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Garret Rohan
ENGL101
Dr. Dev Bose
DRAFT
Muslims in America

Recently I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Ayman Akil, a successful pharmaceutics
professor who is a Syrian born US citizen. At a time when many of our governors are opposed to
allowing Syrian refugees to settle in their states;1 and politicians hoping to be elected as the
President of the United States are suggesting a ban on Muslims entering the US or increasing
police presence in Muslim neighborhoods, it led me to question what life is like for Muslims in
America. Although there are many aspects to this topic, there are four key questions of interest:
How do Muslims view America and Americans? What are the foundational sources of Islamic
beliefs and practices? What is the origin of American islamophobia? Finally, how is the
Muslim American community dealing with stereotyping? Addressing these questions can give
insight as to whether there is hope that islamophobia will vanish in the upcoming years and
become a thing of the past.
Many Muslims in the Middle East saw America as the land of opportunity and where big
dreams come true. But at the same time, US foreign policy and wars in the Middle East made
them think that Americans were bullies and hostile. Additionally, Muslims views of America and
Americans were shaped by Hollywood movies shown overseas. Some of these films generate
mixed views in that they present in some cases an advanced strong nation and others dramatize a

wealthy and lavish life. So it is with these developed ideas that Muslims begin to dream of
coming to the US to pursue a better life. Unfortunately when they arrive they are sometimes met
with hostility and skepticism due to unjustified stereotyping.
Islam, Islamic, Muslim, Arab: these are all terms which must be properly defined to
better understand the topic at hand. Islam is the name of the religion. Islamic is an adjective
essentially describing the nature of anything related to Islam. A Muslim is a person who claims
to be of the Islam faith. Arab is a person who comes from one of the 22 Arab countries
spanning the Middle East and North Africa. Although the lineage of Arab people is
predominantly the same according to my discussions with Dr. Akil. Islam is one of the three
Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The foundational source of Islamic beliefs
is similar to the other two Abrahamic religions. Islam calls for the worship of one God, Allah
which is the Arabic word for God. Islam also requires the belief in the angels, teachings, and
prophets of Allah. In this religion Jesus and Muhammad are prophets of Allah. Islamic religion
also teaches that there is a day of resurrection (Day of Judgment). My discussions with Dr. Akil
helped to develop a more spiritual understanding of the Islamic religion. He believes that the
essence of Islam is being a worker for God on earth. That means making earth a better place for
all humanity to live. It is for this reason that Islam advocates and teaches things like honesty,
mercy, kindness, compassion, trust and hard work.
The holy book of Islamic faith is the Quran. Given that Islam is one of three Abrahamic
religions, the teaching in the Quran mirrors many of the same ideals of Christianity and Judaism.
In fact the Quran contains much text about Christianity and Judaism. So the same God is the
center of their faith just as it is in Christianity and Judaism. Islam however does not recognize
other religions of any other source. However, respect, kindness, and mercy to all people is a must

for people of Islamic faith no matter what their religion is. It is important to note that Islam
teaches that no human being shall be forced into following the message of God. Muslims can
invite others to their religion but with wisdom and good word. These characteristics contradict
the American sentiment of Islamophobia
A document which analyzes Islamophobia in our country is a 2011 report entitled Fear,
Inc.: The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America, which was published by the Center
for American Progress 2. This document discusses the misinformation and its sources regarding
anti-Islamic rhetoric that has caused a fear of Muslims in America. Generally fear of anything
usually stems from being uninformed or misinformed, and the same applies when it comes to the
issue of islamophobia. By most estimates, there are about 3 million Muslims in the US. That
represents less than 1% of the population3. So you can imagine that not too many non-Muslim
Americans have the chance to meet or know a Muslim. So most non-Muslim Americans get their
knowledge about Muslims from the media, which unfortunately mostly features reports on
Muslims only when horrific attacks happen. The media is not covering regular law abiding
Muslims because there is no story to cover there and no shock value. Therefore, that gives a
biased image of Muslims which a lot of people use as their primary source of knowledge about
them. In summary the basis of islamophobia is two-fold it stems either from people who are
uninformed (do not know a Muslim or much about Muslims) or those who are misinformed
(biased through media coverage).
So what are Muslim Americans doing to combat this dangerous stereotyping? As I
learned from my interview with Dr. Akil, Muslim leaders in the community like him are
speaking out and not only educating non-Muslims but also reaching out within their communities
to encourage others to do the same. Muslim organizations are creating and offering resources to

educate the media and the general public about Islam. A pamphlet created by the American
Muslim Council in Washington, D.C. in the 1990s was used to teach Muslims how to prepare
letters to the editor of local newspapers and organize meetings to correctly inform the media.
There are several organizations that have been set up to report and track hate crimes against
American Muslims. Additionally, a greater understanding of what it is like to be a Muslim in
America can be developed through Arab-American literature which deals with questions of
identity, cross-cultural differences, and misunderstanding.
However, it important that for a true understanding of Muslims, we recognize the validity
of the literary source which we are reading or viewing. There have been several cartoons or
films which have been released in western society mocking Muhammad. Muslims responded
with protest and violence against these portrayals. This protest occurred because Muhammad is
a prophet in the Islamic religion. They believe that God chose him to deliver his message and
teach the Islamic religion to the people. Muslims believe that he is the best human to have ever
lived. They pray for him because he prayed for them. It is part of official Islamic (is this how its
referenced? The way its written doesnt quite make sense) calling to bear witness that there is
only one God who is Allah and that Muhammad is his messenger. Given this strong sentiment,
the topic of the Prophet Muhammad is extremely sensitive and bad portrayals of him are
completely off limits to many Muslims. Therefore, Muslims reacted out of their emotions to the
negative portrayals of Prophet Muhammad. The strong reaction was condemned by some of the
Muslim community. They felt that protest was fine, however violence was not. Islam condemns
violence and teaches Muslims to practice restraint when angry and not to let their emotions get
best of them. These violent protests only feed the negative stereotyping of Muslims.

Negative views of Muslims in America are generated mainly through media coverage,
and more recently through the opinions of current presidential candidates. Donald Trump has
exploited peoples anger and fear of Muslims to bring attention to himself in a busy field of
candidates. He started with illegal immigrants, then Muslims, then other minorities and so on
and so forth. Mr. Cruz has used the same tactic for his campaign and has stated that isolated
Muslim neighborhoods in Europe have become recruiting grounds for terrorists and has
indicated that an increased police presence is needed in Muslim American neighborhoods.
Isolation and alienation of peaceful U.S. Muslims would be a poor decision by our government.
By making Muslims feel that they are distrusted or not part of our primary community, will
promote homegrown terrorism. The same terrorism that now threatens European nations.
When I asked Dr. Akil if he had experienced any kind of discrimination in America due
to his religion, he responded that he had not and that he has been lucky that people who he has
met and interacted with in the US have always been kind and respectful. This gives me hope for
a future where islamophobia does not exist. As more Muslims and non-Muslims interact, people
will become correctly informed about the right images of Muslims. However this will require
work on the part of Muslim community to reach out and present to people the true image of
Muslims as peaceful, patriotic and law abiding citizens, and Americans to accept those images.
In the end both Muslims and non-Muslims alike have aspirations and ambitions for a better life
for themselves and their families.

Works Cited
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/11/17/most-americans-say-islam-is-at-

odds-with-american-values/

https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wpcontent/uploads/issues/2011/08/pdf/islamophobia_intro.pdf

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/01/06/a-new-estimate-of-the-u-s-muslim-

population/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/mr-cruz-invites-muslim-radicalization-in-

america/2016/03/25/145c16e6-f29f-11e5-89c3-a647fcce95e0_story.html