Islamophobia
There are many religions within this world in which all are looked at differently and have their own biases. There are many religions that have different beliefs that might interferer and or even go against another religion that may result in haltered or ignorance toward one another. The idea that some religions are ‘better’ or more accepted than another makes it really hard for people to respect one other based on their values and beliefs. The respect and acceptance of another religion needs to be accepted in order to form a more comfortable relationship between different worlds. For example, Muslims are usually looked at differently compared to people of Christianity because of its unfamiliarity. Some people connect certain groups based on what they look like but not all people within this religion share the same values. For example, when some people think of Muslims there are traits that are nowhere near an example of what they believe and hold dear. Terrorism is one instance that has affected Muslims in the worst way possible. It has created a notion that every single Muslim is a terrorist or is to be feared because of previous events. Islamophobia can be defined as “an exaggerated, fear, hatred, and hostility toward Islam and Muslins that is perpetuated by negative stereotypes resulting in bias, discrimination, and the marginalization and exclusion of Muslims from social, political, and civic life”. There is a well-known reason for this and was the result of the 2001 terrorist attack. But Islamophobia existed before this and was a preconceived fear. Religion is a hard way for people to connect considering the many differences that they might share but it is still healthy to look further and try to understand their views in order to become familiar with that group of people.
There needs to be a sense of awareness that allows for facts to be known that would then allow for an opinion to be formed. For instance, “the U.S identified more than 160 Muslim-American terrorism suspects and perpetrators in the decade since 9/11, just a percentage of the thousands of acts of violence that occur in the United States each year”. These 160 suspected terrorists Muslim-Americans is an example of what fuels Islamophobia. Within that decade there were thousands of other crimes that were committed but the 160 Muslim-American suspects were heard the most since there was already a preconception of what comes with the Muslim religion which is not the truth. In late 2009, the largest Swiss parliament banned minarets construction. The government opposed the ban considering it would hinder their image and make them look bad. The ban was placed and 84% of them said it is possible for a Muslim to be a good Swiss patriot but when asked if they believe Muslims should feel discriminated about the ban 68% said no. This is an example of what struggles Muslims have to go through as a result of the idea of Islamophobia. Completing this ban led to the rising of Islamophobia.
The facts are there when it comes to the prejudices that Muslims have to not only listen to but deal with as well. “In the U.S, about one-half of nationally representative samples of Mormons, Protestants, Catholics, Muslims, and Jews agree that in general, most Americans are prejudiced toward Muslim Americans”. Muslims are experiencing racial and religious discrimination based on Islamophobia and it allows for people to continue to be unfair and cruel to a certain group based on a single story of affiliation that terrorists have with the Muslim religion. Addressing Islamophobia is one way that people can become aware of the issue and try to turn it about. I think that correcting people when they speak on the issue with false information could help out as well because it can give people more information to differentiate between terrorist groups and the Muslim religion. The acceptance of Muslims in different communities can go a long way in finding the balance between different religions that might bump heads. Involving Muslim people in various communities that aren’t usually associated with various religions can spread knowledge on the issue making it easier for people to move away from Islamophobia.
Digital Components:
- 2.1 Collaborative communication – we will be blogging and tweeting our blogs – and also communicating with our classmates through WordPress/Twitter as well as in other ways on Moodle
2.2 Digital writing and publishing – we will be publishing our work in the open. We will have multiple digital assignments, and students will have some agency in choosing which item they’d like to blog about in each module.
Course Component: Connecting geographic concepts and processes to real-life scenarios
