Islamophobia is commonly defined as the discrimination shown towards people of Islamic background due the rising terrorists’ attacks. Islamophobia has become a serious issue in the American society due to recent terrorist attacks. In most of the attacks that have targeted American interests, Islamic militia groups have claimed to be responsible and hence stirring up a negative attitude against them. Muslims can easily be identified through their religious dressing and hence making it easy for people to discriminate them. America has become more conscious of its security and more especially, where terrorism is concerned, every Muslim is always looked at with a lot of suspicions in the matter to suggest that he or she could be associated with terrorism. This has not gone well with Muslims, especially in United States who have reported to receiving unfair treatment. Freedom of worship, which is supported by the United States constitution, is no longer applicable to them, as they cannot freely express themselves without being looked at with suspicion.
In as much as there is a need for the country to be protected from possible terrorist attacks, Gottschalk, Peter, and Gabriel Greenberg highlights that it is unfair for the government to allow such form of discrimination against Muslims. Terrorism may be associated with Muslims, but that does not imply that every Muslim is linked to terrorism. Islamophobia has been witnessed at various entry points like airports and bus stations where a person who is dressed in a hijab or Kansu is subjected to more scrutiny than the rest. Most Muslims have confessed that they no longer feel free to be identified by their religion or even dress in their religious clothing due to the negative treatment they receive. It is unfortunate that they are not even free to socialize in public places, and the only person that will probably talk to them is a fellow Muslim.
There is also a paradox side of it where Muslims tend to be friendly only to each other. There is the case of an Islamic lady who modified her traditional clothing due to extreme weather conditions. The modified dressing made her look less like a Muslim, which made it easier to relate with non-Muslims and discriminated by fellow Muslims. There is a tendency in United States where a Muslim will show more kindness to a fellow brethren and tend to ignore the rest. This, she witnessed when the Muslim taxi drivers she knew no longer extended the favours they did to her when in her normal hijab. She realised that she made friends that are more non-Muslim and ignored by the very people she shared a religion. This is the case that reveals how deep rooted the issue has become with the Muslims appearing to be a different community from the rest.
As the government aspires to beef up security within its borders, Halliday says, there should be a realization that even the terrorists are becoming clever. With the knowledge that the government is keener on individuals that look like Muslims, they are likely to change their tactics and use those with plain clothes to stage attacks. This, therefore, implies efforts must be done to protect the Islamic religion and culture rather than look at them as possible terrorists. Islamophobia has made people develop a negative attitude towards Islamic and the Muslims which will affect the future generation if proper measures are not taken. As the adults are busy ignoring and avoiding Muslims, the children are watching. They ask questions, and if the response they get is that people with hijabs and white Kansus are terrorists, then they will grow with such an attitude that is likely to affect the country negatively.
United States has suffered various economic setbacks just because of racial discrimination. As it works towards recovering from the same, islamophobia should be avoided and contained to ensure that its roots are not deep. According to Gottschalk, Peter, and Gabriel Greenberg, United States has always had issues with Islamic nations, which has been worsened by terrorists’ attacks, however, realising that the people who engage in, such attacks are foreigners, they should not extend similar treatment to the natives. There are lenient measures the country can use to monitor possible criminals rather than treating all Muslims with contempt. Muslims have always been part of the American society, and it can be hurting when the very people they have lived with in harmony and peace all of a sudden start looking at them as strangers. It is unfortunate that some have even been denied jobs and access to certain places simply because their identity was questionable.
United States has always been a multicultural state and despite the challenges they have had to face, they have embraced and even benefited from each other. Halliday recommends the government and the people to look at each other in terms of how they benefit the nation rather than how they dress or the religion they are inclined to. Issues such as religion and skin colour are personal and should not interfere with the cordial relationship the country has had. Apart from the international terrorism threats, the nation should realise that it still faces internal security threats, which may not be necessarily caused by Muslims. It is, therefore, important for the country to treat all people with fairness knowing that even those they think are safe could turn out to be real enemies and vice versa.
Works cited
Gottschalk, Peter, and Gabriel Greenberg. Islamophobia: making Muslims the enemy. Rowman & Littlefield, 2008.
Halliday, Fred. "'Islamophobia'reconsidered." (1999): 892-902.
Sheridan, Lorraine P. "Islamophobia pre–and post–September 11th, 2001." Journal of Interpersonal Violence 21.3 (2006): 317-336.
