Muslim Immigration

Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Muslims everywhere began to be wrongfully persecuted and attacked. They have also since been denied equality in the workplace as “Americans with Muslim names have a harder time finding a job” and “American Muslims have experienced increased job discrimination since 2001” (Epstein 53). Without the ability to find a job, not only are Muslims effected in their daily lives, they are also unable to find a source of income, hindering them from supporting their families. Muslim religion can also cause further disturbances because there are several “law-abiding Muslims who are unfairly targeted and punished simply because they are Muslim” (qtd. in Epstein 52). This exemplifies the idea

The “mold of a Muslim post 9/11 was anyone fitting the description of a Muslim, which was wearing a hijab for women and wearing a turban for men. If you went to a mosque, which was the Muslim house of worship, you were considered a Muslim. Anyone who fit that “mold” had a red flag put on them. For example, Rasha and her family were arrested and detained by the FBI in the middle of the night, “because they were being investigated for possible terrorism connections” (21). Due to the heightened level of security after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 committed by Muslim extremist; this family was targeted because of their religious beliefs. Ironically, the Muslim extremism that the terrorists of 9/11 depicted was a direct contrast of the true core Muslim values of honesty and compassion that Muslims are taught in their families. For instance, when she was young, Rasha’s parents taught her “the simple values of honesty, compassion and protecting her honor” (17). Readers can see that Rasha’s family valued their Muslim heritage and brought her up to value them as

A 2006 Today/Gallup poll found that 44% of Americans had the perception that all Muslims were too extreme in their religious beliefs and 22% of the respondents would not want a Muslim as a neighbor. Islamophobia in America skyrocketed as a result of the 9/11 attacks and changed the way that Muslim-Americans and other Americans were able to interact with one another. These statistics show that there was significant fear of Muslims in the years after 9/11. In the years following the attacks, the number of hate crimes against Muslims in America spiked and have not dropped to pre-attack levels since. As Graph 1 shows, in 2001, there were a reported 481 hate crimes and majority of these would have occurred in the months following September. Although

The history of terrorism is as old as humans’ willingness to use violence to affect politics. Terrorism can affect everyone, whether directly or indirectly. However, a group that is largely affected is immigrants, mainly due to the U.S. policies on Counter-Terrorism. These policies might protect our country, but they also indirectly lead to discrimination against immigrants. The U.S. policy on Counter-Terrorism causes unfair immigration laws, encourages social media to demonize foreigners, and creates an unfair society for immigrants to live in.

Immediately affter 9/11, Muslim Americans were victims to more frequent hate crimes and bias incidents. According to the FBI (2002), hate crimes against Muslims rose 1,600 percent between the years of 2000 and 2001; going from 12 hate incidents in 2000 to 93 in 2001. A study conducted immediately after 9/11 showed that 40 percent of Americans felt that the attacks represented the “true teachings of Islam” and that between 2002 and 2003 the number of Americans that thought Islam promotes violence against non-Muslims rose by 14 percent (Panagopoulos, 2006). When Muslims themselves were surveyed, their feelings mirrored the findings in post 9/11 studies: 91 percent of Muslims surveyed believed that discrimination against Muslims in the United

The idea of a Muslim registry, a current and widely discussed issue, has no place in modern day America. However, the ridiculous and preposterous suggestion is surprisingly supported by many American citizens. Those in favor of registering Muslims argue that with a registry, America will be safer from possible terrorist attacks. These people are motivated by fear, fear of a small group of people which has transformed into fear of an entire religion. Many think that the registry is a necessary measure to ensure America’s safety, but it seems that history is repeating itself.

According to a Family Nurse Practitioner, Terry McCleary, since President Trump’s election, “There have been fewer and fewer new Mexican immigrants coming to my clinic.” This is probably happening because a lot of the Mexican immigrants in the US are illegal immigrants, and now they have gone back to their original country mostly because they are scared of being deported. I noticed that Muslim countries are such a big topic these days, when just a few years ago the Muslim immigrant population was not very popular. Now there are a large number of immigrants from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala in the Bay Area. They have come to escape from the violence in their countries. Studies indicate that there are now mostly immigrants from India, China, and South America in the US. Ever since President Trump was elected, there has been so much communication about muslims coming into the country. The thought of Muslim immigrants coming to the US has a whole new viewpoint. According to the article from the Boston Globe, “Trump suspended the admission from other countries for 120 days and suspended the entry of citizens from seven muslim countries for 90 days”. This action demonstrates that President Trump thinks that Muslim immigrants to us are a big threat to our country. I believe that this a bias ban because it prevents mostly non-criminals from coming here.

The paper notes that in the pre-9/11 America, American Muslims enjoyed the same rights that other Americans did, engaging themselves in such activities as institution-building, public work, and integration. The process of integration, however, was severely disrupted by 9/11 because many Americans unfortunately began to hold all Muslims accountable for the terrorist attack, distrusting them, discriminating against them, and subjecting them to various forms of hatred. The media played a crucial role in this endeavor, as commentators began to draw a link between Islam and extremist political beliefs.

Legendary boxer and famous figure for the Muslim community, Muhammad Ali once said: “The word 'Islam ' means 'peace. ' The word 'Muslim ' means 'one who surrenders to God. ' But the press makes us seem like haters.” As Ali points out the United States public today has criminalized the religion of Islam and this has caused discrimination on the structural level. Citizens in the United States expect that they are not subject to marginalization and be treated equally. Instead what Muslim constituents are finding is that they are being treated unfairly by law enforcement. Undermining the laws of the United States sets a dangerous precedent for the future. Thus it is absolutely crucial that the United States federal

September 11th holds many hard and upset feelings around the world today. The harsh actions of Muslim extremists unfortunately completely changed the way Muslims are treated, especially in the United States. These events, exacerbated islamophobia. Unfortunately, “the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, connect Muslims and Islam to terrorism within the geographical borders of the United States.” (Byng) Although it has been over a decade since the attack, many still feel racist and discriminatory attitudes towards Muslims. Muslims are the targeted minority in the United States, “the 9/11 terrorist attacks shifted the social and political context for Muslims in the United States. Terrorism within the geographical borders of the United States carried out by Muslims places an identity at the center of national and global politics.” (Byng) The blame of the horrible terrorist attacks, rather than be placed on terrorists or religious extremist, has been placed on Islam in America. After September 11th, hate crimes towards Muslims skyrocketed, “the most dramatic change noted by the report was a more than 1,600 percent increase in reported hate crimes against Muslims -- a jump from 28 hate incidents in 2000 to 481 last year.”

The truth is that Islam literally means peace. There’s also irony in that Islam rejects western notions, even though many western inventions such as Algebra and numerous scientific advancements came from the Islamic golden age. The vast majority of Muslims in America are actually patriotic towards America, and have assimilated well. I've broken the mold of being seen as a terrorist, as I’m a peaceful person to the extent where i wouldn’t hurt a fly. Also, because i was born in America, I have a lot more in common with my own country than the heathens we’re portrayed as. On a side note, my parents, who immigrated to America during the late 90s, speak fluent English and know more about this country than I

Explanation: Muslims are rejecting their own religion in hopes that it will avoid Islamophobia. Islamophobia is caused by the hatred, discrimination, and oppression that is received by Muslim immigrants. This religion that is built upon the concept of peace and is misunderstood by many Americans, causing believers to feel as if they need to reject their beliefs to avoid hatred. Muslim immigrants should feel welcomed into the United States and allowing the government to ban Muslims and to perform more rigorous searches on them because of their religion and race is

Ever since September 11, 2001 Americans along with the majority of the world’s population have been skeptical of Muslims. It’s a sad reality but it’s hard for people to think of a Muslim without linking them directly to terrorism. But these assumptions aren’t totally out of the blue—the Muslim’s religion, Islam, teaches a low tolerance for other religions and the Islamic government has no separation of church and state, so it’s only normal to assume that their government shall have a low tolerance as well—some however, immediately translate this into terrorism. Through the Islamic government and religion, relations with foreign countries, and separation amongst themselves it can be concluded that Islamic Fundamentalism is clearly a threat

The connection between Islam and terrorism was not intensified until the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center that pushed the Islamic faith into the national and international spotlight (Smith, 2013). As Smith (2013) articulated, “Many Americans who had never given Islam a second thought before 9/11 now had to figure out how to make sense of these events and relate to the faith tradition that ostensibly inspired them” (p. 1). One way in which people made sense of these events was through the media channels that influenced their overall opinions by shaping a framework of censored ideas (Yusof, Hassan, Hassan & Osman, 2013). In a survey conducted by Pew Forum (2012), 32% of people reported that their opinions of Muslims were greatly influenced by the media’s portrayal of Islam that depicted violent pictorials and fundamentalist Muslims. Such constant negative depiction is likely to lead to the inevitable—prejudice and hate crime. For instance, in 2002 alone there were approximately 481 hate crimes that were carried out against Muslims (Smith, 2013). Ever since the 9/11 attacks Muslim people have been the target of “suspicion, harassment and discrimination” (Talal, n.d., p. 9).

This survey reveals that the problem with the Islam faith is not racial: The Muslim people are welcomed, the Islam faith is not. The violence that has been perpetrated against America, whether executed or planned, has brought to fruition religious persecution not seen since the persecution of the Jews in W.W.II. This “trust no Arab” attitude has brought shame to the Constitutional intentions of freedom of religion intended by our forefathers, and has set religious tolerance back 200 years. Looking at media representation of Muslim Americans prior to 9-11, it shows religious diversity in America, depicting Muslim America as just another religious community seeking to advance and protect their interests, not unlike other Americans. After 9-11 the media portrayed representations of threat and fear, creating boundaries between Muslims and other Americans. Such depiction transforms the identity of Muslims and American religious pluralism (Byng, M. pg. 3).