muslim-Americans are stereotyped and living in fear after the 9/11 attacks.
After the attacks, the attitude towards Arab/Muslims took a dramatic turn. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) a 1,700 percent increase of hate crimes against Muslim Americans between 2000 to 2001 (Anderson, 2002). This cultural group lived in fear of being persecuted by every other person living in America. They suffer every day because of a group of people who bear the same race as them. What we don't think about is they are just like us. When we see someone of Muslim descent on the street, do we really think about their history before we start to judge them? Maybe their family has lived here for 50 years, or maybe they are escaping the political unrest in their native country. In my generation, a normal American family has no reason to worry about our freedom or our lives being in danger. Personally, I don't know one thing about fleeing for my life on an every day basis. We need to understand that Muslim Americans were affected by the 9/11 attacks just as much as any other American was.
An actual word for the dread or hatred of Islam exists. Islamophobia. (Kathryn Ecklund).
The question we must ask ourselves is, do we do it too? Why do we just associate any Muslim to be a terrorist? I find myself wanting to refer back to The Berenstain Bears books that I read when I was little. One in particular talked about stranger danger. The mother has to explain to her children that just because an apple looks rotten on the outside, doesn't mean it's rotten on the inside, and vise versa. Though it may sound childish, we could all apply this to our lives. Just because someone may look suspicious or "bad", doesn't mean they are. You cannot rightfully judge someone on the street without knowing a single thing about their history. Just as we need to understand our own histories, we need to know a bit about others' to fully understand why they are the way they are. We can't just assume the worst in people.
This is a powerful YouTube video of a Muslim woman who experienced harsh discrimination based on her looks: her identity as a Muslim.
Martin, J.N., & Nakayama, T.K. (2013). Intercultural communication in contexts (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill
Ecklund, Kathryn. (2012). Attitudes Toward Muslim Americans Post-9/11. Retrieved fromhttp://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jmmh/10381607.0007.101?rgn=main;view=fulltext
I think this topic is terribly interesting and quite sad. I guess that people tend to forget that 9/11 affected a lot of people - I for one, certainly hadn't thought about this issue at all. I would also like to add that this predicament faced by muslims in the US is one that they face in many parts of Europe too (the UK and Spain, just to give two examples). I definitely agree that you shouldn't judge someone simply because you think that they "look dangerous" ~Abhi
Very timely and relevant topic to discuss. I appreciate the care and concern you bring into this blog. The fact that hate crimes have risen over 1,7000% post-9/11 is shocking and disturbing, but given the rants I read on social media, it's not necessarily a surprise. I love the Bernstein Bears analogy too. Very creative way to discuss Islamophobia. Excellent work.
I think this topic is terribly interesting and quite sad. I guess that people tend to forget that 9/11 affected a lot of people - I for one, certainly hadn't thought about this issue at all. I would also like to add that this predicament faced by muslims in the US is one that they face in many parts of Europe too (the UK and Spain, just to give two examples). I definitely agree that you shouldn't judge someone simply because you think that they "look dangerous"
ReplyDelete~Abhi
Very timely and relevant topic to discuss. I appreciate the care and concern you bring into this blog. The fact that hate crimes have risen over 1,7000% post-9/11 is shocking and disturbing, but given the rants I read on social media, it's not necessarily a surprise. I love the Bernstein Bears analogy too. Very creative way to discuss Islamophobia. Excellent work.
ReplyDelete