Twaseen Mazumder
Professor Mcintosh
FIQWS 10108
11/7/20
Islamophobia and its Impact on the World
Islamophobia is a term that by definition means fear or hate directly intended for Muslims. Based on a stereotype of a few instances in which people’s actions led others to create a generalization, most people believe that Islam is a radical religion and that Muslims who follow it are “terrorists” who cause fear in the hearts of people. However, this assumption is far off from the truth as Muslims all over the world are dealing with issues such as drought and war while most people are living in comfort. Most people aren’t aware of this, and it’s important to know these facts because allowing such a stereotype to blind our perspectives towards a whole entire group of people is devastating. Islamophobia existed for years, but after what happened during September 11, 2001, it greatly increased and was seen everywhere. The events that occurred were sudden and no one could do anything about it, and when around 3,000 deaths were confirmed in the most well-known city throughout the world, it was shocking news that shook the entire world. When the perpetrators were attributed to Islam, people everywhere felt anger and harbored hatred towards Muslims because they believed that they were responsible for the terrible tragedy that had just occurred. Although the culprits behind the incident were only 4, everyone directed the blame towards the religion itself and its followers who had no part in the incident itself. This led to a drastic increase in Islamophobia as Muslims would face harsh circumstances for years to come and deal with everyday incidents. Muslims who went to work or went outside for any sort of business experienced harsh encounters with other strangers who would call them out and constantly harass them. Anytime a small incident occurred, Muslims were the first group of people to be accused without any sort of evidence, and it still continues on to this day.
Firstly, in the paper “The Impact of Islamophobia on the Muslim American Community…” by Areeza Ali, the main purpose is to inform people of the impact Islamophobia has on the Muslim American community through psychological suffering, identity crises, and traumatic incidents. This can be seen as Ali directy states what her purpose is, in the line “The purpose of this study was to explore and analyze the perceived psychological impact of Islamophobia experienced by Muslim Americans.” Ali’s target audience is primarily for non-Muslim Americans who are unaware of what Muslim Americans are going through due to Islamophobia, which she shows through her well used word choice. As she starts off with “ For Muslims living in America, the aftermath has led to widespread discrimination, harassment, dehumanization, and disempowerment, which have been normalized through mass media and government policies in the United States.”, she refers to the American Muslim community generally and not in a specific area, while addressing the general public of the consequences these Muslims suffer. Through the use of pathos, Ali is able to convey her message of Islamophobia having such a drastic impact. In the middle of her study, she narrates the first hand experiences of Muslims she encountered that were heavily impacted by Islamophobia. As one experience narrates, “There was an incident that took place a little over a year ago where someone wrote a discriminating phrase near my name. I did not feel that supervisors and those higher than my rank really tried to understand why it was so bothersome to me. It made me feel very alone. I felt like they wanted to sweep it under the rug. It also made me feel like if I expressed my concern about the situation, I was wrong.” Personal accounts such as these invoke a sense of emotion within the audience as they hear what Muslims have to say about the predicament they find themselves in, without any escape or relief.
In addition, in the BBC News magazine “Viewpoint: Islamophobia has a long history in the US” by Khaled Beydoun, the purpose is to show people that Islamophobia isn’t something that’s existed only recently, but has been present for a long period of time already and will continue to last as long as people still have the mentality that Muslims are “dangerous”. This is shown through Beydoun’s approach in his article, as he specifically discusses Islamophobia’s history from the last few decades. Beydoun cites events such as the Oklahoma City Bombing from 1995 and the September 11 attacks as significant occurrences that led to the rapid growth of Islamophobia. His target audience is primarily American citizens who have just heard about Islamophobia and aren’t aware of its long history, but still take part in it instinctively due to its widespread influence. In his statement, “Fear of Islam is tightly knit into the American fabric, and deeply rooted in its legal, political and popular imagination. Whenever a domestic terrorist attack takes place in America, many quickly turn to tropes of an “Islamic menace” or “violent foreigner“. While these tropes have taken on new forms and frames, they are conceptually identical to their predecessors”, Beydoun addresses the fact that whenever a situation breaks out the first to be blamed are Muslims, just as it occurred the same way during the past. Through the use of logos, Beydoun shows how the history of Islamophobia itself plays a role in its impact. Because of these historical events which led to many people believing that Muslims were the perpetrators, new policies were made as a result to regulate the actions of Muslims. As such, these past events shaped Islamophobia into the movement it is today and caused it to have an even bigger impact on American Muslims.
Moreover, in the Yaqeen Institute article “What is Islamophobia? The Politics of Anti-Muslim Racism” written by Nour Soubani, the purpose is to inform readers of what Islamophobia is and how it originated in America. Soubani reflects this purpose by informing the audience through “The purpose of this paper is to serve as an introduction to defining this term, through the different theoretical lenses that have been proposed by scholars in the field. These lenses help us to make sense of the various manifestations of Islamophobia—both structural and interpersonal—that have become normalized in everyday life and discourse and to connect these manifestations to their historical roots.” His target audience is aimed at American citizens who are completely unaware of the circumstances and do not know anything about Islamophobia except for stories they’ve heard. This is shown as Soubani mentions that “ Still others say that, due to freedom of speech and expression, criticizing a religion should not be considered discriminatory. As these discussions are happening, the number of hate crimes against Muslims are growing, anti-Muslim legislation is being passed, and media narratives about Muslims persist on age-old tropes about Islam. All of these have been labeled in common discourse as Islamophobia.” Since people continue to believe media narratives that are falsely based upon old stories of Muslims harming others, Soubani attempts to address this aspect to people by explaining Islamophobia in depth. Through the use of logos, he is also able to narrate the long and detailed history of Islamophobia and presents it as an easy to understand concept for those new to it. By discussing mainstream discourse and the current narrative that is spread as well as the historical roots of this movement, Soubani takes a similar approach to Beydoun from the previous source with the inclusion of more detail and insight into significant events.
Finally, in the article “Islamophobia: Psychologists are studying the impact of anti-Muslim sentiment and exploring ways to prevent it” written by Rebecca Clay, the main purpose is to show that Islamophobia has a negative mental impact upon Muslims and that there are ways which can be used to prevent Muslims from going through such things. She implies this through her word usage as she states “Psychologists are responding to this growing tide of Islamophobia. They’re working to overcome obstacles to researching this vulnerable population and documenting the impact anti-Muslim bias is having on Muslim Americans. They’re also creating interventions designed to help ensure Muslim Americans receive the mental health treatment they need and working to reduce societal prejudice of all kinds.”, further showing that she is aware of Muslims being impacted very heavily. Clay’s target audience includes American citizens who know little about Islamophobia and yet are unaware of the negative effects it has towards Muslims who are heavily affected by it. This is shown when she says in her article that “Muslim men get stereotyped as terrorists, violent and criminal,” says Nadal. For Muslim women, the most common stereotype is that they lack control over their own lives.”, which clarifies that this stereotype greatly misleads many into thinking that Muslims are terrorists. By using ethos, logos, and pathos, Clay is able to show that Islamophobia greatly impacts Muslims of all ages from as young as pre-teen years to old adults, and that there are methods that can be used to help Muslims get over their traumatic experiences. By using statements from Kevin L. Nadal, a PhD associate professor of psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York, and other PhD professors, she sets up the notion that Muslims are truly not exactly what they are labeled as. Also, by providing studies such as “According to a 2015 study of more than 600 Muslim students by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, more than half had experienced bullying—twice as high as the national average. And being called a terrorist, having a hijab pulled off and other acts of bullying can have a negative impact on students’ academic performance, mental health and physical health, says Ahmed, citing the research on bullying in general.” Clay utilizes statistics to further solidify her viewpoint while simultaneously emphasizing the negative experiences Muslim teens experience.
Islamophobia is a concept that encourages hate and prejudice of Muslims to the point where all blame is put onto them because they are radical and extreme. These 4 sources all address this concept in a multitude of ways, from giving statistics to explaining history. Ali, Beydoun, and Soubani mention some history regarding Islamophobia in their papers, while differing amongst themselves by the degree to which they delve into history. Ali explains a small amount of history pertaining to more recent events before moving onto personal accounts of Muslims who have gone through harsh treatment. Beydoun delves further into it by bringing up historical events and connecting them in terms of how they have led up to what Islamophobia is now. Soubani goes beyond both as he essentially uses similar info from Beydoun to further explain small details in addition to the long-term implications of certain events. Meanwhile, Clay avoids history and takes a completely different approach by getting certified and acclaimed professors who have considerable knowledge regarding Islamophobia. These sources also address slightly different audiences, with Beydoun and Soubani reaching out to people who have absolutely no idea about Islamophobia, while Ali and Clay go on to describe the suffering Muslims go through and how heavily their lives are impacted by this. Overall, all of these sources come together to address Islamophobia in their own respective ways, whether it be narrating historical incidents, providing first hand accounts of Muslims who have been affected greatly, or having well-informed professors deliver their own perspectives.
Works Cited
Monitor on Psychology, American Psychological Association, www.apa.org/monitor/2017/04/islamophobia.
Soubani, Nour. “What Is Islamophobia? The Politics of Anti-Muslim Racism.” Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research, 17 Sept. 2020, yaqeeninstitute.org/nour-soubani/what-is-islamophobia-the-politics-of-anti-muslim-racism.
“Viewpoint: Islamophobia Has a Long History in the US.” BBC News, BBC, 29 Sept. 2015, www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34385051. Ali, Areeza. “The Impact of Islamophobia on the Muslim American Community : Accounts of Psychological Suffering, Identity Negotiation, and Collective Trauma.” Smith ScholarWorks, scholarworks.smith.edu/theses/1879?utm_source=scholarworks.smith.edu%2Ftheses%2F1879.
