Terrorist (noun): a person who uses
terrorism in the pursuit of political aims.
Synonyms:
extremist, fanatic
Since
2001, the usage of the word terrorist will immediately make the average
American think of a person of Arab descent or someone who is Muslim. Because of
the actions of a few many innocent people have, since then, been unjustly
vilified, ostracized or otherwise treated unfairly by their peers, in a
struggle that continues today.
One of the most
recent examples of this would be the case of Balayla Ahmad, a Muslim student t
the University of Bridgeport who was sexually assaulted by another student who
had been harassing her for a while. Yet, “instead of the student being reprimanded for his assault,
Ahmad was turned into the FBI on suspicion of terrorism for being an American
Muslim woman” (Huffington Post, 2012). As the article points out, this was a
clear case of the dominant group using labels to gain power over a person from
a minority. For “the place of privilege from which he, [the student accused] spoke,
as a straight white male in America, undoubtedly affected the college’s
acceptance of his accusations; when Balayla tried to tell her side of the
story, not only was she silenced as a survivor of sexual assault, but she was
also silenced as a Muslim” (Chicago Monitor 2013). With the word, “Muslim”
having become almost synonymous with the word “terrorist” for most average
Americans, Ahamd’s case certainly isn’t the only one where such injustices have
occurred.
 |
| Balayla Ahmad |
The importance of the use of
language in this case cannot be stressed enough. This woman who went through
such a horrific experience was denied justice and proper help simply because of
the labels that others had placed on her. As such, her social position as a
black, Muslim woman had everything to do with how she was treated, the accused using it to prevent his arrest and the University using it to save their reputation. Increasing
the knowledge of the average person about these matters is therefore paramount
in preventing such tragedies.
Works Cited:
Harrington, Rebecca.
"Balayla Ahmad, University Of Bridgeport Student Sues School Over Alleged
Harassment." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 11 Jan.
2012. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.
Elawawadh, Heather. "Why
Are so Many Innocent Muslims Labeled as Terrorists? | The Chicago
Monitor." The Chicago Monitor: Why Are so Many Innocent Muslims Labeled
as Terrorists Comments. The Chicago Monitor, 5 Apr. 2013. Web. 02 Mar.
2014.
Smith, Candace. "Muslim
Woman Sues Connecticut University for Alleged Terrorism Claim." ABC
News. ABC News Network, 13 Jan. 2012. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.
Abhirup, I thought this post was awesome! The connections you made are right on point along with making it very evident that this needs to come to an end. It was good at the end to tie things together with the use of language and how it is so easy for words to become synonymous.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. And how true. I think ignorance makes so many Americans fearful about Arab and Muslim persons. They begin to associate dress with extreme labels like "terrorists". Even more, the rage and hate that is displayed is so rooted in these labels. Not to mention this hate led to the woman being sexually assaulted. Eye-opening article.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great topic to bring up. I wrote about something similar last week! Its very sad to see how these Muslim-Americans are treated after 2001. It really all is because of the labels Americans place on these poor people who are just trying to live like any one of us. As a society we need to stop making terrorist jokes and the like because it is completely offensive and wrong. Its sad how this mix of people are living in fear of being labeled. Great post!
ReplyDeleteExcellent blog! This is an example that has been relevant to American culture for far too long. I appreciate that you brought our attention to Ahmad's case. It is truly tragic that a label can have such a powerful and systemic impact on an individual's life.
ReplyDelete