Negative attitudes towards Muslims in North America have intensified within the past few years as a result of the Islamic revolution. This can also be said for the most recent terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001. Sometimes subtle and sometimes not so subtle, these negative attitudes, expressed in the media and general public, have been felt by many Muslims in North America. Most North Americans are used to thinking of Muslims as foreigners; people who live in far off lands and dress in strange clothing, and people who ride camels all the time. That image, if it were ever true, is true no more. Today, more than 7.5 million plus Muslims live in the United States. (The Muslim Almanac) Most of them wear Western clothing, and Islam continues to be one of this country's fastest-growing religions. “More than 1,100 mosques are in the United States, with 80 percent of them built in the last 12 years.” (Weekly Reader). Stereotypes are comforting to many ignorant people; they simplify the world and create an illusion of understanding. There are problems of adjustments that confront Muslim immigrants to Canada that have been apparent.
First of all, when it comes to variables such as language, culture, and religion, Muslims bear little or no resemblance to the North American model, so to speak. In order to survive, they have to learn a new language, undergo drastic change, and assimilate themselves to a ‘new way of life’.
When it comes to religious grounds, there are many cases of non-comprehension than of tolerance and interest. This is a result of thousands of years of armed hostility or sullen truce between Islam and Christianity, and as a product of the Arab-Israeli question (mind you exists as I type this paper). Both of which lead to negative stereotyping in the media, just tune into stations such as CNN, CBS, and many others, whose coverage on issues such as the very recent Israeli takeover of Palestinian settlements, to be very Pro-Israeli. When I see that a suicide bomber who claims to be a martyr and kills several Israeli-Jews, the media jumps on this as it’s the basic Islamic way of life and thinking. The sad thing to note is that Westerners who watch these news broadcasts believe everything that is thrown out to them. These terrorists such as Bin Laden aren’t representing Islam or fighting jihad’, they are simply quoting some verses from the Qur’an and using Islam as their excuse to destroy the United States and kill innocent civilians. The Western media doesn’t relinquish the fact that this isn’t the truth, they claim and make it seem as though all Muslims are terrorists and suicide bombers since fear is a good tactic to gain higher ratings and more viewers. Many Americans and Canadians believe that Islam is anti-American, anti-Western, or supportive of terrorism. The habitual mistreatment of Muslims happens partly because unlike other religions, Islam requires believers to show their devotion outwardly. And the images of the long beards and the hijab headscarf for women that are associated with Islam can seem threatening to many Americans.
Also, Muslims in North America are discriminated against daily by the treatment they receive in their communities, employment, and even in our school systems. Our identity as Muslims is being altered constantly as a result of the bigotry we experience as we view images projected by the West in forms of movies, literature, and lastly the media. The negative media portrayal of Islam is growing larger and larger as the days pass. As a Muslim living in Canada, I feel that we are living in a country that is hostile to not only our ethnic origins, but increasingly to Islam and Muslims in general. It has been increasingly apparent of the power of Israeli lobby in the American government. Yet those who are guilty of such offensive inaccuracy when it comes to Islam are among supposed distinguished writers. Here, for example, is Clare Hollingsworth, defence correspondent of the International Herald Tribune, "Muslim fundamentalism is fast becoming the chief threat to global peace and security, as well as a cause of national and local disturbance through terrorism. It is akin to the menace posed by Nazism in the 1930s." (Stubbs 1997) This type of quote from a member of the media who has an important take on such issues, paints the image to many Westerners that ‘all’ Muslims are radical menaces to society. The American popular culture has been poisoned by the vicious racism of Hollywood and the op-ed pages of American newspapers. Arabs and Muslims have been portrayed in movies and TV in almost exclusively negative terms, as terrorists or oil sheiks. Furthermore, the North American media is concealing from the general public the reality that is taking place within the Muslim world. What Islamic movements are opposed to is the annexation and occupation of their lands as in the case of Palestine and Lebanon, the usurpation of their rights over their own natural resources as in the case of the Gulf Sheikhdoms, and the unfair criticism of Islam as often happens in the Western media, which on occasion is encouraged by local elites and writers.
I continue to wonder what the next step will be in my life in the U.S. and Canada as a young Muslim struggling to define my future in an atmosphere of continuous hostility and backlash towards Islam. I hope that we as Muslims of North America can survive as a religious community, and be able to participate fully and freely with respect to our religious beliefs in order to identify and maintain our future in society.
North Americans have to work harder to cut short the cycle of prejudice and hate that precedes understanding and acceptance. Perhaps by educating themselves about the nearly 7.5 million Muslims in North America that are amidst many communities to welcoming us as fellow Americans and Canadians would be a start to ending this hatred and misguided information. North Americans cannot respond to terrorism by inflicting their own brand of terror on fellow citizens and residents, simply because they are or appear to be members of a particular ethnic, racial or religious group. The singling out of people based on ethnicity or looks must stop now. I want to end this paper with an excerpt from a poem written by Mattie Stepanek an 11-year-old boy who’s outlook on life should be one modeled by everyone worldwide.
On Growing Up (Part 5)
We are growing up
We are many colors of skin
We are many languages
We are many ages and sizes.
We are many countries...
But we are one with the earth.
We each have one heart.
We each have one life
We are growing up, together,
So we must live as one family.
- Mattie Stepanek
« intoarce.