On the day in question when Donald Trump and his Fox News sycophants attacked Representative Ilhan Omar’s words, which they took out of context, her larger point was that since 9/11, Muslims and anyone even suspected as being a Muslim in the United States – which mistakenly includes Sikhs – have been targeted, scapegoated, harassed, and oppressed for the actions of a total of 19 men of Saudi Arabian heritage.
To stereotype and scapegoat all followers of Islam for the events of 9/11, San Bernardino, and Orlando is as invalid as blaming all Christians for the despicable actions perpetrated by Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber who was involved in the so-called “Christian Identity” movement.
Yes, Representative Omar could have articulated her meaning better, but people tell me that I should articulate my words and meanings better virtually every day.
The difference, however, is that Trump and Fox have exchanged Nancy Pelosi with Ilhan Omar as the face of the enemy using fear and hatred as their weapon, and by so doing, have placed all U.S. Muslims at greater risk of marginalization and violence – U.S. Muslims who comprise a proud and patriotic people who love and cherish the United States no more and no less than any other group of people.
This cynical Islamophobic, xenophobic, and racist strategy equates to Trump’s bashing of Latinx asylum seekers from our southern border who wish to escape tyranny for themselves and their families, attacks on trans military personnel whose intention is to honorably serve their country, people of color who are demanding a more just system of justice, women who insist upon the freedom to control their own bodies and for gender pay equity, attempts to place a wedge between Jews and the Democratic Party, and the marginalization continues.
Representative Omar was speaking truth to power by issuing a warning as to the realities of Muslim U.S.-Americans.
Following the horrendous events of September 11, 2001, a national poll found that 50% of all U.S. residents believe that our government should place a ban on Muslims entering the country, an idea proposed by then presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and virtually instituted with his ascendency to the Oval Office.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) released its 2006 report finding that approximately 25% of U.S.-Americans consider Islam as a religion of hatred and violence, and that those with the most biased attitudes tend to be older, less educated, politically conservative, and more often support the Republican Party.
Though a 1963 U.S. Supreme Court case ruled unconstitutional any mandatory prayers or Bible readings at public schools or the promotion of religion, subsequent rulings declared the constitutionality of many forms of personal religious expression on school campuses.
The physical education teacher of a Muslim elementary school student in Iowa, however, forbad her from wearing a traditional Muslim full-body swimming garment during instruction in the school pool, but ordered her, instead, to wear a western-style bathing suit, which would force the student to act against her faith.
Her mother was compelled to educate the principal on Muslim religious practices. After much discussion, the principal agreed to permit the student to wear a swimming garment of her choice, though he warned the girl’s parent that the child would most likely incur angry and mocking epithets from her classmates, which he would be unable to control.
Muslim students, faculty, and staff, however, are routinely not accorded the opportunity to have a safe prayer space on campus to perform the salat (prayer), as required by the Five Pillars of Islam.
A case in point involved a 17-year-old high school junior in Ohio, who was barred by school administrators from praying in an empty classroom at lunch and before and after class hours. In this case, CAIR stepped in on the student’s behalf, and convinced the school district to reverse its policy.
Since September 11, 2001, we see growing numbers of violent acts directed against Muslims and incidents including “unreasonable arrests, detentions, and searches/seizures.”
For example, the CAIR report of 2005 (“Civil Rights Report: Unequal Protection) included an incident in which a Muslim woman wearing a hijab (the garment many Muslim women wear in public) took her baby for a walk in a stroller, when a man driving a truck nearly ran them over. The woman cried out that, “You almost killed my baby!,” and the man responded, “It wouldn’t have been a big loss.”
Nearly one-quarter of all reported civil rights violations against U.S.-American Muslims involve unwarranted arrests and searches. Law enforcement agencies routinely “profile” Muslims of apparent Middle Eastern heritage in airports or simply while driving in their cars for interrogation and invasive and aggressive searches.
In addition, governmental agencies, such as the IRS and FBI, continue to enter individuals’ private homes and mosques and make unreasonable arrests and detentions.
Individuals have targeted Sikhs and Hindus as well. Between 2002 and 2005, the Sikh Coalition organization listed 62 hate crimes directed against Sikh citizens of the United States.
National attention focused on the severe beating of Rajinder Singh Shalsa in New York City, and the fatal shooting of Sikh gas station owner Balbir Singh Sodhi in Mesa, Arizona. It is widely assumed that Sikhs are targeted because they wear turbans, which the public imagination equates with Muslims, which equates with “terrorism.”
In its 2015 report (“Islamophobia and Its Impact in the United States”), CAIR summarized a number of research sources, including the following:
• The public’s favorable rating of Islam sank from 40% in November 2001 to 30 percent in August 2010 according to the Pew Research Center.
• In late November 2010, the Public Research Institute found that 45% of Americans agree that Islam is at odds with American values.
• A Time magazine poll released in August 2010 found, “Twenty-eight percent of voters
do not believe Muslims should be eligible to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court. Nearly one-third of the country thinks adherents of Islam should be barred from running for President.”
According to key findings in CAIR’s 2018 research report:
“CAIR recorded a 17 percent increase in anti-Muslim bias incidents nationwide in 2017 over 2016. This was accompanied by a 15 percent increase in hate crimes targeting American Muslims, including children, youth, and families, over the same period.
Of particular alarm is the fact that federal government agencies instigated 35 percent of all anti-Muslim bias incidents recorded in 2017. This represents an almost unprecedented level of government hostility toward a religious minority within the United States, and is counter to the American value of religious freedom” (emphasis added).
Islamophobic xenophobia routinely surfaced throughout the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections. Members of the political right challenged and spread rumors regarding Barack Obama’s cultural, social, and religious background, political philosophies, U.S. birth status, and patriotism. Insinuations flew about his supposed Islamic background connected to his alleged Marxist and Fascist (which are contradictory) political influences.
Opponents referred to him as Barack Hussein Obama – with emphasis on “Hussein” — in their attempts to connect him not only to the Muslim faith, but also to the former ruler of Iraq. In fact, his middle name is indeed “Hussein,” which in Arabic translates as “good” or “beautiful.”
Furthermore, since this country is founded on the notion of freedom of religion, whichever religious or non-religious background any candidate, or any individual, follows should in no way disqualify or call into question their credentials.
Islamophobia can be defined as prejudice and discrimination toward the religion of Islam and Muslims who follow its teachings and practices. Like racism and sexism, for example, Islamophobia is much more than a fear, for it is a taught and often learned attitude and behavior, and, therefore, falls under the category of oppression.
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