Mirza Ahmad on the hardships of being a Muslim American, and how we can combat Islamaphobia.
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One evening, an elderly warrior told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.
He said, “My son, the battle is between two ‘Wolves’ inside us all. One is evil. It is anger, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego.
The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.”
The grandson thought about it a minute and then asked his grandfather…
“Which wolf wins?”
The old warrior replied, “The one that you feed.”
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Right now in America, the wolf that breeds fear, distrust, and exclusion is being fed by Donald Trump and his supporters in the Republican Party. This anti-Muslim rhetoric is creating a hostile atmosphere that if left unchecked could lead to disenfranchisement among the US Muslim population and hurtle the US towards a self-fulfilling prophecy about Islamic extremism.
…a move viewed by French Muslims as an infringement on their religious beliefs.
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After the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris last year, French President Francois Hollande asked the French people to observe a moment of silence the following day. Many Muslim students in predominantly Muslim neighborhoods refused to honor this moment of silence. A strong contributing factor to this act of defiance was a Muslim population that felt disenfranchised due to social isolation, stigmatization, anti-Muslim discrimination in the French labor market, poor schools, and legislative actions such as the French ban on wearing head scarves by Muslim women, a move viewed by French Muslims as an infringement on their religious beliefs.
France boasts the largest Muslim population in Europe, yet Muslim integration into French society has failed due to the above mentioned issues, as well as an atmosphere of fear mongering by parties that view Islam as a threat to the French way of life. For example, the famous French ban on wearing the head scarf by Muslim girls in school was fueled by fears that it represented a Trojan horse that would lead to the Islamization of all of France. Similarly, fast food chains serving only halal hamburgers made headlines in Le Monde as a threat to French values.
Now whereas France (and the rest of Europe for that matter) has had to deal with this issue of integration only in the last 50 years or so, America has had over two centuries of experience in creating a successful melting pot. Yet, American history tells us that this success was not easy and we have seen instances where fear, prejudice, and intolerance have driven the country to target specific groups like the Irish, Italians, Germans, Japanese, Iranians, etc.
At a time of deep need for open dialogue and a broader understanding of Islam, the xenophobic rhetoric from Trump and like-minded Republicans is narrow and intolerant leading to the demonization of anything Islamic. It is one thing for a portion of the general public to hold xenophobic, anti-Islamic beliefs, but when those beliefs are affirmed by a country’s influencers and thought leaders, the physical manifestation of that vindication can be very harmful.
The alienation this vitriolic atmosphere creates is exactly what Jihadists look for when recruiting for their cause.
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Consequently, we have seen an uptick in hate crimes and anti-Islamic rhetoric over the last few months ranging from physical and verbal abuse against Muslims, boycotting the practice of Arabic calligraphy at a school, suspending a teacher who dared to state that Muslims and Christians worship the same God, to incidents of attacks and vandalism against mosques. The alienation this vitriolic atmosphere creates is exactly what Jihadists look for when recruiting for their cause. We must not make the same mistakes that Europe has made in their efforts to integrate Muslims into their society.
In a speech at a Naturalization Ceremony hosted by the National Archives, President Obama delivered a powerful counterpoint to Trump and the divisive elements in the Republican Party about what it means to live in a democratic society when he stated:
“The truth is, being an American is hard. Being part of a democratic government is hard. Being a citizen is hard. It is a challenge. It’s supposed to be. There’s no respite from our ideals. All of us are called to live up to our expectations for ourselves – not just when it’s convenient, but when it’s inconvenient. When it’s tough. When we are afraid.”
In his final State of the Union address, President Obama talked about America’s strength and America’s leadership by stating that as a country,
“We need to reject any politics that targets people because of race or religion…When politicians insult Muslims, whether abroad or our fellow citizens, when a mosque is vandalized, or a kid is called names, that doesn’t make us safer…it diminishes us in the eyes of the world.”
The coming months leading up to the elections and its results will bear witness to which wolf America decides to feed. America has always derived its strength from its diversity, and Islam and Muslims have been a part of this nation since its inception. Now more than ever, we need American Muslims to feel part of the American nation, American ideals, and American dream.
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Photo credit: Getty Images