American Muslims

Source

The social group I decided to research was muslims residing in the US. I chose this group because many muslims have been stereotyped as a result of terrorist attacks within the past couple of years. This unfortunately has lead towards negative association between a harmless social group and extreme violence. My goal was to research the identity, diversity, justice, of the American muslims, as well as propose ideas for what we can do to accept them as a culture.

Islamic culture is perceived differently by different people. Initially, their religion is based largely upon the belief of god, much like christianity. It is a religious custom for females to wear a headscarf, also known as a hijab. However, some people in the United States disagree with their traditions and beliefs, to the point of discrimination. Due to stereotypes and inaccurate representation of Muslim people, many associate them with violence and terrorism. According to a 2015 article, Court sides with Muslim job seeker rejected after wearing headscarf, a 17-year-old muslim girl was rejected for a job at Abercrombie & Fitch because of her hijab. The employers of the company feared that she would negatively impact the company’s image.

Many major cities in the U.S. are home to muslim neighborhoods and communities. This applies to most ethnic social groups as well. The city with the largest muslim population is New York City, one of the world’s most diverse cities. According to an article titled, The World’s Muslims: Unity and Diversity  Islam is a religion rather than a specific ethnic group, therefore different countries around the world can be predominantly muslim. This essentially means that various ethnic groups are involved in the Islamic religion. In the United States, anyone can practice the religion of Islam, which gives the religion a diverse following. Since stereotypes have affected the recognition of muslims in the US, the social group is most likely misunderstood.

Huffington Post

Unfortunately, people tend to dislike what they do not understand. Perhaps muslim culture is foreign in orientation, and maybe even bizarre to some individuals. In general, American citizens have the right to believe anything they choose. I think that if the media starts portraying muslim culture correctly, more people will be more open minded towards the culture. In an article titled, After attacks, headscarves mark Muslim women as targets, a woman named Leilah Abdennabi was proud of her religion, despite the harassment she was experiencing. I believe that the media is largely responsible, primarily right wing news stations, such as Fox News among others. People that have a lack of understanding for Muslim culture typically make false assumptions because of their ignorance. If people could further understand the culture through accurate representation, discrimination would decrease.

Washington Post

People who identify as muslim have an identity that should not be overlooked, and have a diverse community to stand by. With terrorism being the main reason for prejudice, American Muslims suffer from a bad reputation. This can impact job applications for Muslim individuals, and their place in society. Muslims can be of any ethnic group, which creates a diverse following. If Muslims were accurately portrayed in film and tv, more people would understand their culture and traditions. I believe that everyone should look at things that may seem different with an open mind. What makes us unique should not be what divides us, but rather what unites the world’s people.