My Family Has Experienced Islamophobia

By Anonymous / Summer 2021

Islamophobia has been around for a long time now but only recently has there been a push to recognize such behavior not only on a governmental and political level but also on a social level. These are some encouraging signs but a lot needs to be done to properly tackle it. This problem strikes close to home because I, as a Muslim, have experienced it first hand myself and seen close family members being affected by it. Islamophobia is part of a bigger problem of xenophobia and otherizing of groups which leads to justification of open discrimination, violence, loss of liberty and freedom against the otherized group. Due to global events in recent past, especially the attacks on 9/11, there has been a sharp increase in Islamophobic acts, both social and governmental, such as public policies and social attitudes that discriminate against Muslims in the United States and beyond (NPR). Some of these discriminations clearly violate promises made (guaranteed rights) to every citizen in the United States via the U.S. constitution. In this essay, I will use news reports, public events, and expert opinion to discuss why Islamophobia is a major social problem, how it has increased in recent times, and a deeper look into the root causes.

On a personal level, people in my family have experienced Islamophobia multiple times such as at airports, at parks and even at school. These range from snide remarks due to our dress, to pulling off hijab and shouting at us because of our religious background. At airports, our family members, especially those who wear hijabs or men who have Muslim sounding names have to go through extra security almost every time. One particular incident that comes to mind is when I along with my youngest brother, who was only 10 at the time, had to go through extra security at the airport and was detained each time when we were traveling within the United States. Me and my youngest brother were both juvenile at the time and it was a reminder for me that we were different. Although I am a U.S. citizen, I often feel that, because of my faith, I am treated as an outsider and held responsible for atrocities made within the United States and elsewhere. This feeling emanates from people asking me whether I supported diabolical acts committed by terrorists or directly being accused of being sympathetic towards such inhumane acts simply because I was wearing a hijab in public, in addition to the fact I had never met the man accusing me of those things. I had to struggle with these thoughts for a long time, and at times almost felt as if people were justified in discriminating against me and people of my faith because they were not aware that the vast majority of Muslims condemn terrorists. It takes a mental toll when every day you have to live as if you do not belong here, are discriminated against and treated as if you are a threat to society no matter how much you contribute to society. It makes me even more worried that my younger brother has to go through middle and high school including bullying, mockery and discrimination due to Islamophobic ideas.

In addition to my personal experiences, the wider Muslim community also faces discrimination as a community from the government and public. When the Christchurch shooting in New Zealand happened, many mosques in the United States were put on high alert due to increased risks of shooting. One mosque was actually attacked within days after the New Zealand shooting where the attacker tried to burn the mosque in Escondido, California (Washington Post). These attacks do not happen in a vacuum and are a result of how Muslims are inaccurately stereotyped on a daily basis in news, education, popular culture, politicians and media. Fringe groups and zealots take advantage of this to carry out acts of violence against Muslims not only in the USA but in other Western European countries. One example would be the campaign for making April 3rd as “Punish a Muslim Day” in the UK where people are encouraged and dared to punish Muslims and points are awarded based on the severity of violence carried out including verbal violence, pulling of headscarf, beating them up, killing them and burning/bombing of mosques (NYT, USA Today). Such manifestos and campaigns cross boundaries easily due to the ease with which information is shared and accessed via the internet. Muslims and their places of worship have been attacked in the past, and if something were not done on a social and political level to tackle Islamophobia, these acts of hate crimes will increase exponentially (US News).

One of the main ways in which Islamophobia manifests itself is the presumption that all Muslims are terrorists and thus a threat to innocent individuals. This idea spread throughout the world after the events of 9/11 when terrorists killed thousands of innocent people in the United States.

 Just because there are fringe groups who use religion as a tool to further their political goals and conduct diabolical and terrorist acts does not mean that the whole religion and its followers should be labelled the same thing. We should not let this extreme minority hijack the religious beliefs of billions of Muslims across the world. The overwhelming majority of Muslims completely dissociate themselves from terrorists and condemn their actions. Muslim leaders, scholars and governments across the world, regardless of which sect they belong to, disapprove of terrorism and fight against these terrorists.

However, despite this fact, Muslims are presumed guilty of terrorism or sympathizing with terrorist by default. Such attitudes exist not only amongst ordinary people but also at the highest echelons of political office as evidenced by the many statements made by former president Donald Trump including declaring that “Islam hates us” and that “they’re sick people. There's a sickness going on. There's a group of people that is very sick” when referring to Muslims (Washington Post). He also called “for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on” in a rally and then issued an executive order banning citizens from 7 majority Muslim countries within a week of becoming President.

Such statements dehumanize Muslims, who are unable of showing empathy and kindness, and paints an inaccurate and hostile picture of Muslims in the view of the masses which breeds contempt, anger and disgust towards Muslims so much so that acts of violence and discrimination are rationalized against them. When we consider these points we can see how an Islamophobe, who always sees Muslims in a negative light and hears people at the highest form of political office making claims of hating “us”, would rationalize acts of violence against Muslims as evidenced by killing of Muslims in mosques, attempts of burning mosques and other forms of physical and verbal violence.

Acts of violence, discrimination and otherization of Muslims is not only inhumane but it is also anti-American. When Dr. King talks about the motto for his movement being “To save the soul of America” he specifically asserts that it was their conviction that “America would never be free or saved from itself until the descendants of its slaves were loosed completely from the shackles they still wear” (Eyes on the prize). This meant that we would never have true freedom until each and every one of its citizens, including African Americans, enjoyed full rights guaranteed by the constitution and that any system where these rights were only enjoyed by a particular group of people while another group was deprived would be harmful to America’s soul. Thus, it required a movement that would ensure that any and all discriminatory and oppressive rules and regulations against African Americans were completely erased, and a political and social environment was fashioned where African Americans were treated with dignity, respect and given the same rights that everyone in this country should enjoy. In that same light, we can see parallels of how discrimination and oppression against Muslims is anti-American and that diversity has always been a strength and core of American value whether it is in relation to thought, innovation, culture or demographics. 

This now begs the question of what obstacles exist in our country that prevents us from solving this problem. Unfortunately, similar to what happened in Dr. King’s time, many good natured and kind hearted American citizens do not raise their voices against Islamophobia on a public level. We know that the vast majority of American public do not agree with acts or calls towards acts of violence and discrimination against innocent civilians regardless of their religious backgrounds, however, such acts still take place. Islamophobic rhetoric exists and is rife in many circles including popular news stations, social media accounts and even public personalities like politicians. People do not see this as a problem because they do not see the effects of such rhetoric in their personal lives or even on TV and hence the problem persists. There is an urgent need for public awareness programs which highlights what Islamophobia is and how it is affecting the lives of millions of people in America on a daily basis. We see that violent crime committed by Muslims stays in the news headlines for days, yet we do not see any success stories of Muslims who help their communities and make immense sacrifices to serve this country and make the world a better place. Muslims are physicians, engineers, entrepreneurs, social workers, educators, volunteers and involved in every facet of American life who work tirelessly to help our fellow Americans. Islamic teachings have a rich tradition of love, mercy, altruism, and compassion towards one’s fellow human being, regardless of their religious background and promote peaceful co-existence with people of different beliefs and practices.

We need to realize that violence against marginalized groups is not a new thing in our history and is something we always need to be vigilant about. We see many examples of violence, discrimination, subjugation and oppression being rationalized against minority groups due to dehumanization and otherizing in our past history, including slavery in the United States and the scapegoating of Japanese Americans as the enemy in WW2 where they were put in internment camps .

Most recently, we have seen an exponential increase in violence against Asian-Americans in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic. Asian Americans experienced an increase of “150% in anti-Asian hate crimes” in 2020 due to racism and them being unjustly blamed for COVID (Twohig, Day 1). These hate crimes have been increasing in severity resulting in Asian women, children and men being killed by shooting, stabbing and being hit with hammers. It is a reminder for our nation that hate can spread very quickly and result in loss of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness for our fellow Americans. Although it was late, it was still encouraging to see Congress pass a bipartisan bill regarding anti-Asian hate crimes and most corporate and public institutions issued statements and policies in solidarity with their fellow Asian-Americans. Despite these actions, hate crimes against Asian-Americans still exist at a high level and more needs to be done.

To remove the stains that decades of Islamophobic rhetoric has put on the public’s minds, we need to show the human side of Muslims and how they are the same as everyone else. It is very difficult for individuals to accept that they were wrong about something, especially wrong about a belief that an individual had for a long time. Thus, it will take a lot of effort, resources and time to show what Muslims actually believe and how they are the same as everybody else. There are numerous stories and incidents involving Muslims that can help in this cause, for example the story of a Muslim father (Mr. Abdul-Munim) who forgave the man involved in his son’s killing and hugged him in court due to the emphasis on compassion and mercy in Islam (CNN). Or the story of Muhammad Ali, who is a national icon, and how he derived lessons of love, compassion, charity and helping one’s fellow human beings from Islam. When we are able to humanize Muslims in the public eye, the public will be able to empathize with the struggles of Muslims due to Islamophobia and will massively help in building bridges between communities and exchange of ideas. The greater the number of people who interact with Muslims, the greater there is potential for understanding each other and removing misconceptions.

In addition to public awareness and outreach programs, there needs to be a systematic effort on a political, institutional and corporate level to tackle Islamophobia and look inwards into systems that might have prejudices rooted in Islamophobia. Things like diversity training, anti-discrimination regulation and encouragement for reporting discrimination can be great starting tools. Education institutes can play a vital role in this mission as well, since our students are our future and will shape the trajectory of our nation. Diversity training for k-12 teachers will equip them to talk to their students about Muslim Americans in an accurate manner and would help in minimizing misconceptions and stereotyping early on. This topic can be integrated into many college level humanities courses which allow discussion of this topic in an academic environment.

Furthermore, political figures and those in charge of government need to realize that they represent all Americans and thus should refrain from promoting division and demonizing Muslim Americans. Muslim Americans must enjoy the same rights and freedoms enshrined in our constitution. Media can play a massive role in calling out politicians that use Islamophobic rhetoric and blatant lies to achieve political office. We as college students can play a major role by raising our voices on social media when we see Islamophobia online and in our social circles.

These events, including Islamophobia and anti-Asian hate crimes, are part of a bigger problem of xenophobia, racism and othering of individuals and communities. Mark Twain is attributed to have said “history does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes” which rings true in our current age (Twohig, Day 4). We can see parallels of Islamophobia with our past history, and if we do not learn from our past, we will continue to repeat similar mistakes that have led to the suffering of thousands and millions of people. I hope we as a nation can see all people, regardless of ethnic, religious or racial backgrounds, as humans first when dealing with each other and refrain from otherizing people in order to prevent further suffering. Unless we as a nation publicly condemn rhetoric based on hate and refuse to support entities, organizations, and institutions that harbor hate, be it with our votes or viewing their shows, then this problem will continue to fester. 

In conclusion, Islamophobia affects millions of Americans on a daily basis and creates a hostile and discriminatory environment against Muslims. This has resulted in American Muslims being profiled, discriminated against and acts of violence being levied against them due to their religion. One of the main reasons why Islamophobia still persists and is rife is due to a lack of awareness about this issue, unwillingness of some influential political and media entities and world events that make it difficult to discuss this issue. In return, this has made the life of Muslims even more difficult due to lack of legislation and open condemnation of discriminatory behavior and marginalization of Muslim community in America. A strong effort needs to be made to remove misconceptions and humanize the Muslim community so that the public can see the effects of Islamophobia on Muslims and hence work towards tackling this issue on a social, political and systemic level. Public institutions, especially educational ones can play a pivotal role in raising awareness about this issue and shaping the minds of our future leaders to create a more equal America and calling out rhetoric based on hate and dehumanization. Finally, I hope readers of this article will have gained a better perspective on this social issue and continue to learn more about it and if presented will raise a voice against it if they see it.  

Works Cited

DeVinney, James A, Julian Bond, and Henry Hampton. Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965. Alexandria, VA: PBS Home Video, 2010.

Jenna Johnson, Abigail Hauslohner. “'I Think Islam Hates Us': A Timeline of Trump's Comments about Islam and Muslims.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 28 Apr. 2019.

Joseph, Yonette. “British Man Pleads Guilty to Sending 'Punish a Muslim Day' Letters.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 14 Oct. 2018.

 Kang, Esther Yoon-Ji. “Study Shows Islamophobia Is Growing in The U.S. Some Say It's Rising In CHICAGO, Too.” NPR, NPR, 3 May 2019.

“Nationwide Anti-Mosque Activity.” American Civil Liberties Union.

Onyanga-Omara, Jane. “British Muslims Defiant After Leaflets Call for 'Punish a Muslim Day'.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 3 Apr. 2018.

“Prosecutors: Man's Hatred Was behind Minnesota Mosque Attack | Illinois News | US News.” U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report.

Seraaj, Intisar, and Christina Zdanowicz. “Father Forgives and Hugs Man Involved in His Son's Killing.” CNN, Cable News Network, 9 Nov. 2017.

Stanley-Becker, Isaac. “A California Mosque Was Set Ablaze in 'Clear Homage' to the New Zealand Terrorist Attack.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 25 Mar. 2019.

Twohig, Niall. WCWP 100, Day 1 (2), June 29, 2021, Warren College Student Activities Center, University of California, San Diego.                                   

Twohig, Niall. WCWP 100, Day 4 (2), July 8, 2021, Warren College Student Activities Center, University of California, San Diego. 

“White Supremacist BEHIND 'Punish a Muslim Day' Jailed for 12 Years.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 4 Sept. 2019.

Willingham, Matt. “Today Is 'Punish a MUSLIM Day.' Here's How We're Observing.” Preemptive Love, Preemptive Love, 1 Sept. 2019.