NYT Readers Respond to Letter from Arab American
Opinion Pages
The New York Times
Readers respond to a Jan. 31 letter from Jenan Matari about the discrimination she has faced as a young Muslim-American.
To the Editor:
Let’s talk “identity politics.” I don’t have a single label. I’m a woman. I’m Muslim. I’m Arab. I’m Latina. Every one of those labels has become some type of political identity that leads me to support those in power whose policies keep my rights protected. What happens when the newly elected government threatens your identities and your rights?
Because I do not fit the mold of “white, Christian, all-American girl next door,” I — and many people like me who are considered “diverse” — have been tagged as less important, and our rights and safety concerns have been pushed aside by our president with every executive order he signs. People like me are actually larger in number than you may think. The millennial generation is said to be the most diverse in our history, with 43 percent of us being nonwhite.
It has been less than two weeks under Donald Trump’s America, and he has already taken steps to bar many Muslims from entering the United States, deport illegal immigrants, reinstate the abortion gag rule, have a wall built on the Mexican border and reconsider the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Since the executive order on Muslims was signed, I have personally faced discriminatory comments from my fellow citizens such as “She needs to go,” and “Arrest them, jail them for terrorism, then deport them.” America has a dark and shameful history when it comes to providing those fleeing persecution and war with safety and security.
As a Muslim woman, I have heard things like “Muslim feminist is an oxymoron.” I have been made to feel like an outsider in my own place of birth and am being threatened with some fantasized “cleansing of America” of people of my faith.
So what can we do? We need to fight back. We need to demand different policies. Together, we can prove that it’s not about the power of the government, but the power of the people that can make a change.
JENAN A. MATARI
New York
The writer is co-founder and editor in chief of the website MissMuslim.
Readers React
The letter by Ms. Matari will convince few if any of her detractors that a broad-based distrust of Islam as a religion is wrong and should be separated from a fear of Islamist-inspired terrorism. She never seems to admit that there is any basis for that fear, or that aspects of her religion as increasingly practiced in many Muslim-majority countries, and occasionally called for by some in Islamic communities here, represent a frightening step backward in human history and our respect for basic human rights.
I distrust all of the major religions when practiced to an extreme and when they attempt to meddle in politics, but adherents of no other religion attacked this country in the name of their religion in order to provoke a holy war. While it remains a fact that a citizen of this country is many more times likely to be killed violently by other non-Muslim citizens, or even by being run over by a cab, the constant threat of violence from Islamist extremists is real, and not likely to end any time soon.
We absolutely have a long, shameful and continuing history of prejudice; as the offspring of Czarist Russian émigrés, during the Cold War I experienced the ridiculous distrust of many here toward people perceived as a threat. I also recognize that the vast majority of Muslim-Americans simply want to be left in peace. But while non-Muslims need to look at ourselves, Muslims do, too. To counter prejudice there must be wider acknowledgment within your community that the threat is real, and there must be a more visible attempt to make it clear that Muslim-Americans do not adhere to the worst practices of their religion.
VALENTIN K. GRIBKOFF
Watertown, Mass.
I don’t think much about my Muslim self. I occupy my life thinking about myself as a doctor, husband, father, son, friend and neighbor. Nonetheless, I am thoroughly Muslim. That is my identity. Society wants to hate the Muslim part of me. Not because it knows it, but rather because it doesn’t understand it.
The stories in recent days are so heartbreaking: green cards surrendered, visas revoked, little children separated from their parents, abandoned Syrian refugees. Is the false sense of security worth imposing such suffering? I wish the thousands of patients I took care of in Louisiana for many years and who get their view of Muslims from Fox News knew that their doctor was Muslim. Maybe then, they wouldn’t be so quick to judge. Once the labels fade into the background, most human beings realize they are not all that different from one another.
We are dealing with gun violence, school shootings, lack of health care access, an obesity and diabetes epidemic, and so much more. These are things of much more serious public health import. These do threaten the lives of Americans in a serious and meaningful way. We don’t need a prejudiced ban. We just need Americans to talk to one another.
UMER AHMAD
Basking Ridge, N.J.
No doubt because I am old enough to have experienced — and participated in — civil rights and marriage equality struggles, I am confident that we can defeat Ms. Matari’s enemies as long as we are patient, persistent and polite. Patience because it will take a while before Donald Trump’s supporters realize that his policies will not fulfill his extravagant promises of safer and better times. Persistence because it will take repeated efforts to break through the like-minded friendships, Fox News and Twitter insults that Trump supporters use to create a self-defined world. Politeness because anger and insults from us liberals only reinforce the belief of Mr. Trump’s base that he must be doing something right. Millions of us are with you, Ms. Matari. We will overcome.
PETER K. FROST
Williamstown, Mass.
I’m not even sure I know what “identity politics” means. As an adopted Asian-American who grew up in rural part of a mostly white state (Maine), I can’t say I identify with anything other than myself. The way I vote is based on my convictions, not because I am Asian or grew up in a white family. This term gets thrown around so much by partisans on both sides that it has become meaningless. It is both a call to action and an accusation, a source of unity and a slur. So if someone could adequately define what “identity politics” that encompasses all the ways that it gets used, I would be greatly appreciate it.
STEPHANIE HARRELL
Hillsborough, N.C.
No person should be subject to the harassment that Ms. Matari has described. But Ms. Matari should also realize that she, as a Muslim, is treated far better in the United States than Jews or Christians are in any Muslim-majority country. Perhaps, just perhaps, if Muslim countries practiced the toleration for other faiths that we have here and that Ms. Matari would want, Muslim-Americans would find themselves more courteously treated.
ALAN PEKELNER
New York
Dear Ms. Matari: I am one old woman who is ashamed to call myself an American since Donald Trump assumed the presidency. My heart hurts for what you are needlessly enduring. The blatant prejudice that has crawled out of the woodwork since his run for office has been horrifying. I thought maybe we had begun to evolve past such horrors.
All I can promise you is that this one little old lady will do everything I can to make it better. I will write letters, donate to causes, make calls, lobby, march in the streets. I will volunteer in any way I can to make America really great, which can happen only when we realize the beauty of diversity.
I am so horrified and disgusted by the prejudice of former immigrants to our newer immigrants. We are all immigrants here — except Native Americans, and, ironically, they have dealt with horrific prejudice as well. So sad. So senseless.
I wish that one old lady could make more of a difference.
DALE KATZEN
New York
The Writer Responds
The chances of an American citizen falling victim to a terrorist attack on American soil by a foreigner is infinitesimal. Americans are much more likely to become victims of violence by white men with guns than by ISIS and its sympathizers. Mr. Gribkoff acknowledges the irrational fear of Muslims; if people would properly inform themselves about the true threats to American lives — which include our own health issues, as Dr. Ahmad stated — rather than play into the fear-mongering media, they would understand just how irrational their fear of Muslims is. Religion is not at fault; people who misinterpret its teachings are.
While I, and many others like me, acknowledge the very real fear of Islamic extremists, fearing Islam in its entirety only perpetuates “otherizing” those who look, speak and pray differently than ourselves and causes more division among our citizens. We must acknowledge the “moderate” Muslims (true Muslims) who are speaking out against this violence and understand that we are risking our safety and our lives to do so.
We need to remain persistent and patient, as Mr. Frost says. We must instill in our children compassion, understanding and a genuine curiosity to learn. While the writers’ responses have been enlightening and encouraging, I come out of this wonderful dialogue just wanting to give Ms. Katzen a big hug.
JENAN A. MATARI
New York
