Mike Flang

History

Essay

5/13/14

Islam

Reports of such harassment and discrimination against Muslims are rising, advocacy groups say. 1,007 Americans shows strong anti-Muslim feeling. The main causes for our cultural bias towards Islam is because of 9/11, ignorance of Americans and the lack of trust for Muslims toward the Americans. When these factors are in the picture its hard to get rid the fear that strikes the hearts of Americans.

The dislike towards muslims has increased considerably after 9/11. "It is claimed that a community center (not a mosque) near (not at) Ground Zero is an insult and a symbol of terrorist victory. All bigotory parades out justifications" (Doc.C). It's just propaganda used by the Bush administration to make you think that they are all terrorists and they are all violent. There is strong evidence to suggest Al Quaida was not behind the attack, "It's the anniversary of 9/11, and instead of reflecting on that, Badalament wants everyone to believe that this was about cross-cultural understanding by reading something that promotes Islam and claiming there was a mixup as to why the Pledge was not read?" (Doc.E). Basically, the middle eastern countries enjoy an extremely luxurious life-style because they are rich in natural resources. Everyone wants a piece of that pie. I figure Bush would do anything to get his fingers into that pie, including creating a smear campaign against their religion and their culture.

Americans and their ignorance has brought up many divisions between religions such as Islam against the U.S like in Document J, Statistics from the Pew Center on Religion & Public Life find that 38 percent of Americans have an unfavorable view of Islam, compared to 30 percent who reported a positive view. Another study conducted by The Washington Post found Islam's unfavorable image creeping up to 49 percent among Americans. Our dangerous religious illiteracy was evident after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Religious leaders from multiple faiths--Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and others--quickly realized the dangers involved. The latest surveys show how little has changed. Wudu is the cleansing of places, in Document D it says, “Respectable Sears matrons shake their heads and frown as they notice what my grandmother is doing, an affront to American porcelain, a contamination of American Standards by something foreign and unhygienic.” It is a tradition for Muslims to wash and cleanse themselves but as said in this quote the Americans find that to be gross and dirty. They don’t look at it as a custom to Muslims they just automatically assume that Muslims have no self training but they don’t realize that this is apart of the Muslim culture, just like saying the Pledge of Allegiance is apart of ours. Like the picture in Document H, Americans like Terry Jones does not approve the Islam and Muslim religion. That’s why Terry is standing next to a banner that says, “International Burn A Koran Day” which is the burning of the Islamic Bible. Islam is a not the enemy. Ignorance is.

Americans are wrestling with fear, but on the other hand they're also wrestling with acceptance. It’s hard for