Now does everyone know the meaning of phobia? Well according to Google it is an ‘extreme or irrational fear of or aversion to something.’ People have phobias of heights, spiders, clowns which are pretty common. Then there’s the ‘believe it or not, it’s real’ phobias such as the fear of long words or the number 13 but then there is the phobia that is just too ridiculous, I can’t believe it exists. It is the fear of Muslims; the technical term is islamophobia.
The term islamophobia has been around since the 20th century, but it is within the last 19 years that the world has distrusted and feared the Islamic community. In the wake of the 9/11 attack, which was the day that changed the world in many ways. It was one of America’s Darkest Day according to newspaper article from Detroit Free Press, killing 2,977 people, in a combined and orchestrated terrorist attack on multiple high-profile targets such as the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon in the USA. These inhumane attacks were perpetrated by Muslim extremists who not only pushed the boundaries of Islam but the boundaries of humanity as they had used planes as weapons.
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After 9/11, the Muslim community around the world were painted as terrorists – this caused fear among the Muslim community. Let’s take a look at, Dalia Mogahed, who was an American Muslim living in the USA at the time, says “not only had my country been attacked, but in a flash, somebody else's actions had turned me from a citizen to a suspect.” In another case, after the Sir Lanka bombings a Muslim woman, who wished to stay anonymous, feared her safety which resulted in her taking her hijab off because of the comments and looks she was getting. These are the real effects of the Muslim people being under constant suspicion which is heartbreaking.
‘Most terrorist victims are Muslim’ headline from Pacific Standard reads which continues to state the statistics that in Somalia, where as many as 98.9 percent of people are Muslim, terrorists carried out over 359 attacks in 2016 alone. Alongside these statistics was the mentioning of the New Zealand shooting at a Mosque, which is a Muslims place of praying, where over fifty Muslims had lost their lives.
Now let’s consider Senator Fraser Anning’s approach on the New Zealand attack where he ‘blames immigration for the NZ mosque attack’ according to Dhaka Tribune in comparison to New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, who came together with the Muslim community mourning with the victim’s family wearing a hijab when in fact she is not Muslim. This act of respect shows the beauty of what real leaders should be doing.
Now you see the Western media has instigated and perpetuated the myth that the majority of practising Muslims, are seen as terrorists, or their religion is strange which significantly affects how we oversee inspiring Muslims. The negative portrayal needs to be challenged because it is unfair and based on ignorance and fear.
In the web article from The Conversation, the headline reads, ‘Christchurch attacks show Islamophobia is real.’ Islamophobia is also seen when a white male yelled “I hate Muslims” as he drove into a mosque killing one person however according to The Times, he was just a ‘lone wolf’ and a father of four with a mental illness. How come this white man was given sympathy but as soon as a mentally ill Muslim murderers someone for example, the Lindt Café siege in 2014, he was plastered as a ‘terrorist’ when, however it wasn’t a terrorist attack?
Now the prejudice isn’t just towards Muslims directly, but also their religion of Islam. They have faith in Prophet Muhammad and the book he wrote the Quran, just like Christians believe in Jesus and the Bible. I just want to remind you all that because someone follows a certain religion it doesn’t make them any different to you. Islam is a beautiful religion, a religion of peace and the only religion that hasn’t been changed for modern times.
Non-Muslims may think that Ramadan, which is one of the biggest celebrations within the Muslim community around the world is strange because healthy and mature adults fast for a month between daylight hours. You may be thinking what religion would ever condom fasting? Well simply put, Islam. But did you that Ramadan is used to develop strength and to have self-control to resist bad habits according to? Ramadan is significant to Muslims because they believe it was when the Quran was revealed and that the gates to hell are closed for the month.
With all the negativity surrounding the Muslim community it makes us overlook all the positive actions within our Muslim community. A great example is when I googled ‘most inspiring people’ I, quite honestly, was sadden. Most names that I saw were people like Sir Isaac Newton, William Shakespeare and Oprah Winfrey. Don’t get me wrong these people are undoubtedly inspiring but the reason I was sad when googling this was because the mention of Fatima Al Fihru was minimal. According to the Stylist she was a Muslim woman to founded the first known university over 1,000 years ago, which even Guinness World Records acknowledges it as the oldest existing University that still operates today, the al-Qarawiyyin.
During my research I found a beautiful news site called About Islam which was filled with positivity about Muslims which needs to be greater recognised in our society. Headlines I saw read ‘Muslim cop dove into freezing river to save a man’ and ‘a group of Muslim doctors still continue to offer free medical health care.’ These are just two examples of the great kindness show by people who identify as Muslim, and there are so many more.
Now, as someone who has grown up around people who identify as Muslims; my Nene, Dede, my cousins, who are my close family, it is with such heartbreak to see the media smeared in hatred towards this religion. I mean at the speed of light, as soon as a suspected terrorist attack happens, majority of people make status about Muslims as a whole and disregarding the fact that not all Muslims are terrorists. Look, that’s my Nene, she is not a terrorist she’s just a crazy chicken lady!
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