Profiling Alienates US Muslims
The terror attacks in Paris, which killed 17 people, have reignited a debate in Western media on the threat of Islamic extremism to the western civilization. Following attacks on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a kosher grocery store, Rupert Murdoch declared all “moderate Muslims responsible for the jihadist cancer due to their inaction.” Such comments in the media reinforce the perception that Muslims condone violence, that Islam is inherently violent or that a clash of civilizations is taking place.
The truth is fewer than 1 percent of Muslims worldwide have engaged in terrorism.
Muslims in America are highly assimilated and have offered a lot to this country as physicians, engineers, entrepreneurs and teachers, yet the incessant negative portrayal of Muslims in the media would suggest otherwise.
While we have heard about the Kouachi brothers repeatedly on TV and radio, we’ve heard far less about Ahmad Merabet, the Muslim policeman who died heroically in Paris fighting the terrorists, or Lassana Bathily, the Muslim kosher market employee who led a group of people to safety during the assault. It appears Muslims are mentioned on TV only if there is a negative story attached to them, and every time that happens I see the anguish on the faces of my children who feel deeply hurt and insulted by this unfair caricature of Muslims.
Imagine being a Muslim, particularly a young Muslim male, in today’s America. You are bombarded with media images that show Muslim men as bad guys. Imagine always fearing what others in your school, college and workplace think about you because of your name or how you may look. Imagine carrying the constant burden of defending your religion, of always being hypervigilant since any of your opinions or protests may be misconstrued as supporting terrorism.
Source: www.cincinnati.com