Islam in the Workplace: A Work in Progress

Recently, our society has grown aware of the clear disadvantages that women face in the workplace in terms of upward mobility and equal compensation. The plights of Muslim men and women in the workplace, however, have been greatly overshadowed by discussions of gender. Being a Muslim in the workplace comes with its unique set of disadvantages that impose unfair barriers that must be overcome: limited job opportunities and employment barriers, finding time for required prayer, and the particular hardships that Muslim women face to name a few. Unfortunately, these hardships are hardly a topic of conversation when discussing the current job market.

Disparities between Muslims and other religious groups can be seen throughout all stages and levels of employment, starting right when Muslims look for jobs.  While women who wear the hijab are more limited in their options than men are, both face some limitations based on other aspects of their faith.  Many restaurants and foodpacking jobs, for example, would pose many obstacles to many Muslim employees due to the need to handle pork.  Other things, such as accommodations for prayer and scheduling, could make working in some fields or occupations problematic.

Plenty of Muslims would be able to fulfill the demands of these occupations–if they were given the chance, that is.  The fact is that discrimination begins as soon a Muslim submits their application.  Muslim workers of both genders are much less likely to be called in for interviews compared to their peers of other religions.  As cited in Herb Scribner’s article on the inequality Muslims face in the workplace worldwide, the percentage of applicants called in for interviews can be as low as 2% for Muslims whereas Catholics see a 17% callback in some conservative states.

This is something that can be extremely difficult for applicants to combat, as they never even get into the door.  Some Muslim applicants don’t even have to put anything about their faith down for the discrimination to reach them.  For Muslims who happen to also be of Middle Eastern or even South Asian descent, their names can be enough to turn employers off of their application.  This goes with the coupling of particular racial/ethnic and religious groups, negatively affecting both groups.  The idea that every brown person is a Muslim and every Muslim is a violent terrorist impairs people who are brown, Muslim, or both.

That alone goes to show that this affects more than the Muslim community, and tells a lot about the opinions of many Americans.  Muslims (or people easily mistaken to be Muslim) are seen immediately thought to be either violent or untrustworthy, quickly undermining the efforts of a significant and quickly growing population in the United States.  Even if those hiring don’t have anything against Muslims themselves, if the current employees or those they’re trying to have business with do, then it affects the likelihood of Muslims being hired and having opportunities for promotion.  It’s not enough to admonish companies for their hiring processes, as they easily reflect views of the community.

Even when Muslims are able to overcome discrimination and get hired, they continue to face issues within the workforce. While employers will not outright ban religious worship within their companies, many are unwilling to accommodate for Muslims. Specifically, Muslims pray five times per day at specific times, and they physically need a space to lay down a prayer rug (if possible) and to kneel and touch the ground. Unfortunately, unless a Muslim has a private office, it is highly unlikely that their place of work will have a place where they can comfortably pray. Essentially, unless the Muslim employee holds a position high up the ladder within whatever company he or she works in – a position where they would have their own office and not in a shared office, cubicle, or working in a blue setting on a line – he or she will be forced to either skip prayers altogether, or pray in awkward locations such as bathrooms.

While the Equal Employment Commission (EEOC) specifically has laws and regulations in place to prevent workplace discrimination on the basis of religion, many employers and companies have still pushed back against demands by Muslims for time and space to accommodate their prayer habits.Earlier this year, a manufacturing company changed its company’s policy regarding religious observation. Before the change, Muslim employees were granted two five-minute breaks that were to be used for prayers. However, the company removed that policy claiming, “it does not allow for unscheduled breaks in production,” which forced the company’s fifty-three Muslims to squeeze their prayers into their lunch breaks. The company is protected by the notion that it does not have to accommodate Muslim prayer if it “causes undue hardship to the company or decreased workplace efficiency,” despite the fact that it is a policy that specifically targets Muslims practices much harder than other religions.

Muslims employees at Hertz faced a similar battle. Hertz was permitting two paid ten-minute breaks to accommodate Muslim prayer practices, but later changed the policy to force Muslims to clock out before taking their prayer breaks. This was done to prevent Muslims from taking prayer breaks longer than ten minutes. In this case though, the company made a clear effort to accommodate its employees, but changes had to be made to prevent employees from abusing paid breaks. However, when Muslim employees refused to sign this new agreement, they were fired.

Opinions vary on what the proper course of action is for both Muslim employees and their employers. In many of these instances, there is a clear effort on the part of the company to accommodate religious practices. Problems typically arise when policy changes occur which force a change of habit on the part of the employee. Many Muslims are understanding of the fact that they must produce as employees, and are willing to work with their employer to fit their religious practices into their work environment. Most are aware that everyone, not just Muslims, must adapt their lives in some way once they enter the workforce.

In further researching the topic of Islam in the workplace, the topic of the hardships that Muslim women face particularly stood out. Wearing a headscarf, for many Muslim women, is a clear and visible expression of their faith. For the wearer, a hijab holds a connotation of faith, modesty, and piety. For an employer, however, it’s hard to see past the garment and into an individual’s reason for wearing it. Thus, workplace dress codes often aren’t inclusive or understanding when it comes to Muslim, hijab-wearing women. This headscarf also acts as a barrier between a working women and the people around her. Because of post the 9/11 stigma tied to the Islamic faith, the hijab has become a metaphorical barrier between covering Muslim women and their fellow coworkers and clients. As Khan (2015) puts it, “to be a Muslim woman in America post-9/11 is to be understood as veiled and backward”. In reading through online interviews, many covering Muslim women shared their experience just trying to be hired. Interviews were few and far between, but when opportunities came, on-phone interviews tended to go a lot better than face-to-face interviews. To these women, it seems that the hiring staff would rather hire a non-Muslim candidate than “take a risk” on a Muslim candidate. This type of thinking amongst hiring staff, however, is degrading and bigoted.

While the visibility of the hijab causes enough tension when it comes to hiring processes and merely existing within a professional context, something must be said about the patriarchal society that as well makes it hard for women to even pursue any sort of job or career. In reading through first-person perspectives from Muslim women, it is clear that a major barrier to their participation in the workplace can be Muslim culture. Similar to the culture of machismo that exists in many Hispanic cultures, Muslim culture can be largely male-dominated. In the origin countries of some immigrant Muslim women, it is as well common that males are the only breadwinner in the family while the role of a woman is often limited to managing the household and caring for children. The generational gap between more culturally conservative Muslims and new-age, younger generation Muslim women strengthens the barriers that keep Muslim women from the workplace. If a Muslim woman pursues a career there is a risk of cultural disapproval from others.

In short, there is little to no room for Muslim women in the workplace as it exists today. This, along with the many other barriers that Muslims face when trying to enter the workforce, continues to oppress Muslim members of our society. As a nation founded by immigrants, the ethnically and culturally motivated oppression of Muslim members of our community should be unacceptable. Still, today, we exist in a state somewhere between the enslavement of Africans and the racially integrated world that Martin Luther King Jr. could only dream about.

 

Further reading:

Khan, F (2015) The Dars: South Asian Muslim American Women Negotiate Identity, Journal of American Folklore, vol. 128, ed. 510, pp. 395-411. https://asam.sas.upenn.edu/sites/asam.sas.upenn.edu/files/The%20Dars.pdf

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-37042942

http://www.primerus.com/business-law-articles/accommodating-islam-in-the-workplace-a-work-in-progress-332011.htm

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865638892/Muslim-men-4-times-less-likely-to-get-hired-than-Catholics.html

https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/religion.cfm

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/wisconsin-manufacturer-takes-muslim-prayer-breaks-article-1.2499671

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/30/for-us-muslims-work-time-_n_1064761.html

Muslims in American Politics

This blog post is about Muslim Americans serving in American politics including the U.S. Government. There are two Muslims in the House of Representatives, and interestingly both of them are converts. There is also a Somali women who is serving as an elected official in the Minnesota legislature. This blog also discusses how some people believe President Obama is a secretly practicing Muslim, and how this effected his campaign. This blog post is another example of how sociological theories actually impact people, especially in light of the recent election.

Andre Carson

Andre Carson: Muslim American in the House of Representatives

Born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, Andre Carson was raised as a Baptist. However, later in his teen years he converted to Islam after witnessing Muslims “pushing back crime” in his neighborhood. He later decided to work in the anti-terrorism unit in the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. Carson was inspired to do so because he was arrested at age 17 after police officers tried to go into a mosque without probable cause.  Carson now holds a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice Management from Concordia University-Wisconsin and a Master’s in Business Management from Indiana Wesleyan University (Carson 2016). He worked full-time in law enforcement and served on the Indianapolis City-County Council before taking office.

Andre Carson is now the U.S. Representative for Indiana’s 7^th congressional district. Carson was elected in 2008. He is also a member of the Democratic Party. “Carson is one of only two Muslims serving in Congress. The other is Rep. Keith Ellison” (Garsd 2015). Carson actually won and took over the seat that was originally held by his grandmother Julia Carson. During this campaign Carson criticized Marvin Scott (Republican opponent) for attacking Carson and his religion. He faced the same discrimination of his religion in 2010 when he reclaimed his seat in congress. (King 2010)

Carson has been put on record in a negative light due to some of his comments. Carson said, “The Tea Party is stopping that change. This is the effort that we are seeing of Jim Crow. Some of these folks would love to see us as second class citizens. Some of them in Congress right now of this Tea Party would love to see you and me hanging on a tree” (Galer 2016).

Carson made a speech to an Islamic group that resulted in criticism because he mentioned that “American public schools should be modeled on Islamic madrassas”(Hibbard 2012). He later went on to host another interview with reporter Mary Beth Schneider of The Indianapolis Star. In the interview he mentioned that his words were “taking out of context.” The same day, he issued a press release mentioning that no “…particular faith should be the foundation of our public schools…” (Hibbard 2012)

Recently Rep. André Carson received a death threat at his Washington D.C. office after he “criticized Donald Trump over his proposed Muslim ban. Carson, who is one of two Muslim lawmakers in Congress, dismissed Trump’s comments as “asinine”(Shan 2015).

Carson is a rising member of House leadership.  He serves as a Senior Whip for the House Democratic Caucus, sits on the powerful Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, and is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus’ Executive Leadership Team. “ (Carson 2016) These positions allow for him to “fight for Indiana’s 7^th Congressional District at the highest levels of congressional leadership”(Carson 2016). Congressman Carson is a proud Indianapolis native, having grown up on the city’s east side. He is married to Mariama Shaheed, and is also a proud father of a ten-year-old old girl, Salimah.

 

Keith Ellison

Keith Ellison: First Muslim to serve in the U.S. Congress

Keith Ellison, the first person of color from Minnesota to be elected as a representative, was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan as a Roman Catholic. However, when he attended college in Minnesota he converted to Islam.  After college he was a lawyer and radio broadcaster for public affairs.

In 2006, Ellison was elected to congress from Minnesota as a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. His ceremonial oath made national news, because he was sworn in with a Quran that belonged to Thomas Jefferson. There was much controversy about him not swearing in with a Bible like most do. Yet to his surprise there were some fellow representatives that actually approved of him using a book of his choice and even admitted to using different standards of books when they too were sworn in.

Since he’s been in office, Ellison has been called on many times to speak upon his faith. We talked a lot in class recently about the burden of representation and this is an example of that. There have been numerous occasions where Ellison has been asked to speak on behalf of topics that he is in no way associated with but just the fact that he is Muslim he is looked at to speak upon the matters.

Throughout his time in office, Ellison has also been viewed as a reliably liberal Democratic vote and has campaigned on his opposition to the Iraq War, his support for universal health care, and his vocal opposition of voter ID laws. But he’s also been accused of having anti-Semantic views that correlate with Louis Farrakhan, who is the leader of the Nation of Islam. They even tied this accusation with old articles Ellison wrote back when he was in college and working for the “Million Man March” which is allegedly created by Farrakhan. He was also accused of being part of the Muslim Brotherhood but that was later disproved.

Keith Ellison isn’t as well known amongst Americans as you would expect considering the fact that he’s been in office for a decade now, though we might suspect all that is about to change. Recently Bernie Sanders made a statement about Ellison stating that “We must also do everything we can to elect Democrats in Congress in 2018, and to take back the White House in 2020. We need a Democratic National Committee led by a progressive who understands the dire need to listen to working families, not the political establishment or the billionaire class. That is why I support Keith Ellison to be the next Chair of the Democratic National Committee, and why I hope you’ll join me in advocating for him to lead the DNC.” There is also a petition going around to gain support for Ellison. I believe this statement would put a lot more eyes on Ellison and make him more susceptible to criticism and hate from Islamophobes, but it could also strengthen his support from the Democrats considering the fact that Bernie Sanders is the one pushing for him.

Ilhan Omar

Ilhan Omar: First Elected Somali American Muslim Women in Office

Refugees and immigrants, particularly Somali refugees, have been a hot topic in the recent election. There is a high concentration of the Somali refugees in the Minnesota area. Ilhan Omar, a female former refugee who was born in Somali, spent four years living in a refugee camp in Kenya, before moving to the United States as a twelve-year old. She is also the first female Somali American to be elected to Minnesota state legislature. Many theories that we have discussed in class have come up in direct quotes from Ilhan Omar, and within the articles.

Ilhan Omar said “one of the biggest challenges was overcoming the narrative that if you are a minority running for office, you can only win a seat in a district that is demographically in your favor” (NBC News). Her primary candidate, Phyllis Kahn, essentially said that Ilhan Omar was a popular candidate because she’s very “attractive to the kind of, what we call the young, liberal, white guilt-trip people” (NBC News). This is a perfect example of “Islam-splaining.” Phyllis Kahn, and other people including some media sources, attributed Ilhan Omar’s success down to the fact that she was a female Muslim immigrant, not the fact that she is a highly successful politician with policies and ideas that people support. She said she believes “in the possibility that all of my identities and otherness would fade into the background, and that my voice as a strong progressive would emerge” (Huffington Post).

Through that last quote, Ilhan Omar also expresses the idea of intersectionality, and that is important because she is relatable to multiple groups of people. Her “identities” include being: female, American, black, a Muslim, a refugee, and an immigrant. She also covers, which makes her visibly Muslim. Ilhan Omar said that her success is not only for her, but for “every Somali, Muslim and minority, particularly the young girls in the Dadaab refugee camp where I lived before coming to the U.S.” (Learning English). This is especially important, because of the large number of Somali people living in Minnesota.

Ilhan Omar inspires everyone because she has overcome so much, and still preservers. She hopes to “make our democracy more vibrant, more inclusive, more accessible and transparent which is going to be useful for all of us” (Time). Obviously, this should be the goal throughout our entire government, because people need someone who they feel represents them in the government. People also need to feel that they have someone who is directly representing their best interests in office, and she is an inspiration to young children. In 2014, she was attacked and physically assaulted. She returned to work the very next day, and make sure the attack didn’t “silence” her, and that she was “stronger than they think (she) is” (Fusion). This is a direct quote from something Ilhan Omar wrote herself:“I think the idea of having someone like me run and possibly win allows other folks who are afraid to put themselves out there to take the leap, and to lean in, and to be the change that they want to see, and be a little braver in that process.”

Barack Obama

Barack Obama’s support of the Muslim community

Some Americans like to think of our country as a nation of immigrants and a nation of religions, but repeatedly we have failed to live up to our ideals, banishing fellow citizens from the American family because of their ethnicities or religious commitments. During Obamas campaign he was falsely accused of practicing Islam because of his family’s history with the religion and growing up in Indonesia during his youth years, in which he was heavily surrounded by people of the Muslim faith. Also his name, specifically middle name, “Hussein” which is commonly found in the Muslim community, generated allegations of Obama secretly practicing Islam which caused threatening views to others on Obama’s loyalty to this country. During his campaign he was attacked by many political opponents including Donald Trump. Trump questioned Obama’s commitment to America and even stated in 2012 “I don’t know if he loves America.” He encouraged his supporters to believe such claims, as they thought Obama was secretly harboring faith in Islam.

According to a CNN/ORC poll it was found that 54% of Trump supporters believed Obama was a Muslim. Among Republicans nationwide, the poll showed, 43% of Republicans thought Obama was a Muslim, as did 29% of Americans as a whole. Questions about Obama’s commitment to the country and faith led Obama to have to prove his “Americanness” and disassociating himself from the perceived negative notion against the Muslim community. But despite people’s accusations against Obama, he openly embraced being raised in different cultural places around the world. He discussed growing up in Muslim communities and how his childhood influenced his future attitudes towards America.

During Obama’s presidency he frequently defended the Muslim American community. Obama publicly showed his support and gratefulness to Muslim Americans contributions to our nation. Earlier this year he visited a mosque in Baltimore to rebut “inexcusable political rhetoric against Muslim-Americans” from Republican presidential candidates. During his visit he described Muslims as essential to the fabric of America, while attempting to reconstruct what he said was a warped image of Islam. “Let me say as clearly as I can as president of the United States: you fit right here,” Obama told the audience at the Islamic Society of Baltimore, a 47-year-old mosque with thousands of attendees. “You’re right where you belong. You are part of America too. You’re not Muslim or American. You’re Muslim and American.” He discussed in his speech the long history of Muslims in America dating back to the colonial times when Thomas Jefferson was threatened by people accusations of his involvement within the religion.

Obama has also demanded more positive representation in the media of Muslims in America. “We have to … lift up the contributions of the Muslim-American community not when there’s a problem, but all the time. Our television shows should have some Muslim characters that are unrelated to national security. It’s not that hard to do,” Obama said. Despite the negative repercussions that Barack Obama faced involving the Muslim faith, his acknowledgment of their contributions as Americans still remained. He challenged all Americans to be a part of a single community that appreciates one another’s differences while preserving the things that are essential to our identities. His message emphasized value and respect for the Muslim community in America which at this time in the history of our nation is something that is greatly needed.

Conclusion

All of these people deal with Islamaphobia while running for office. If you google “Muslims in the US government” the second page that pops up is “The Muslim Brotherhood Has Taken Over The White House.” Ilhan Omar was attacked and beaten. Obama, who is not even Muslim, faced criticism because of his background and his skin color. Obviously, this is very problematic, especially in a country that preaches separation of church and state. There’s still a long way to go, but there is good news though: there are now more and more Muslims in our government, giving us greater diversity and representation at both the national and state levels.

Further reading:

“Andre Carson – Discover the Networks.” Andre Carson – Discover the Networks. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.

Carson, Andre. “Biography.” Congressman Andre Carson. N.p., 2016. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.

Galer, Sara. “Andre Carson Responds to Tea Party Controversy.” 13 WTHR Indianapolis. N.p., 2016. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.

Garsd, Jasmine. “Rep. André Carson To Become First Muslim On House Committee On Intelligence.” NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.

Hibbard, Laura (July 6, 2012). “André Carson, Indiana Congressman, Says U.S. Public Schools Should Be Modeled After Islamic Schools, (VIDEO) (UPDATE)”. The Huffington Post. Huffingtonpost.com.

King, Mason (December 22, 2010). “Leading Questions: Carson talks Congress, whips, soft rock”. Indianapolis Business Journal. Ibj.com.

Shan, Janet. “Rep. André Carson Gets Death Threat After Trump Criticism.” Hinterland Gazette. N.p., 08 Dec. 2015. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.

The Intersection Between Islam and Christianity

Jesus in the Qur’an

Though others try to deny it and disprove it, Islam and Christianity are not as different as people try to make them out to be. There are clear differences but also a lot of consistency in both of their holy books. Both are rooted in love and peace but hate groups are motivated to destroy the bridge between the two religions. This post will hopefully give you all some insight on some differences and similarities in the two religions and how Jesus is portrayed in each.

Christians believe in the virgin birth of Jesus – as do Muslims. The Bible and the Qur’an are aligned pretty closely on this aspect. Both believe that the angel Gabrielle came and announced to Mary that she would have a son. The Qur’an states: “Mary: My Lord!  How can I have a child when no mortal hath touched me?  He said:  So (it will be).  Allah createth what He will.  If He decreeth a thing, He saith unto it only:  Be!  and it is” (Qur’an 3:47).

However, the Qur’an rejects the idea that God is Jesus’ father since Jesus has no human father. Muslims equate this idea to that of Adam and Allah, just because Adam had no humanly father does not mean that he is the Son of God.  In fact it is stated in the Qur’an: “Lo! the likeness of Jesus with Allah is as the likeness of Adam.  He created him from dust, then He said unto him:  Be! and he is” (Qur’an 3:59).

The Qur’an also shows that Jesus came to teach the same message that all the prior prophet’s taught as well.  He came to preach a monolithic religion and the worship of the God of Abraham. However, the Qur’an warns against people thinking that Jesus is the savior of the world in scripture such as: “O People of the Scripture!  Do not exaggerate in your religion, and do not say anything concerning Allah except the truth.  The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only a messenger of Allah, and His word, which He conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from Him.  So believe in Allah and His messengers . . . “ (Qur’an 4:171; see also 66:12).

Christians look at the miracles of Jesus as proof of the divinity of Jesus; however, the prophet Muhammad denies his divinity and says his power comes from God (Allah). He argues that the miracles that Jesus performed were proof that he was a true prophet and that with God’s help and permission he was able to perform these miracles. Islam regards Jesus as just another prophet, while Muhammad is regarded as the prophet who was sent with the final message about peace and submission to God. Muhammad is the highest ranked of all the prophets.

Lastly, Muslims do not believe in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The Christian belief is that Jesus was fully man and fully God. Christians believe that he was the perfect example of how to live a pleasing life to God while on earth and that he was sent as the most holy of sacrifices to take on the sin of the world so that we may have salvation through him. The Bible talks about the entire process leading up to his crucifixion. Matthew 27: 31 says, “And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the cloak dressed him in his own clothes, and led him off to crucify him”.

Islam believes something a little differently. Muslims believe that he was raised into Heaven to be with Allah before he was crucified as noted in the Qur’an : “They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but they thought they did… They have no knowledge thereof but the pursuit of a conjecture; they slew him not for certain, but God took him up to Himself.” (Qur’an 4:154-158).

Regardless of their differences, it is important to realize that both religions preach love and submission and devotion to God, or Allah. Hopefully in the future there will be more bridges built between the two religions and people will realize that love should conquer all.

 

Pope Francis and Mary

Growing up as a Catholic I honor Mary by praying “Hail Mary full of Grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death Amen.” What I didn’t know before better understanding the Qur’an is that there is a whole chapter dedicated to Mary. Mary is given the most attention out of any woman mentioned in the Qu’ran due to her birthing a child while being a virgin. She is regarded as one of the most respected women in Islam.  Behold! the angels said: “O Mary! Allah hath chosen thee and purified thee – chosen thee above the women of all nations.— Quran, sura 3 (Al Imran), ayah 42^..

Jesus’ birth by Mary is very important to Muslims because it was one of the first miracles acts performed by God. I find it very enlightening to know that Islam holds such honor towards Mary because Christians do as well. Christian’s devotion towards Mary is because of her giving birth to Jesus and being as close to a perfect being as one could be. Muslims agree that Mary is one of the greatest women in our history. For both religions she is a saint figurehead that followers from both sides pursue to be like. It is important for Christians and Muslims to realize this similarity because both people highly respect the same person and hope to obtain her qualities. Though neither religion worships Mary, they both agree on the fact of what it looks like to live a pure and holy life. Making that connection is critical for Christians and Muslims to see eye to eye on their values.

Pope Francis, the worldwide leader of the Catholic Church, has also spoken out for all Christians to understand that Islam cannot be associated with violence. He advocated in helping people understand that Islam is not a monolithic religion and how terroristic attacks cannot be associated to Islam as a whole. The most interesting thing he said to me is: “If I speak of Islamic violence, I should speak of Catholic violence.”¹ I believe that this statement is very relevant to people trying to build bridges between the Islamic and Christian faith because people fail to acknowledge that in both religions there have been “terroristic crimes” committed in the name of Allah and the name of Jesus. Pope Francis traveled to a “no-man” zone in Central African Republic’s capital Bangui where he gave a speech in front of an audience of thousands of Muslim Refugees. He stated, “Christians and Muslims are brothers and sisters… Together we must say no to hatred, to revenge and violence, particularly that violence which is perpetrated in the name of a religion or of God himself. God is peace, “salam.””²

 

Building Bridges

Regardless of the factual history of the intersection of Islam and Christianity, an immense cloud of misunderstanding continues to hang over the two groups of people. The ongoing “war for religious supremacy” is a vague and distorted argument that uses both religions’ history of blood and war to claim the victory of absolute truth over the other. It is important to identify the source of hate and violence that has plagued our relationship for so long, and the source is nothing more than an intensified misunderstanding because of humanity’s tendency to extend religion into economics and politics. The problem with this never-ending feud of religions is that it is contradictory to the teachings of the fundamental doctrine of both sides. Regardless of the validity of either religions, a practicing Muslim and Christian ideally share values and doctrine that have the power to unite the two people groups.

The first of which is PEACE. Jesus Christ and Muhammad walked the earth advocating PEACE for ALL PEOPLE, not just between their exclusive followers. This looks like patience and willingness to learn. PEACE comes from forgiveness and a willingness to sacrifice victory of theological truth for actual relationship. A striving for PEACE manifests pluralism, where people of different belief systems can know and learn from one another and experience community from their mutual obedience and love of God.

The foundation for the teachings of both religions is LOVE and the unity of humanity. The Bible says “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). Muhammad similarly spoke of the love of humanity in saying “All God’s creatures are his family” (al-Bukhari). This LOVE should be the motivating factor that spurs both religions into a new era of pluralism.

A final similarity between both Islam and Christianity is OBEDIENCE. Both the Bible and Koran call for complete submission to God. If this single factor alone is completely obeyed, PEACE and LOVE among all people of the earth follows.

Encounters between Muslims and Christians that actually practice the doctrine that they worship are often a surprising experience for everyone involved. Tom Shiflet, the founder of The Great Need charity in Iraq and an evangelical Christian, writes in a blog post that he has never “met a single Muslim that treated [him] with anything but respect, courtesy and friendship.” His charity, mainly for children of Iraq, is double edged in that he physically aids the children of Iraq, but also stimulates conversation with Muslims that gives both him and people of Islam a chance to better understand, serve, and love one another.

The most important concept that both Islam and Christianity advocate is the ability to overcome the evil of the world through the power of God. We have seen the hatred of the world that is mostly influenced by misinformation and pride. We have seen how hatred affects people and society. We have seen the outcome of hurt and injustice to humanity. It is time to acknowledge the similarities between Islam and Christianity. It is time to unite on PEACE and LOVE and reconstruct the bridge between Islam and Christianity. It is time to pursue people in search of understanding instead of relying on skewed judgment. Jesus and Muhammad call their respective followers to be obedient to LOVE and PEACE. This is the answer.

 Further reading:

https://www.islam-guide.com/more/#Jesus

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/08/01/488223541/pope-francis-say-it-is-wrong-to-identify-islam-with-violence

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pope-francis-christians-and-muslims-are-brothers-and-sisters_us_565c646be4b072e9d1c26035

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-considine/jesus-christ-and-prophet-_b_7

www.tomshiflet.com/muslim-lover

Islam and the 2016 Elections

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton gesture during the presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Even before the beginning of the current election campaign cycle, the rhetoric that has been espoused by presidential candidates, at least in contemporary times, has been relatively unabashed in regards to the way that Muslims are spoken about on the campaign trail. Muslims have often been used as political pawns in a struggle for politicians to acquire means of power, whether that be through scapegoating or by being pandered to in an attempt to develop a political relationship with them. We must ask ourselves, though, when and why did Muslims start to become such a focal point in presidential races? What purpose does it serve presidential candidates when they discuss the role and issues surrounding Muslims in American society?

Since the invasion of Afghanistan in the year 2001, which happens to coincide with the inception of the “War on Terror,” the perception of Muslims in the United States has changed dramatically. No longer are they considered to be under the radar anymore. Instead of being perceived as an integral and established demographic group in the general population, one that has had a presence since the 18th century, they are perceived as a dangerous and foreign group that poses a threat to the internal security of the country. Perhaps we could attribute this to a new trend, which Islamaphobia.org refers to as “securitizing,” in which the Muslim American community has been dehumanized and viewed more as objects than people.

Both candidates, for example, have suggested using Muslims across various different American communities to help root out extremism and potential terror suspects. While this may seem relatively normal, you don’t hear this very often when referring to Caucasian or East Asian communities. Little do you hear of presidential candidates or politicians calling on Chinese or Whites to help stop crime in their communities by becoming, what some could argue as, proxies of law enforcement. This type of intrusion into these communities only serves to sow distrust amongst Muslim Americans. It refers back to the point that I made earlier, in the sense that Muslims are simply being utilized more as tools rather than being recognized as a fundamental component of society.

More relevant to the class, it also touches heavily on the concept of the “Good Muslims vs. Bad Muslim.” Here we have a dynamic which was developed as an attempt to show that ‘we in America and the West recognize that there are ‘good’ Muslims, it’s just that there are some bad ones who happen to spoil the tree.’ This is fundamentally egregious, but out of the need to avoid any form of digression, the most troubling aspect out derived from this mentality is the fact that Muslims in America are put under a high level of scrutiny. It is almost as if they are placed under a microscope, with every move being analyzed and questioned. In addition, without any regard for the multiplicity of Muslim groups in the country, politicians have so easily managed to reduce the Muslim identity into a singular entity, one which has no face. As we will see with the rhetoric being used during the election, the problems surrounding the treatment of Muslims on the campaign trail is compounded with a general lack of understanding of the Muslim community as well as the dehumanization of the population.

 

Democratic Party

Firstly, we will look at the rhetoric used by the Democratic Party. Although the Democratic party has proved to be much less problematic than the Republican Party in terms of their policy and discussion of Muslims, they are certainly not perfect. For example, this past year at a Democratic National Convention, Bill Clinton said “If you are a Muslim, and you love America and freedom and you hate terror, stay here and help us win and make the future together. We want you.” By simply having the qualifier of loving America and hating terror associated solely with being Muslim, Muslims are further associated Muslims with terror. This also perpetuates the belief and suspicion that people can’t really know whether a Muslim in America actually loves America or not. Additionally, with this rhetoric, he is stating what it means for a Muslim to be an American. Bill Clinton is essentially singling out a single, very large religion that he is not part of and telling them what they should be. An article by US news contains a few tweets that I think highlight some of these points and more. One of the tweets states that “saying ‘stay here’ & help America” hints towards the belief that most Muslims aren’t from the US. This is an important point because simply telling Muslims in America to stay here hints towards the idea that Muslims in America are inherently not from America. In the NYU Annual Survey of American Law, the authors discuss how American law would use whiteness as a requirement for American citizenship. Through this practice, if someone was a Christian then they were considered more white than someone who was Muslim, even if they came from the exact same background beyond religion. Thus, someone who was Christian was seen as having the ability to be more American than someone who was Muslim. This shows how institutionalized Islamophobia has historically been in the US.

While there has been problematic rhetoric on the side of the Democrats, I would be remiss to not mention that Democrats are significantly more responsible in their discussion of Muslims and Islam. In the second presidential debate, Hillary Clinton discusses how Muslims have been in America since George Washington and that there have been many successful Muslims. I think this is a very important point for people, and especially politicians, to realize. Muslims have been in America since the beginning and have consistently been involved and made a positive impact on our communities. However, this fact is often ignored in not only the political sphere but also in educational institutions. Throughout my entire elementary, middle, and high school career, I don’t remember ever actually learning about Islam or Muslim presence in America. Little is taught about where our country’s population comes from or how they have made incredible impacts and contributions to our country beyond those who are white.

President Obama and Hillary Clinton have both made efforts to improve their rhetoric when referring to both terrorism as well as the Muslim community. Both have been fairly solid on their stance of not referring to ISIS and terrorist attacks as the result of radical Islamic terrorism. This term “radical Islamic terrorism” is problematic, in my opinion, for two reasons. One of these reasons is explained very well by President Obama. “If we fall into the trap of painting all Muslims as a broad brush and imply that we are at war with the entire religion, then we are doing the terrorists’ work for them.” If one is to look at the rhetoric used by both groups such as ISIS as well as the Islamophobia industry, it becomes fairly clear that both are working towards the same goal, to separate America and Islam as far away from each other. The term is also problematic because it implies that the terrorism is due to Islam and not some other reason. Due to all of the complexities surrounding the Middle East, it is necessary to look at the whole picture when discussing terrorism. I believe that the same idea can be applied to the discussion of Muslims. Islam is such a complex and diverse religion that when discussing Islam and Muslims one should always take into account the fact that it is such a diverse religion.

 

Republican Party

As mentioned above, the rhetoric with regards to Muslims in this election cycle has been extremely disturbing, and while there have been problematic statements made by those in the Democratic Party, the statements made by some in the Republican Party have been much more extreme. The nominee of the Republican Party has called for a ban on Muslims from entering into this country, has advocated for the creation of a database for American Muslims, and has proposed shutting down mosques. Donald Trump has also brought up vivid imagery about killing Muslims with bullets dipped in pig’s blood and has claimed that “Islam hates us.” When confronted about whether Trump’s plan to ban Muslims upholds the principles this country stands for, Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson responded that “never in United States history have we allowed insurgents to come across these borders.” Of course, the assumption made here is that a vast number of Muslims come to this country with devious intentions. When further pushed about how the ban would block millions of peaceful Muslims from entering, Pierson responded “So what? They’re Muslim.” Such divisive rhetoric hasn’t been limited to only one candidate and one campaign either. Former presidential candidate Ben Carson has claimed that a Muslim should not be in charge of running this country, and former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has referred to Islam as a religion that “promotes the most murderous mayhem on the planet in their so-called holiest days.” The list goes on.

 

Consequences of Negative Rhetoric

It would be naive to think that such divisive, hateful rhetoric could subsist without any consequences. An entire group of people has been degraded and villainized for political gain, and the negative consequences have been quite apparent in American communities. According to the New York Times, “hate crimes against Muslims have soared to their highest levels since the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks, according to data compiled by researchers.” Not only have hate crimes against American Muslims risen by 78 percent over the last year, but “attacks on those perceived as Arab rose even more sharply.” Muslim Americans have reported being scared living in their own country, and Muslim American students have reported high rates of bullying. In fact, according to the Washington Post, “in one survey, nearly one-third of Muslim students in grades three through 12 said they had experienced insults or abuse at least once because of their faith.” As one can see, the results of the hateful anti-Islamic rhetoric being spewed in this election are clear and evident.

Such rhetoric is especially dangerous in its treatment of Islam as a monolith. When Donald Trump says “Islam hates us,” it sends a clear message to his followers that all Muslims hate us. This couldn’t be further from the truth. However, many Americans have never met a Muslim, and given their lack of knowledge on the subject, such frequent anti-Islamic rhetoric could easily persuade them that Islam is an enemy of the United States. Furthermore, by sending such a message, Donald Trump is making it easier for extremists to recruit Muslims to support their hateful cause. In fact, much of Trump’s rhetoric has been used by terrorist groups to sway Muslims into thinking that the United States is their enemy. Former CIA chief Michael Hayden said, “that he agrees that Donald Trump has become a recruiting sergeant for terrorist groups such as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and al Qaeda.” Clearly, the consequences of Islamophobic rhetoric spreads far beyond American communities.

 

Finding Common Ground

While the rhetoric in this election has been quite disheartening, there is still hope for a future where we do not divide ourselves by race or religion but instead find commonality in our shared American principles that are outlined in the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. While many have spewed hate-filled rhetoric regarding Islam in this election cycle, there have many on both sides of the political spectrum who have passionately defended Muslims. For instance, in the wake of Donald Trump’s call for a Muslim ban, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham issued an apology to Muslims for Trump’s statements and argued that Islam is absolutely not an enemy of ours. Moreover, after Ben Carson argued that a Muslim should not be president, Graham called for Carson to apologize and stated that “America is an idea not owned by a particular religion.” These are the types of statements we need to combat Islamophobic rhetoric. We need to stand together rather than keep dividing ourselves. We need to send a message that it is our support for the founding American principles of democracy, freedom, and limited government that bind us together and not our distaste for those different than us. Only with this mindset will we successfully be able to come together as a nation and overcome the obstacles that have been presented to us in this election cycle.

The Influence of Muslim Americans on Hip-Hop

Rakim

By Meredith B, Danya K, Sonia R, and Stuart W

History and Emergence of Islam in Hip-Hop

Islam and hip-hop have a natural connection because of Islam’s historic presence, mostly through the Nation of Islam (and offshoots from the NOI), in the African-American community (the controversy surrounding the presence of the Nation of Islam in hip-hop is covered later in the blog). For example, prominent hip-hop artist Mos Def’s father is in the Nation of Islam and Mos Def took his Muslim declaration of faith at age 19. There are also several instances of rappers who converted to Islam after their musical career had started, such as Kamaal Ibn John Fareed (also known as Q-tip) from A Tribe Called Quest, or Scarface. With that said, there are also non-black hip-hop artists who were either born Muslim or converted to Islam, such as Everlast. So while the NOI is a large reason for Islam’s pronounced presence in hip-hop, there has been lots of variance within each Muslim artists’ relationships with Islam.

The beginnings of hip-hop are believed to have started in the South Bronx in majority black communities in which socio-economic conditions were very unfavorable; the message of the NOI, one partly of self-reflection and self-empowerment, was attractive to new hip-hop artists in this difficult environment. However, we can partly trace Islam’s relationship with hip-hop back to a group of poets and musicians, known as the “Last Poets,” who loosely grouped together to celebrate the life of Malcolm X after this death.

One music critic remarked, “With their politically charged raps, taut rhythms, and dedication to raising African-American consciousness, the Last Poets almost single-handedly laid the groundwork for the emergence of hip-hop.” These artists combined poetry and music to make social commentaries on the state of different minority communities. Their works were impactful enough to make it onto the list of organizations covered by COINTELPRO. One prominent member of this group, Jalal Mansur Nuriddin, was a devout Muslim and served as an inspiration for hip-hop artists in the 80’s. Furthermore, the legacy of Malcolm X, one influenced by Islam, was a clear source of inspiration for this group of musicians. Thus, hip-hop has a clear historic connection to Islam.

This relationship between hip-hop and Islam manifested itself most overtly in the late 80’s and early 90’s through Muslim imagery in music videos and lyrics referring to different aspects of Islam. For example, popular and influential duo Eric B. and Rakim released a song in 1987, called “Move the Crowd” which contained lyrics like “All praises due to Allah, that’s a blessing.” An analysis was done on the lyrics of hip-hop songs which sought to quantify the influence of Islam on the music; the results suggested that Islam in hip-hop reached its peak in the early 90’s and has continued to fall or stagnate ever since. This phenomenon is shown by the following chart describing the frequency of the worst “Islam” and “Mecca” in hip-hop lyrics:

Other charts for words such as Jesus, Mohammed, church, mosque, God, and Allah, all suggests that there has been a general decline of direct influence of Islam on hip-hop. With that said, there are contemporary, outspoken Muslim artists who continuously demonstrate and evolve Islam’s existence within hip-hop.

 

Modern Hip-Hop

Any connoisseur or fan of hip-hop and rap music today knows the work of artists such as Ice Cube, Lupe Fiasco, T-Pain, Rawkwon from the Wu-Tang-Clan, and Busta Rhymes. However, it is not common knowledge to many fans and the general public that these artists identify as Muslim. By having such great notoriety and fame, artists such as Lupe Fiasco and Ice Cube provide the American public with a new conception of the Muslim identity. Many of these rappers disprove the false narrative that all Muslims are Arab, terrorists, have long beards, and wear turbans. Lupe Fiasco stated in interviews that he purposefully “does not like putting my [his] religion out there” because he does not want to acquire the label of being the “poster-child” for Islam and have the media associate any of his flaws with Islam. This fear reflects the common error in media and politics that Islam is a monolith and that one Muslim can represent everyone of their faith.

Here is a list of more popular hip-hop and/or rap artists that are Muslim that you may not be aware of:

Q-Tip

Rakim

Ghostface Killah

Mos Def

DJ Khaled

French Montana

Sway

Nas

Akon

Freeway

Rhymefest

Napolean

Beanie Sigel

Yazzi

Native Deen

MC Ren

K’naan

While some of the above Muslim hip-hop artists (including more “mainstream” rappers like Ice Cube) do not explicitly focus their songs on discussing the Islamic faith, there does exist an industry and community of professional artists whose lyrics solely address the Muslim experience. Artists such as Brother Ali use their talents as rappers as a platform to engage in open discussion with Muslim community members on their shared struggles and beliefs. This provides role models for Muslim youth and demonstrates to them that they should not feel ashamed about their religion despite some hateful anti-Islamic rhetoric in the media. Additionally, the presence of Muslims in a popular aspect of Western culture, hip-hop and rap, illustrates to kids that their identity as Muslim is not separate from American culture and that the labels of American and Muslim are not mutually exclusive.

Although they are hip-hop dancers and not music artists, the group We’re Muslim, Don’t Panic (WMDP) is breaking stereotypes about Muslim women through their hip-hop dance routines. The group is composed of three Muslim women who perform synchronized hip-hop dance moves to popular Muslim artists, such as Brother Ali, while wearing the traditional Islamic wear known as a niqab with sneakers.  The niqab is a form of veiling in which women cover not only their body and hair, but also cover their entire face except for the eyes. Amirah Sackett, the founder of We’re Muslim Don’t Panic, decided to merge her love of dance and her Islamic faith to dispel the notion that all Muslim women are oppressed. The dance group’s goal is to demonstrate the beauty and power of Muslim women. They accomplish this through purposefully wearing the conservative outfit of the niqab in order to convey that Islam is not a scary unknown. Additionally, this style choice emphasizes that veiling provides empowerment and agency to Muslim women. This is a crucial statement given the current political debates surrounding Muslim women’s dress. If the public possessed a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of Islam, the banning of “burkinis” on French beaches and enforcement of police forcing Muslim women to remove some of their coverings. We’re Muslim Don’t Panic’s choice to place Muslim women into an unconventional space, the hip-hop scene, opens up not only a dialogue about Islam but helps transform people’s judgmental perspectives of Muslim women. To view their captivating performance, follow the link below.

 

Jihad and Hip-hop

Jihad, as described by the Quran, translates to struggle but can also refer to the duty of Muslims to inform people about Islam and spread the faith (BBC 2009). There has been a revolution in which some Muslims have utilized jihad to spread their religious message through the medium of hip-hop. One such example is shown through Hamza Perez, star of PBS documentary New Muslim Cool, who has employed this cultural fusion by creating the Muslim hip-hop group M-Team with his brother Suliman Perez. M-Team is short for Mujahideen Team; a mujahid is one who struggles for Allah and Islam. In an interview given with muslimhiphop.com, the musical brother duo stated that the main issues sung about in their songs included: poverty, injustice, honoring women, and Tajdīd, or the revival of Islam to improve society. Perez and his brother, New York raised and of Puerto Rican ethnicity, do not speak full Arabic but instead speak using Arabic Spanglish Ebonics. This, along with the knowledge they gained through their former “street lives”, allowed them to write lyrics that placed Islam in a familiar context to those previously unfamiliar with it. Perez began using his simplified jihad-oriented lyrics at local prisons, inspiring prisoners to seek absolution after life in jail (PBS 2009). M-Team is just one of the many examples of jihad and hip-hop groups that have combined to have a positive effect on the people.

However, the fusion of jihad and music has also taken a more negative turn with the introduction of extremist jihadi rap. Jihadi rap is sung and listened to by mainly jihadists and Western extremists and has become more prominent in recent years due to the influx of Westerners into jihadists groups. One of the main differences between the negatively viewed jihadi rap and other positive forms of jihad hip-hop is the mode through with their music is shared. Groups such as the M-Team whose main goal is to promote Islam and lead people on a path to recovery generally share their music in intimate locations in person. On the other hand, the majority of jihadi rappers use social media to increase virality of their music, as their main goal is to spread their extremist messages as quickly and widely as possible (Billboard 2014). One of the most prominent examples of jihadi rap is the song “Dirty Kuffar” by Muslim British rappers Sheikh Terra and the Soul Salah Crew. Released in 2004, the song gained international exposure and featured shout-outs to Osama bin Laden and extremist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas. The music video featured a CNN clip of an American soldier killing an Iraqi soldier then laughing about it, and therefore the video became a subject of public discourse and discussion in the United States. Additionally, the word Kuffar means non-believers, and the video showcased Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush as examples (Payne and Carroll 2015). There are only a small number of extremist jihadi rap artists out there as compared to peaceful Muslim jihad hip-hop artists, but the fact that this exists at all casts an unnecessary negative light on Islam.

 

Criticism of Islam in Hip-hop

Muslim hip-hop artists face backlash and criticism from both people outside their religion and other Muslims. Much of the modern criticism of Muslim rappers or of Muslim symbols in hip-hop has to do with the teachings of black superiority of the Nation of Islam (NOI) and the Five Percent Nation. The Five Percent Nation, an offshoot of NOI, is a cultural movement founded in 1964 by Clarence 13X, a former member of NOI (Johnson 2006). While the Five Percent Nation does not officially preach black superiority, it is publically regarded as an anti-white group. This has sparked controversy for artists that allude to the teachings of NOI or the Five Percent Nation in their work or in their personal lives. For example, Jay-Z, who has never identified as part of the Five Percent Nation, has been seen wearing Five Percent Nation regalia (Duca 2014). He was publicly criticized for associating with a group that is generally interpreted to be anti-white. Furthermore, much of the criticism of Islam in hip-hop refers to the teachings of NOI, claiming that NOI and hip-hop music with Islamic themes, by extension, promote racial tension and conflict. In addition to receiving this kind of backlash, there has also been a lessening of Islamic influence in mainstream hip-hop music coupled with an increase of Christian themes, as discussed earlier in the blog.

Muslim hip-hop artists also receive criticism from within their religion. For many that ascribe to a stricter interpretation of Islam, there is a belief that the teachings of their religion and hip-hop cannot be reconciled. In fact, many call hip-hop music haram, which means forbidden (Reitzel 2015). For example, Napoleon, a former member of Tupac Shakur’s Outlawz, has left rapping to dedicate more of his life to Islam, claiming that the two things, hip-hop and Islam, are not compatible (Moussly 2009). There is even more criticism of  Muslim women involved in hip-hop. A short Aljazeera documentary piece called “Hip-hop Hijabis” follows two Muslim women from the United Kingdom, their careers as hip-hop artists, and how religion has affected their trajectory. They receive hate mail from Muslims denouncing their work, saying it is forbidden, especially for women. One of the women feels like she has had trouble finding a husband because most of the Muslim men she meets disapprove of her art. Still, the two women continue to practice both their art and their religion.  While we still see a rich contribution to hip-hop by Muslims, it is no wonder there has been a decrease in Islamic themes in hip-hop music due to both public anti-Islamic sentiment and the criticism emanating from within the religion itself.

 

Final Thoughts

Learning about the influence of Islam in hip-hop is important for a multitude reasons that impact both people in and out of the Muslim American community. Firstly, it highlights the contributions that Muslims have made to American culture, art, and the American story in general. A person can have several identities including being an American, a Muslim, and a hip-hop artist. Secondly, it emphasizes the fact that Muslims are not a monolith. They can be involved in hip-hop, and they can be non-Arab. Learning about Muslims’ involvement in hip-hop helps to break down the often accepted stereotypes about who Muslims are and how they behave. We think that research on Muslims in hip-hop opens up a lesser known facet to the identities of many Muslims across the U.S. and the world.

 

References:

BBC, UK (August 2009) “Jihad” Web.   <http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/beliefs/jihad_1.shtml>

Duca, Lauren. (April 2014) “Jay Z Sparks Controversy With Five Percent Nation Bling” Huffington Post. Web. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/07/jay-z-five-percent-nation_n_5107180.html>

Frank, Priscilla (May 2016) “Muslim Hip-Hop Dancers Break Down Stereotypes While Breaking It Down In Niqab” Huffington Post. Web. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/muslim-hip-hop-dancers-break-down-stereotypes-while-breaking-it-down-in-hijab_us_5744b4bee4b03ede44131a01>

Harrison, Frances (December 2007) “Making music with a message” BBC News. Web. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7158907.stm>

Iftikhar, Arsalan (February 2015) “Muslim Rapper “Brother Ali” on Islam & Hip-Hop” The Islamic Monthly. Web. <http://theislamicmonthly.com/muslim-rapper-brother-ali-on-islam-hip-hop/>

Johnson, Christopher. (August 2006) “God, the Black Man and the Five Percenters” NPR. Web. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5614846>

Kangas, Chan (October 2014) “Hip-Hop and Islam’s Connection on Display at New Art Exhibit” LA Weekly. Web. <http://www.laweekly.com/music/hip-hop-and-islams-connection-on-display-at-new-art-exhibit-5138381>

Khabeer, Saud (June 2012) “Black and Blue: Remembering Islam and Hip” The Islamic Monthly. Web. <http://theislamicmonthly.com/black-and-blue-remembering-islam-and-hip-hop/>

“Lupe Fiasco and Sway: Talk about Islam” Youtube. Interview. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnt4GlQGirs>

Meyer, Holly (September 2016) “We’re Muslim, Don’t Panic dancer uses hip-hop to dispel myths” The Tennessean. Web. <http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/religion/2016/09/02/were-muslim-dont-panic-dancer-uses-hip-hop-dispel-myths/88592394/>

Moussly, Mona. (March 2009) “Hip hop don’t stop as it goes Islamic” Al Arabiya News. Web. <https://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2009/03/18/68722.html>

“Nation of Islam” (2016) Southern Poverty Law Center. Web. <https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/nation-islam>

Payne, Ed and Carroll, Jason (January 2015) “The Terrorist Recruiting Crossroads: Where Jihad Meets Rap” CNN. Web. <http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/13/us/jihadi-rap/>

Perez, Hamza (June 2009) “New Muslim Cool” PBS. Web. <http://www.pbs.org/pov/newmuslimcool/film-description/>

Quinn, Ben (August 2016) “French police make woman remove clothing on Nice beach following burkini ban” The Guardian. Web. <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/24/french-police-make-woman-remove-burkini-on-nice-beach>

Raymond, Adam (October 2014) “Why did Islam disappear from Hip-Hop.” Vocativ. Web. <http://www.vocativ.com/culture/religion/islam-hip-hop/>

Reitzel, Mette. (March 2015) “Hip-Hop Hijabis” Aljazeera. Web. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5614846>

Smirke, Richard (October 2014) “Jihadi Rap: Understanding the Subculture” Billboard. Web. <http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6273809/jihadi-rap-l-jinny-abdel-majed-abdel-bary>

Muslim Women at Rice University Explain Why They Do – And Do Not – Cover

By Julie G, Suzie M, and Ajay S

Wearing a hijab, or doing any kind of covering, makes Muslim women identifiable on a purely visual basis. The hijab is a visible symbol of religion and can therefore make Muslim women who wear it quite easy to identify as Muslim. This visibility has translated to a lot of attention to and discussion of the various ways in which women cover in both the political and cultural realms. In some parts of Europe, some forms of covering have be subject to legislation (where often the cited justification is security). In France, the Burkini (Burka swimsuit) and the Burka have been banned in public; also, headscarves and other “conspicuous” religious symbols have been banned at state schools (BBC 2014). The full-face veil has been banned in Belgium and Italy (BBC 2014). Russia has gone as far as to institute a ban on hijabs (BBC 2014). Many of these laws have faced backlash on the basis of religious freedom but have been upheld (BBC 2014) Many anti-covering measures have also been justified by the notion that many Muslim women are forced to cover. The hijab, and other forms of covering, are employed in the construct of Muslim women as oppressed. In many of the instances I have discussed, Muslim women could be considered to be oppressed by the governments who are creating legislation to prevent them from wearing garments that follow their religious beliefs. However, there are cases in which the opposite is true. In Iran, there is a law that makes it compulsory for all women in the country to cover and there are a variety of punishments that go with breaking this law (Cook 2016). Lately, this case has been receiving some media attention due to a campaign by many Iranian men to abolish the law in which they are donning hijabs in protest (Cook 2016). In this instance, the focus seems to be on the importance of the ability of Muslim women to choose whether they cover or not, instead of being about the actual covering itself (Cook 2016). Legislating the various forms of covering takes away from the agency of Muslim women because it is no longer them who decides what they wear. Trying to prevent something that you think is oppressive by stopping them from wearing something is oppressive in itself.   The hijab is one of the symbols used in the debate regarding the agency of Muslim women between Islamophobes and those who disagree with them.

On the other hand, there have been legislative steps and media coverage that are more towards a pluralist attitude regarding Muslim coverings in some areas. For example, the hijab is now an optional part of the Police Scotland uniform (Press Association 2016). Recent years have also seen many firsts for hijabi women; Noor Tagouri was the first Muslim woman to appear in Playboy wearing a hijab, Mariah Idrissi was the first woman to appear in a hijab in an H&M advertisement, and Ibtihaj Muhammad was the first American woman to compete in a hijab at the olympics (Howard 2016; Shulka 2016). That being said, when thinking about these issues one needs to step back and consider these instances in conjunction with the concept that Islam is not a monolith. There are many different Muslim women who cover or who don’t all over the world and their specific reasoning and circumstances can’t be conflated with one another. Ibtihaj Muhammad exemplified this when discussing her fight against islamophobic perspectives: “It’s almost like how could you not see that Muslims are like any other group, you know? We are conservatives and we are liberals, there are women who cover and women who don’t. There are African-American Muslims, there are white Muslims, there are Arab Muslims. There are so many different types of Muslims. There are so many Muslim countries that have had women as their heads of state. Those are things that I want people to be aware of.” (Howard 2016)

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In order to better understand the role of the hijab in the grand scheme of Islam and in the identity of Muslim women, we interviewed four Muslim women Rice students on the subject of covering.

Interviewee Background:

Zulfa Quadri is a junior cognitive science major at Rice University. She’s a member of McMurtry College and a worker at the Rice Women’s Resource Center.

Yasmin Khalfe is a senior biochemistry and cell biology major at Rice University. She’s a member of Wiess College where she serves as President. Yasmin enjoys volunteering with Camp Kesem and The Ronald McDonald House, serving families affected by illnesses

Yasmine Rahmat is a junior Mathematical Economic Analysis and Policy Studies double major at Rice University. She’s a member of Wiess College and proud Muslim American woman.

Iqra Dada is a senior at Computer Science major at Rice University and member of Duncan College. She is the president of the Muslim Student Association and a leader of Rice Code College, a student led STEM mentorship program for middle school students.

 

What was your religious experience like growing up (i.e. religious household, non-religious, etc.)?

 

Zulfa Quadri:  “I grew up in a very traditional Sunni Islamic family. My dad is an Islamic scholar, and my mom has a similar education. My dad travels around the world doing conferences about Islam, so growing up religion was very huge influence. It bled into everything, whether that’s my attitudes on education, music or food. I learned how to pray and read Arabic (and the Quran) when I was like, four years old. . Learned Islamic law at very young (started reading at like 4!). Ever since I was seven years old and till I was a junior in high school, I was enrolled in Sunday school. Also, my dad was Chairman at a local mosque, so we were all very involved in the religious community.

 

Yasmin Khalfe: “My parents are pretty religious – actually, my mom is Shia Muslim and my dad is Sunni, but I grew up relatively American. I went to Sunday school, went to Mosque growing up. I think we saw the more of the personal side to religion, not as much the rituals. My mom is very religious, but you wouldn’t be able to tell that immediately, because her religion is very personal to her.”

 

Yasmine Rahmat: “My family was very religious, very culturally Islamic. I didn’t always understand why, but it was like you do certain things at certain times, eat certain things, and pray together. I didn’t always know exactly why I did everything, but we did almost everything together, and that was the appeal. I ended up having my Muslim friends and my non-Muslim friends, and I usually had them split into separate groups in my mind. My parents taught me a lot [about Islam], and I think I got a good foundation in the everyday things we do in Islam, but I lacked the “why” (like, why do we pray, why do I believe in God). That’s something I didn’t really know until now – that I pray because I want change or really believe in something. I didn’t really understand before. My parents instilled the urgency, like if I don’t pray or if I don’t do this, I feel different. But, I think that I started exploring the “why” more on my own in college.

 

Iqra Dada: The thing about Islam is that there is culturally religious and actually religious. My parents, specifically my mom, were very culturally Muslim. Like she wore a dupatta (Indian scarf) over her head growing up, but didn’t really think about the strict rules of Islam. They didn’t read the Quran or know Arabic; they didn’t really seek knowledge [about Islam]. When my parents moved here, they experienced the American Muslim culture, which is very binary. Either you go to the mosque and are very strict, or you find the other people who aren’t very strict, don’t often go to mosque and fit in more with Western society. For them it’s mostly about just believing. So when my parents moved here, my mom became a lot more religious, and she started wearing hijab. I went to private Islamic school till 2nd grade and went to Arabic school. Islam basically was my biggest extracurricular activity. They really wanted us to be part of the Islamic culture.

 

IF you cover, when did you start covering and why do you cover/not cover? What factors do you think go into the decision?

ZQ: The earliest I remember covering was when I was 10, right before middle school. My mom wears a full burqa, and she was the first woman I saw covered. Women on both sides of the family both cover and not cover, so I was exposed to differences growing up. It was a communal thing, being Muslim in the most public way possible. I knew that we did it for God, that [if I covered] I’d get blessings. My parents were very encouraging and didn’t force me in any particular way. I remember thinking that this is like a new identity that I’ve created for myself. I like that the first thing that people saw about me was that I was Muslim, because I’m really proud of it. When I came college it became a routine, and I wasn’t really thinking about why I wore it. It just was habit, so I began to question that: was I really wearing it for God…was I really wearing it for myself?”

YK: The only time that I cover is during prayer, like in a Mosque. It’s a sign of respect, just something you do when you pray or engage in something religious. I think I don’t cover because that’s what I grew up with. My mom doesn’t cover, but she dresses modestly – she doesn’t wear shorts, or sleeveless tops.  But I grew up pretty American – I played on sports teams that required shorts and other things. I think it comes down to personal choice; my parents were never like “you have to do this.”

YR: I’ve never covered outside of the mosque. I have considered it a couple times because covering up would give me a different identity as a Muslim, but personally I don’t think that I am in the right place in my spiritual journey to start wearing a hijab. I wouldn’t cover just for the sake of covering. It shouldn’t be someone else or society telling me to cover. Also, covering allows people to immediately recognize me as a Muslim. There’s a lot of pressure there, and I feel that I’m not yet ready to withstand that pressure. So, if I covered up too early [in my life] it might have a detrimental effect on the strength of my spirituality.

ID: I started my first day of middle school. The Islamic ruling is that you start after you become a woman, after you start your period. It’s an awkward thing to talk about but, yeah. In general, I think you cover when you think you’ve become a lady and feel more modest. I’ve always been pretty conservative. If it’s in the Quran, I do it or I try my hardest to do it. In the Quran, when they said to cover, I believe they mean it literally. I think somethings are less literal – it’s an old text and that makes a lot of things interpretable. But somethings are very laid out. I guess that can be seen as inconsistent, but that’s how I look at it.

How do others (family, religious community, ethnic community, at Rice) react to whether you cover or not?

ZQ: People generally find me more approachable.  When I walk down the street, I am definitely less noticed, lie I’m a part of society now. I don’t know if I necessarily like that. I think, when I physically uncover something, it shows that I’m revealing a part of myself, so other people trust me more. Also, I look more normal, like normally American. And although it might not explicitly thought, it’s kind of an implicit association.

YK: I have family members who do wear hijab, and I have members that don’t.  There are people, who tend to be more traditional, who think it’s not right for a Muslim women to not cover up. So, I sometimes feel less religious when I’m around Muslims. But on the other side, when I’m with my non-Muslim friends, I feel very religious.

YR: Here at Rice, I think the MSA is very accepting of the wide variety of cultures and the different ways that everyone chooses to express their devotion to Islam. There is an MSA girls group chat where we schedule a lot of activities for group bonding, and they especially have been very accepting of everyone and their decision to cover or not to cover up. I think this is best shown by their inclusivity and how they reach out to every member, regardless of what they dress like or how involved they are in the MSA.  As for my family, they see modesty very differently in America than they would back home in Indonesia, where most women wear hijabs. My mom sees modesty as not standing out and bringing attention to yourself by the way you dress, and because people wear less here than they do back home, she understands my choice and desire to dress similarly. Because I wouldn’t stand out wearing shorts and a tank in this society in a way that I definitely would in Indonesia, modesty takes on a different face.

ID: [When I started wearing the Hijab] I felt that everyone was wearing it and well, I thought “I’m a lady now,” so I should wear it. Also, I thought, since it was the first day of middle school, I could start with a new identity at a new school. I think there are some stereotypes [of hijabis], that you are aloof or unfriendly or cold. But, people at rice are so weird about the hijab. They love it. There is no place I go where I am so loved for wearing a Hijab. In the public, I think there is a certain aspect of respect that I’m given because I’m covered. I don’t experience cat-calling or men hitting on me, compared to other women. And, kind of surprisingly, it’s not just Muslim men not engaging, but all men seem to understand that I’m not open for them to flirt or hit on me.

Do you think that Muslim women who choose to cover get different reactions from people (or are viewed differently) than women who choose not to? If so, how are the reactions different and why do you think this is?

ZQ: Yes! There’s a very gendered thing about it. When Muslim women cover themselves, their Muslim community will embrace them, because every “good” Muslim will eventually cover. But that’s not even true, as not everyone who covers is very religious. I’m a firm believer that everything is a personal thing. I feel more religious now not wearing the hijab than I did last year when I only wore the hijab. I’m going to be honest, my parents don’t really support [not wearing the hijab]. That has to do with the misconception that covering is directly correlated to your religiosity, whereas I’m doing it to uncover* my religiosity even more.

YK: I definitely think covered Muslim women are perceived differently, because it’s so obvious.  Anyone can see it; it’s a part of your faith that you can’t keep to yourself. Also, current media and narrative casts a negative light on Muslims in general, so it reflects on those who are most outwardly “Muslim.”

YR: I believe that when you wear the hijab, your actions are more scrutinized just because you’re more easily identifiable as Muslim. In this way, I think that there is a certain expectation by society to act in a certain way. I think it makes some people uncomfortable to see a hijabi acting in a way that doesn’t fit their perception of what a Muslim woman should be. So if a Muslim woman who doesn’t cover up and acts differently, it’s easier to stomach because she doesn’t wear a hijab and already doesn’t fit this preconceived image. Covering up is a small part of being Muslim. It’s hard for me, harder than a lot of things, but it’s still just a small part of a big religion. Islam is a relationship between you and god, and no one knows that better than God. Because it is harder for me, something that I can struggle towards, I see covering as a big step in my jihad and in my spiritual journey. But covering up may not mean the same thing to everyone.

ID: There’s a serious amount of respect in Muslim community for hijabi community, because of the recent tough times. No one wants to be known as a Muslim right now. So if you can be looked at and not immediately be profiled as Muslim or ethnic, then you don’t have to deal with nonsense that comes with it. Sometimes women who don’t wear hijab aren’t really seen as Muslim, they could just be a random south Asian person. So, if I am on a bus, likelihood of some rando sitting next to me versus her is lower. It’s basically a social experiment that you are going through.  It’s a little bit of invisibility, but you are also very visible. It’s a weird duo – they know I’m there, but act like they don’t see me.

The hijab is often associated with the narrative of Muslim women being oppressed, how do you deal with this stereotype in your everyday life (/does this ever come up)?

ZQ: Some people have said “are you taking it off because you are forced to wear it?” And I say no, I make sure to correct that. I think there is a small – very, very, small- minority of Muslim women that are actually oppressed or forced to cover. But no, Muslim women do not need saving. Being traditional or conservative is not backwards, it’s not anti-feminist. Being able to choose who gets to see my body or who sees my hair, is empowering to some women.

YK: I can think of my own mom. She grew up in Iran back during pre-revolution. So, everything she knew until 18 was very western (girls in shorts for instance). So when the revolution happened, it was very difficult for her to adjust to the mandatory hijab. I personally don’t think mandatory covering is good.

YR: I understand the perception, because they see it as something that is forced on women, sometimes not only physically, but as an unsaid social dogma. The way I see it is that it’s a choice. When you take choice away, it’s oppressive.

ID: When I come to Rice, everyone wants to celebrate my hijab, to celebrate diversity. But, sometimes I feel like people want to show support for me because they think that I am oppressed. I am empowering myself. I don’t need anyone. I think there are lots of women out there that are being oppressed, oppressed on what they can and can’t wear. Those countries face a lot of oppression, and I don’t want to dismiss that. But at the same time, in America, I don’t think that’s the case. In general I think 90% wear by choice. Some young girls wear due to social pressure, but I wouldn’t say it’s abusive or oppression. It’s more like, “oh, my parents would be mad at me.” So, I guess it’s a form of emotional oppression, but I wouldn’t compare that to abroad. You should know Muslims are all over, and we aren’t all oppressed.  

What is your perception of the relationship between female sexuality and Islam (in the context of clothing)?

ZQ: I’m not going to say all Islamic communities do this, but to some, female sexuality is not a thing that exists until you get married, but then suddenly (clap) you have it! It’s hard to navigate the Islamic text because, if you take tradition, it says pretty blatantly that you have to save yourself for marriage that sex should be saved for your husband. But I think we live in a modern society. The women who choose to be sexual should be accepted and the women who choose not to should be accepted as well. As long as Muslim and non-Muslim societies support her, then that’s the ideal.

YK: People might look at hijabis and think that they don’t have sexuality. I don’t think that the religion says that you shouldn’t have sexuality, so I think the subversion of that is more political or cultural. When it comes to religion part, I think a lot of it is keeping it private. I think also the hijab comes off as protection from sex before marriage or hiding from sex, but what I think it should be is their own personal sign of devotion.

YR: I never grew up being taught that sex is bad. But it is hard to deal with it – there are times where I would take pride in my sexuality as a female but then I would think, “oh is that something God would want me to think?”, because often that kind of thinking can lead to thoughts of vanity and seeking attention — things I know are bad. It’s hard to find a balance between just feeling good about yourself, about your appearance, and your sexuality as a female, and avoiding vanity.

ID: I feel like a lot of Muslims have a stifling understanding of Islam. They believe that Islam is completely non-sexual. The idea is that you just place limits on yourself. I think the hijab in essence is a way to show that you are not interested in doing anything before marriage. By wearing a hijab, you are holding out for someone in hopes of pleasing god. It’s saying that I value god over my sexuality in this moment. But, Islam is extremely open to talking about sex. There’s a lot of literature, in the Hadith, You would never think that there would be text in the Hadith talking about foreplay, but it’s there. Islam is a very sexual religion. Unfortunately, that is often covered up and people don’t want to talk about it, mostly because of the conservative culture that we are ingrained with and this super-conservative or super-liberal binary. “I’m super American so I could never do arranged marriage. I’m trying to find a balance of Islam and my Western values where I can manage somewhat-dating while still maintaining a certain level of purity/modesty.”

——————————————————————————————————————-

So, what role does the Hijab play in the identity of Muslim women?

The practice of covering or not covering, in itself, is a clear example of how Islam is not a monolith. Considering the various narratives of Muslim women at Rice, wearing a Hijab, or other forms of covering, is only one aspect of all that can be included in identifying oneself as a Muslim. A Muslim woman is not labeled ‘Muslim’ based solely off of her decision to cover or not, or at least she shouldn’t be. Ultimately, covering is a personal choice. It is important for both Muslims and non-Muslims to acknowledge that everyone has different convictions, and modesty is no exception. Unfortunately, few people do, and consequently, the “good Muslim bad Muslim” binary is so prevalent in American society. Within the Muslim community, a “good” Muslim is one who covers and the more one does cover, the better. The case is the opposite for non-Muslim communities; covering makes one a “bad” Muslim, while more “good/liberal” Muslims are more accepted and encouraged in American society.

 

Should a Muslim woman, or any woman, have to justify their decision to cover or be expected to explain the extent of their covering?

Wearing a Hijab, like all things, has its pros and cons. Muslim women often feel the need to explain to others why they cover (or don’t), in an attempt to denounce the popular assumption that covering is a sign of oppression, when in reality, most Muslim women choose to cover and consider it “empowering”. What is even more troubling is that women who choose not to cover, after having previously covered, in the words of interviewee, Zulfa, are seen as “going after men”.

This introduces a topic that stood out in the interviews of Muslim women at Rice, sexuality. How does covering influence people’s perceptions and assumptions about the sexuality of Muslim women? According to one interviewee, in Islam, a woman’s sexuality simply does not exist outside of marriage, which can be problematic in today’s society, where sexuality is a hot topic and traditional values about sex are not as present as they once were. The point to make here is that it is unfair to Muslim women, especially younger Muslim women, to associate their sexuality, with their personal decision to cover or not. Furthermore, today more than ever, attention to sexuality is more culturally relevant than it is religiously.

To assume that all young women who cover have no sexuality is not only inaccurate, but reinforces the widely-accepted (and wrong) view that Islam is a monolith. This is done through clumping all Muslim women into one group, in which affiliation is based on covering. As stated earlier, covering is only one aspect of all that encompasses a Muslim woman’s identity, and the diverse interpretations surrounding modesty and the veil allow us to grasp just how rich in diversity Islam as a whole is. From the four interviewees of Rice students alone, we can see how every Muslim woman’s experience is different, and that cannot be ignored.

 

References:   

BBC, Europe (July 2014) “The Islamic veil across Europe” web. Retrieved 19th October 2016 <http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-13038095>

BBC, Newsround (June 2015) “What’s the difference between a hijab, niqab and a burka?” web. Retrieved 19th October 2016 <http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/24118241>

Cook, Jesselyn (August 2016) “Iranian Men Don Hijabs to Challenge Compulsory Veiling Law” Worldpost. Web. Retrieved 19th October 2016 <http://huffingtonpost.com/entry/iranian-men-wear-hijabs_us_579a5681e4b0e2e15eb4f9b0>

Howard, Johnette (August 2016) “Fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad’s message doesn’t end with olympic loss” ESPN. web. Retrieved 19th October 2016 <http://www.espn.com/olympics/summer/fencing/story/_/id/17249657/2016-rio-olympics-fencer-ibtihaj-muhammad-message-end-olympic-loss>

Press Association (August 2016) “Hijab approved as uniform option by Scotland Police” The Telegraph. Web. Retrieved 19th October 2016 <http://telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/24/hijab-approved-as-uniform-option-by-scotland-police/>

Shukla, Sebastian (September 2016) “Muslim woman to appear in Playboy in a hijab” CNN. Retrieved 19th October 2016 <http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/27/living/playboy-hijabi-woman-trnd/>

Breaking the Monolith of Muslim Identity: Experiences of Muslim Women

By Megan L, Darcy M, and Lauren R

The “monolith” of Muslim identity is a dangerous misconception when applied to Muslim women. By suggesting that all Muslims experience their identity in similar ways, the unique experiences of Muslim women are erased from the conversations regarding identity. Instead, their experiences and identity formation should be appreciated through the “double disadvantage” they hold as their gender identity and religious identity intersect. An intersectional perspective, which seeks to understand how multiple facets of identity “interact at the micro level of individual experience to reflect multiple interlocking systems of privilege and oppression at the macro, social-structural level,” provides a useful framework to understand the complex identity of Muslim women on an individualized and institutionalized level (Bowleg, 2012). The tenets of an intersectional approach posit that (1) social identities are not independent, but multidimensional and intersecting, (2) intersectionality should begin by studying vulnerable populations with multiple disadvantaged identities, and (3) interacting identities at the microscopic level produce disparities on the macro-level (Bowleg, 2012).

Using intersectionality to understand the experiences of Muslim women, we begin to see that Muslim women face distinct manifestations of discrimination and racialized violence. In America, specifically, Muslim women systematically fight against stereotypes regarding covering with a headscarf and patriarchal oppression and domination. While many Muslim women make a personal choice to cover as a rejection of the over-sexualization of the female body in American society or out of religious devotion or cultural identity, Muslim women find themselves in a unique position when they step out into public covered. Instead of a reflection of a Muslim woman’s inner devotion or personal choices, the headscarf represents the misconstrued picture of Islam in America and often brings suspicious judgments. Unlike their male counterparts, Muslim women are stuck in a damaging chaos of religious and gendered “othering.”

However, we must be careful not to flatten the diversity of identity among Muslim women. There is a spectrum of adherence to customs like veiling, prayer, or the study of Islamic texts, which results in a rich diversity of identity and self-expression for Muslim women. For example, a 2008 New York photography exhibit by three Yemeni students showed a variety of Muslim women as they expressed their personalities and identities in personal photographs. On one end of the spectrum, there was a slew of family photos with a girl in a white T-shirt and children playing video games. On the other end of the spectrum, there were pictures of conceptual pictures of Allah or political protests in which a male threatens a woman with a baton. In their efforts to engage the general public with their reflections on identity as Muslim American woman, did they succeed? While they broke down the monolithic view of Muslim identity for women, did they play into the notion of “good muslim” / “bad muslim” by demonstrating the spectrum the way they did? Ultimately, this leads me to wonder if acknowledging the unique identity of Muslim women will promote greater acceptance of Muslim women by the American public or if it will merely emphasize a “good Muslim” / “bad Muslim” binary that leads to further discrimination. This tension is further emphasized and exacerbated when Muslim Americans are compared to Muslims abroad.

 

Muslim Women in America versus Muslim Women Abroad

All over the world, Muslims have received so much negative attention for the last fifteen years. But most people don’t realize that Muslim women, in America and abroad, go through arguably even more hardships than male Muslims do. Also, there is a big difference on how Muslim women are treated in America versus Islamic countries and within the experiences they go through every day.

To begin with, western stereotypes usually pinpoint Muslim women as submissive to their husbands or authority. Also, in American culture, Muslim women who do not cover their faces are typically overlooked because the public does not see them as “representative Muslims” and they start to believe that they are “bad Muslims”. The tendencies of Muslim-American women’s expectations of wearing the hijab also cause conflicts for them internally and within their community. In American society, Muslim women struggle with what it means to be Muslim enough for their communities in relation to religious identities. “Whether a Muslim woman believes she is meeting traditional standards, and how other Muslim women perceive she is meeting such standards is important to how the female Muslim identity is developed within the United States” (Jeldtoft, 2011; Sirin & Fine, 2007). Muslim-American women are seen to fight back against these stereotypes because in America they are only seen in two ways: either a woman who wears the hijab and gets discriminated against for her beliefs, or a woman who does not wear the hijab and to a majority of the society are seen as a good person, but to other Muslims may be seen as a “bad Muslim” for the lack of practice of Islam.

Another big struggle that Muslim-American women face is “political intersectionality” because there are two or more conflicting politically associated facets of their identities (Crenshaw, 1991, p.1251-1252). A Muslim woman is subordinated through both her gender and her religion in the United States, and it most cases her ethnicity or race as well. Within the United States, being religious is something that Muslim women have repeatedly had to prove to people within their communities and outside. Basically, Muslim-American women go through a lot of discrimination and they also personally experience fear. I found quote from a Muslim-American woman that I really liked because it shows how the United States is so quick to judge and be Islamophobic that they don’t even get the chance to get to know the person. The quote from the article was, “As a Muslim woman who covers my hair, I can very easily find myself at the end of many assumptions. Can she play sports with that (hijab)? Can she speak English? Here’s the bottom line: I cover my head not my mind”.

As you can see, discrimination is a big struggle that Muslim-American women face but Muslim women from countries outside the US face several issues as well. The seven countries within the world with the biggest gender gaps in education are all Islamic countries. The biggest one being Chad with a 22% difference between boys and girls enrolled at school on all levels. Also, the only countries with no female representation in government are all Islamic countries as well including- Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. And lastly, these Muslim women face severe danger, persecution, and rejection every single day within these Islamic countries.

 

The Media’s Construction of Muslim Women Identity

Now you’re probably thinking, what is the link between the idea of Muslim women as a monolith and American Muslim women vs. Muslim women abroad? The connection to both of these ideas is the media, and how all Muslim women, American or otherwise, hijab or no hijab, are portrayed in the media to the general public. For starters, there is already a negative connotation towards Muslims in the media. In fact, one 2007 UK study found that 91% of articles in national newspapers about Muslims were negative (globalfundforwomen.org). Muslim women experience a dual problem because of a general lack of fair representation because they are women and misrepresentation because they are Muslim (globalfundforwomen.org). The media promotes images and stories about Muslim women as if they are all alike. Based on media coverage, it can be expected that all Muslim women wear the burka, or at least the hijab, because they are timid, victims or oppressed. The rich diversity of opinions, appearance, spectrums of faith, occupations, cultures and even languages that exist among Muslim women is wiped clean. There are virtually no stories regarding the achievements of Muslim women that do not fit the victim stereotype, such as escaping from an abusive husband. Additionally, Muslim women abroad are portrayed by the U.S. media as being oppressed or victims for the benefit of the United States. The U.S. profits from making Muslim women seem oppressed because they want to perpetuate the idea that Muslim men are controlling or masters and want to rule everything, from their wives to the United States.

An example of this monolithic coverage at work is the response Donald Trump had to the Khan family’s speech at the Democratic convention in July 2016. The Khan family lost a son in the Iraq war and told their heartbreaking story while questioning Donald Trump’s knowledge of the U.S. Constitution. Throughout the speech, Mrs. Khan never said a word. Donald Trump then wanted to know why Mrs. Khan didn’t speak at the Convention and Mrs. Khan said, “Because without saying a thing, all the world, all America, felt my pain. I am a Gold Star mother. Whoever saw me felt me in their heart.” She also said,  “Donald Trump said that maybe I wasn’t allowed to say anything. That is not true. My husband asked me if I wanted to speak, but I told him I could not. My religion teaches me that all human beings are equal in God’s eyes. Husband and wife are part of each other; you should love and respect each other so you can take care of the family.” Like so many other Americans, Donald Trump believed that Mrs. Khan was prohibited from speaking because all Muslim women are controlled by their husbands. This belief is due to the inaccurate portrayal of Muslim women as a monolith.

Attached is a reading Media (Mis)Representations: Muslim Women in the Canadian Nation that provides further insight into the grouping of Muslim women as an “other” and explains pervasive stereotyping that Muslim women face:

http://cws.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cws/article/viewFile/7607/6738

 

Works Cited

Ali, Samina. “What You’ll Never Hear From the Media About Muslim Women.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 03 July 2016. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.

Bowleg, Lisa. “The problem with the phrase women and minorities: intersectionality—an important theoretical framework for public health.” American journal of public health 102.7 (2012): 1267-1273.

Bullock, Katherine H., and Gul Joya Jafri. “Media (Mis)Representations: Muslim Women in the Canadian Nation | Bullock | Canadian Woman Studies.” Media (Mis)Representations: Muslim Women in the Canadian Nation | Bullock | Canadian Woman Studies. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.

Burns, Alexander, Maggie Haberman, and Ashley Parker. “Donald Trump’s Confrontation With Muslim Soldier’s Parents Emerges as Unexpected Flash Point.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 31 July 2016. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.

“How Does the Media Portray Muslim Women?” IMOW Muslima. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.

Khan, Ghazala. “Ghazala Khan: Trump Criticized My Silence. He Knows Nothing about True Sacrifice.” Washington Post. The Washington Post, 31 July 2016. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.

Navarro, Laura. “Islamophobia and Sexism: Muslim Women in the Western Mass …” Human Architecture: Journal of the Sociology of Self-knowledge. The Omar Khayyam Center for Integrative Research, Fall 2010. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.

The “Other” Opinion on the War on Terror

Circulating throughout the news media during the 2000s was explanation after explanation on what exactly defined the “War on Terror”. Was it the war on Iraq? Iran? Afghanistan? The Middle East? And if it really was the hunt for the terrorist group that sponsored the horrific events of 9/11, the most devastating terrorist attack in modern history, then why are we not in Saudia Arabia, where the majority of the hijackers came from? Question after question were answered with explanations that either contradicted each other or just didn’t add up. Much confusion on the war is still prolific today. However, those who were asking these questions, and those who were trying to answer them, never really bothered to ask what the “others” thought. And the fact that I can use an ambiguous term like “others” to describe a group of people, who were inexplicably excluded from the conversation, and you, the reader, intuitively understand who I am referring to, furthers my point: what do the Muslims think about this nebulous time defined by the “War on Terror”? And did we ever bother to ask?

Let’s start with the basics before trying to answer this question.

Demographics

Many polls and research studies have been done in order to further understand what Muslims believe about terrorism, specifically the actions of Al Qaeda and ISIS. One study showed that 81 percent of the Muslim Americans interviewed are not “extremist” and believe that “violence against civilians is never justified in order to protect Islam from its enemies” (Khan 2011). Furthermore, only 5 percent of the 1,033 Muslim Americans interviewed for one poll held somewhat favorable opinions for terrorist groups, while 70 percent of the people interviewed held very unfavourable opinions for terrorist groups (Pew 2011). While these numbers do vary from study to study, the percentage of Muslims opposed to terrorist organizations and their actions is consistently higher than those who show support.

So why are the Muslims still be unfairly targeted? Is it the War on Terror or the War on Islam?

At this point, it is clear that the majority of Muslims are opposed to terrorist groups. But when looking at the war on terror, many American Muslims question its efforts and goals. Overall, there seems to be a divide between Muslims on whether or not they believe the War on Terror to be legitimately against terror or if the War on Terror has different “motivations” (Wihbey). Some believe that the War on Terror is successfully combating terrorism. But, others believe that the war the US is fighting has led to an alienation of Muslims in America. This alienation primarily results from the media and the consequences of US foreign policies, as mentioned above.

…And it all goes back to the media

The actions of the media continues to take its toll on the Muslim American population. Ever since 9/11, this community has been in the spotlight and has taken many, if not all, of the retaliations from that day. Muslims have continually been discriminated against because of the terrible actions of the small extremist minority. The media often portrays Muslims and Arabs as one in the same, and even portrays them as dangerous in many situations. Most of the current war movies, like American Sniper, normalize violence against Muslims or Arabs in the eyes of the American public, which is problematic because when there is real-life discrimination against these two groups, many don’t see that there is something wrong. Also, there is little to no media coverage of Muslims speaking out against these terror groups. While scrolling across my Facebook feed earlier today, I came across a video of over 30,000 Muslims marching in protest to ISIS. The caption of the video was, “Why did this not go viral?.” That, my Facebook friend, is a great question. Why are people just now finding out about this march that happened months ago? Why was this not publicized better? That video is the perfect way to show millions of people that Muslims are taking a stand against ISIS and that they are doing it publicly. But instead of people getting to see both sides of the story surrounding Muslims and terror, the side of violence prevails in the media.

So if it’s in the media, the anti-Muslim rhetoric must’ve come from somewhere else…..

On October 12, 2001 the Patriot Act was passed by the US government claiming to enable government officials and counterterrorism agents to obtain necessary information in the effort to safeguard America’s national security. However, in essence, this law was enacted in order rationalize and moralize the unprecedented nature of surveillance that would be thrusted upon millions of innocent American citizens, violating various civil liberties and rights. The deceptive and broad nature of the wording in this law allows the FBI to target innocent civilians who fit the mold of a “terrorist” that the government has conjured up, so let’s just call it what it is: brown- skinned Muslims.

In section 215 entitled “Business, Telephone, Financial, Medical Records, and Other Tangible Items”, the FBI only has to state that any item or document is connected to terrorism in order to take it. That’s it. So if you’re wearing traditional Muslim clothing, happen to be speaking language that sounds slightly middle eastern, and are of the brownish skin tone, the FBI can and will seize any of your possessions as long as they state that they believe it is connected to terrorism. And if you think I’m making blanket generalizations, I am not. I’m just simply restating what the FBI published in 2005 as “indicators of potential violent activity”. And this includes, but is not limited to, “wearing traditional Muslim attire, growing facial hair, and frequent attendance at a mosque or a prayer group.”

There are many other sections that extend the guise of legality to such behaviors like roving wiretaps, searching a residence when the owner is not home, and the permittance of National Security Letters that allow the government to search and seize anything without demonstrating probable cause. And when President George Bush addresses the international community stating that United States respects Islam, on the day that he declared the War on Terror, the whole world can’t help but laugh at the nature of his policies and administration that epitomizes the opposite. Mosques are being infiltrated by spies, random search seizures are being conducted, and even charitable contributions to organizations that are on the FBI’s “x-list” are being obstructed. So the question remains, how do Muslims perceive the War on Terror? Well if terror is code for Islam, then they’re mortified.

A vibrant community in Brooklyn, New York once housed 120,000 Pakistanis. 15,000 have fled out of fear of persecution.

On Chicago’s Devon Street in the largest South Asian neighborhood in the midwest, business has declined by 50% due to the max exodus of immigrants. (Mujahid).

Muslims come home to their mail opened and searched without any trace of who or what they were looking for. And sometimes they’re left with an ominous letter stating to contact the FBI as soon as possible.

They constantly live under a microscope. Privacy is no longer a right. It has become a privilege to the white Christian. We live in a country that passes laws that contradict the very fabric that serves to protect it. And out of this dangerous contradiction, comes a media who is apathetic to minority opinion, focused on perpetuating the stereotype of a terrorist, and profits off the irrational fear that is consistently manifested by a majority who is fearful, and by a minority who has been physically and mentally shunned from speaking out.

But you don’t need to watch TV to find it. And you don’t have to even be knowledgeable about the laws to know it exists. Just open your eyes. It’s everywhere.

In public spaces, like airports, the discrimination is clear. While security officers and flight staff are supposed to be aware of any potential threats, they take issues regarding either Muslims or Arabs way too far. For example, in Niala Mohammad’s article, she mentions that a man was taken off a plane for simply speaking Arabic, and was later reprimanded for speaking the language because of the fact that he was in an airport (Mohammad 2016). There are many issues with this, but a big one is the assumption that the staff made that because the man was speaking Arabic, he was therefore Muslim, and because he said “inshallah,” that made him dangerous. First off, Arabic is a language spoken by millions of people, which is mainly based on geographical location, and the speaking of it does not mean that someone is Muslim. This man should not have been reprimanded for speaking his native language, even if he was in an airport. Secondly, the number of people who have experienced similar situations, whether it be because of their choice of language, skin color, or the way the dress is too high for something to not be done to change this “protective” culture.

The war on terror has created enough situations of discrimination and feelings of alienation to make the questions of its motivations serious. How can Muslims believe that this war is going to help them when actions from both sides directly impact their lives in negative ways? Yes, Muslims are against terrorism, and yes they very much disagree with the actions and motivations of terrorist groups, so why do they keep getting lumped in with the terrorists? Many Muslims have spoken out against terrorism, and many will continue to do so, but unless more people start acknowledging these actions, they will continue to go unnoticed by the majority of the population, especially in the US. So, as of now, I believe that all non-Muslims who come across these anti-terrorist actions performed by Muslims, like the march, have a responsibility to speak of it with others, to pass on that information, so we can help our fellow Americans, and citizens of the world end this war against Islam, and truly make this war a war on terror.

Further reading:

• http://themillenniumreport.com/2014/08/the-fake-war-on-terrorism-and-the-real-war-on-islam/
• https://abidnyc.wordpress.com/2011/03/28/islam’s-view-on-war-and-terrorism-a-survey-of-the-quran-and-prophetic-traditions/
• http://journalistsresource.org/studies/government/security-military/americanstereotypes-muslims-support-war-terror
• http://www.antiwar.com/solomon/?articleid=9673 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/america-and-muslims-by-the-numbers/
• http://www.soundvision.com/article/in-a-virtual-internment-camp-muslim-americans-since-911
• https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/08/muslim-woman-kicked-off-american-airlines-flight-islamophobia

Jihad: Striving for Peace

By Ahmad R and Charie X

Jihad, Greater Jihad, Lesser Jihad, and Jihadists

I felt very disturbed when I found the news article titled “Were New York, Minnesota Attacks Open-Source Jihad?” published by NBC News with regard to the September 18th New York bombings and the Minnesota mall stabbing attack (Meyer 2016). This report makes the blatant association between Jihad and violence, which is hardly the case. Unfortunately, however, violence is the first word that come to most people’s mind when they think of Jihad. This blog post is written with the intention to clear the stereotypical misunderstanding of Jihad and to discuss the real meaning of the concept of Jihad.

Let’s start with the most important question: what is Jihad? With many professional debates and arguments—both in and out of the Muslim community—around the idea of jihad, the complexity of this concept should be recognized. In the meantime, there are many simplistic few-sentence definitions from even some very authoritative and respectful dictionaries including Merriam-Webster, Cambridge Dictionary, and Oxford Dictionaries. It is not difficult to find numerous definitions online, but it is challenging to find the definition that is not oversimplifying or that takes the context of the word Jihad into account. With this said, this blog post strives to provide a more comprehensive background on the meaning of jihad.

According to the noted Islamic scholar Maulana Wahiduddin Khan (also known as K̲h̲ān̲ Vahīduddīn), the word jihad is derived from the root juhd, which means to strive and to struggle ̣ because the Quran tells believers to “strive for the cause of Allah as it behoves you to strive for it (22:78)” (Khan 2002:10). Jihad can be further broken down into greater jihad and lesser jihad. Greater jihad involves jihad of the heart, jihad of the tongue, and jihad of the hand. Lesser jihad only consists jihad of the sword, which is also known as military jihad (Tyler 2015).

The greater jihad (jihad al-akbar in Arabic) is defined as one’s spiritual fighting against the soul’s “carnal desires and evil inclinations.” It means to struggle to follow the teachings of Allah and to govern the heart by reason rather than by emotions (Gülen 2005:183; Bhala 2011:1341/1342). Jihad of the heart can be understood as battling against the emotional inducement to evil, and devoting to and following faith. Jihad of the tongue is defined as speaking in the interests of righteousness and delivering the word of God. Jihad of the hand can mean use pens to propagate the right and correct the wrong. It can also mean doing good works (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica; Tyler 2015; Gurulé 2010:124). Lesser jihad, military jihad, or jihad of the sword, is not about an individual’s struggle against his or her inner self. In fact, lesser jihad is related to war, but Muslims’ resort to the use of force has very strict restrictions. It is important to make the distinction that the common concept of violence and fighting that people tend to associate with the word jihad is instead illustrated by another Arabic word qital (Khan 2002:10). The words jihad and qital were not used interchangeably during the life of Prophet Muhammad. In addition, though commonly referred to as holy war, jihad is not mentioned as holy war by neither Quran nor Hadith. In reality, another Arabic word al-harbu al-muqaddasatu is used to mean holy war (Bhala 2011:1341/1342).

Quran has made it clear that “Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you, but begin not hostilities (2:190).” The rules that a military jihad have to follow in order to be legitimate involve (BBC 2009):

· The opponent must have started the fighting

· It must not be fought to gain territory

· It must be launched by a religious leader

· It must be fought to bring about good – something that Allah would approve of

· It must be a last resort – all other ways of solving the problem must have been tried

· Innocent people should not be killed; women, children or old people should not be killed or hurt

· Women must not be raped or abused in any way

· Enemies must be treated with justice

· Wounded enemy soldiers must be treated in exactly the same way as one’s own soldiers

· The war must stop as soon as the enemy asks for peace

· Property must not be damaged

· Poisoning of wells is forbidden (chemical or biological warfare might be a modern analogy).

In a word, military jihad is carried out only as self-defense, only for the good of the community, only as the last resort, should be stopped as soon as peace is a probable solution, and should not bring damage to properties and to the general public.

The term jihadists should be mentioned here. The word jihadists is used by the western academics to describe violent Sunni Islamists. In fact, many Muslims use the word deviants instead of jihadists to refer to these extremists, because they believe that the noble religious concept of jihad is wrongly associated with illegitimate violence through the word jihadist (BBC Middle East 2014). As contended by Ayesha Jalal, Professor of History at Tufts University, the so-called jihadists have gone so far as to want to waive the specific conditions under which the military jihad could be carried out. These deviants depart from Islamic traditions by using the term jihad to potentially justify their quest for state power (McNeil 2008).

 

Is Terrorism a Form of Jihad?

“I think all of us recognize that this great religion in the hands of a few extremists has been distorted to justify violence towards innocent people that is never justified.” – President Barack Obama

The “jihad” of terrorism deviates from Islamic jihad in four ways.

Firstly, Islamic jihad is to be authorized by a recognized authority to deter aggression. Terrorists – individuals and groups who are not legitimate leaders in any way – act as aggressors to strike fear rather than directly counter any aggression. Using their own rationalizations, terrorism “jihad” ignores the arguments of anti-terrorism Muslim imams and scholars. ISIS, for example, establishes itself as an authority (a “caliphate”) and improperly uses jihad to gain territory and force their views onto others.

Secondly, Islamic jihad is to only focus on active enemy combatants, but terrorists routinely kill innocent civilians, the majority of whom are Muslim. Pre-modern jihad discussion focused on the immunity of non-combatants and the need for proportionality of force. This Jus in Bello (law of war) is downplayed in modern terrorism, as shown by the killing of innocent people. Additionally, the “jihad” of terrorism often calls for greater violence than the violence terrorists claim to be fighting against.

Thirdly, jihad is to be a public declaration, but terrorism is plotted secretly and as surprise attacks.

Finally, jihad has many rules and restrictions, while terrorism has transgressed all bounds of respect for human life, killing innocent children and terrorizing nations. Some terrorists “rationalize” this by claiming that the US government is indiscriminate in its drone strikes, and that the innocent victims selected the government. Such rationalization only seeks an “eye for an eye,” and fulfills nothing but a misdirected sense of anger and revenge.

Terrorist groups are aware of the discrepancies, or at least how these discrepancies seem to other Muslims. An Al Qaeda training manual warns recruiters about religious people, saying these people will reject the reasoning of the recruiters and “end up being the reason for [Al Qaeda’s] defeat” (Engel).

ISIS and other groups focus on nonreligious young adults so that the recruiter will be able to provide a version of Islam more accommodating of ISIS’s principles. They also target isolated people and students, because of their “zeal” and “anti-government sentiments” (Engel). Only through subtle steering, propaganda, encouragement, friendliness, and manipulation, terrorist recruiters are able to convince others of what they consider to be their rationale for jihad.

The root causes of terrorism are far from some fulfillment of jihad. Political, social, and economic grievances have given rise to the “jihad” of terrorism for those claiming to represent Islam and those who do not claim to be Muslim. It has been used against British colonialism, the Sri Lankan government, and Russia. Cases of terrorism, often employing suicide missions, focused on making a democratic nation to withdraw. The 2010 subway attacks in Moscow were carried out by “Black Widows,” women whose husbands were killed by Russian forces in Chechnya, an area which even some conservatives admit is brutalized by Russia.

The killing of innocent people is heinous. The problematic pseudo-jihad rationale terrorists use for their attacks is far from the actual jihad of Islam, which is in reality a struggle against injustice, not a source of injustice in itself.

 

Spreading the Peace

The main reason that jihad is blamed for the terrors that happen in the world today is that the true meaning of jihad is misunderstood by so much of the population. We’ve already learned that terrorists and extremists take advantage of this misunderstanding and use it to impose fear on their victims, but we have not examined methods in which to battle this fear. The only true manner in which we can defeat this tactic is by learning and understanding jihad to its full meaning. In order to do this, changes must occur on how the world views jihad.

Frequently, when an act of terrorism is committed by a non-white person, the first to get blamed is all of Islam. We see how evident this is when Robert Spencer broadly states, “Islam constitutes a threat to the world at large.” (Spencer 2011). He does not specify what part of Islam, nor does he state that terrorists pose a threat, Spencer blames Islam in general. This generalization allows extremists to take bits and pieces of the Islamic faith and turn the blame on jihad. The only time jihad is brought up in America is when something negative occurs, therefore it is associated with negative connotations. How are we to create a peaceful environment if the only attention that is brought to jihad is negative? Too many times, lesser jihad is the sole highlight in American society, and even here it is misrepresented to form an aggressive, hostile meaning. Perhaps there should be some focus on the greater jihad; doing good works, living a life to glorify Allah, or in live pure manner. Society could begin to see how positive jihad truly is. If we want our knowledge and tolerance to grow (i.e. creating a safer and happier environment for all of our citizens) we must be willing to have honest interfaith dialogue and be open to genuinely discussing the meaning of jihad and how it is abused by terrorists and islamophobists.

Think about the last time you watched the news. Was there news of terrorism? Was jihad mentioned? If this is the case, I ask you to be critical of the information you’ve been given and that you use the information you now know. Take note as to how jihad is described; do you get a true definition of jihad? Remember this blog post. As you become more and more aware of the misrepresentation of jihad, I ask that you spread the true meaning. Be the voice for those who are not heard. Be willing to discuss jihad with those who do not know what it is. We can only advance in peace and eliminate Islamophobia if we all understand that Islam is not a faith based upon terror, and jihad does not encourage terror by any means.

Jihad is not exclusive to Muslims. We are experiencing our own greater jihad simply be reading and learning more about Islam. By practicing pluralism, practicing peace, being generous and loving, and simply caring for others we are committing good works. This is exactly what jihad calls Muslims to do! The only difference, is that we know these actions simply as “good works.” Jihad is a positive thing, and we beat the fear of it by truly recognizing it as positive.

If you would like to learn more about jihad and the peaceful lifestyle that it encompasses, myjihad.org will take you through the stories of many people who strive for a life of goodness for their loving God and confidently living their own jihad.

 

Bibliography

Bandow, Doug. 2010. “Terrorism: Why They Want to Kill Us.” The Huffington Post. Retrieved September 26, 2016 (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/doug-bandow/terrorism-why-they-want-t_b_631942.html). BBC Middle East. 2014. “What is jihadism?”

BBC, December 11. Retrieved September 24, 2016 (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30411519).

BBC. 2009. “Religions – Islam: Jihad.” Retrieved September 25, 2016 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/beliefs/jihad_1.shtml#blq-nav).

Bhala, Raj. 2011. Understanding Islamic Law. LexisNexis.

Engel, Pamela. 2015. “Here’s the Manual That Al Qaeda and Now ISIS Use to Brainwash People Online.” Business Insider. Retrieved September 26, 2016 (http://www.businessinsider.com/the-manual-al-qaeda-and-now-isis-use-to-brainwash-people-on line-2015-7).

Fang, Lee. 2011. “Breivik Was Influenced By American Islamophobes Behind …” ThinkProgress. Retrieved September 27, 2016 (http://thinkprogress.org/security/2011/07/25/277631/breivik-influenced-by-american-islamopho bes/).

Gurulé, Jimmy. 2010. Unfunding Terror: The Legal Response to the Financing of Terror. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Gülen, Fethullah. 2005. The Messenger of God: Muhammad – An Analysis of the Prophet’s Life. Tughra Books. Islamic Movement for Non-Violence. 2008. “From Defensive to Offensive Warfare.” Islamic Movement for NonViolence. Retrieved September 26, 2016 (https://web.archive.org/web/20100626153941/http://islamnon-violence.org/en/from-defensive-t o-offensive-warfare/).

K̲h̲ān̲ Vahīduddīn. 2002. ̣ The True Jihad: the Concepts of Peace, Tolerance, and Non-Violence in Islam. New Delhi: Goodword Books.

McNeil, Taylor. 2008. “The Greater Jihad.” Retrieved September 25, 2016 (http://tuftsjournal.tufts.edu/2008/03/features/04/).

Meyer, Josh. 2016. “Were New York, Minnesota Attacks Open-Source Jihad?” NBC News. Retrieved September 24, 2016 (http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ny-nj-bombings/were-new-york-minnesota-attacks-open-sou rce-jihad-n650616).

Office of the Press Secretary. 2010. “Remarks by the President and the First Lady in Town Hall with Students in Mumbai, India.” The White House. Retrieved September 26, 2016 (https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/11/07/remarks-president-and-first-lady-town -hall-with-students-mumbai-india).

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. 2016. “Jihad | Islam.” Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved September 24, 2016 (https://www.britannica.com/topic/jihad).

Tyler, Biscontini. 2015. “Jihad.” Salem Press Encyclopedia. WhyIslam. 2010. “Why Does Islam Have the Concept of Jihad or Holy War, Which Some Use to Justify Violence and Terrorism?”

WhyIslam. Retrieved September 26, 2016 (https://www.whyislam.org/jihad-2/jihad-faqs/islamic-concept-of-jihad-holy-war/)

Unpacking Islamophobia: History, Politics and Industry

By Vicky Yang and Benjamin Herndon-Miller

To further understand the phenomenon of Islamophobia, we would first like to think about the following questions: What is the motivation behind the Islamophobia industry? Why would people donate millions of dollars to perpetuate fear and distortion of Islam? Who is to gain from spreading fear of Muslims? We unpack below the source and reproduction of the irrational fear and negative attitude towards Islam through a historical, political and economic lens.

 

Historical Representation of Muslims

The idea that Muslims are violent and cannot be trusted is deeply rooted in the history and continually reproduced today. TV shows such as Homeland and 24 often portray Muslims as violent criminals, but such negative image is not a recent invention. The persisting distorted representation can date back to as early as the Middle Ages literature. One source is the Crusader literature and art which tended to paint Islam as a “religion of the sword” and some works were used to justify the Crusaders’ violence by arguing that Muslims attempted to take over the world. The Song of Roland is an epic poem on the eighth century battle between Charlemagne’s army and Muslims. The poem illustrates the view of Muslims as violent enemies who once threatened the Western civilization. Although the poem is not based on authentic history, it is still widely taught in schools.

 

Judeo Christian Tradition

There seems to be an impassable gulf between Islam and Christianity. The renowned German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel made a systematic contrast between Islam and Christianity. Samuel Huntington (the author of The Clash of Civilization and the Remaking of World Order), claimed that Islam and the West is a clash of civilizations and agreed with Bernard Lewis (the author of The Roots of Muslim Rage) that Islam is an “ancient rival against our Judeo-Christian heritage. While these scholars might not intend to promote negative views towards Islam, their arguments can be mobilized to alienate and “other” Muslims.

The term “Judeo-Christian tradition” refers to the similar traditions shared between Judaism and Christianity and “was interpreted as the foundation of American democracy and human rights” (Kalmar 2009:135). Many scholars hold the belief that Christianity and Islam are fundamentally incompatible. Interestingly, Jews and Muslims were imagined as two similarly exotic species from the western Christian perspective and in nineteenth century they were labeled with the term “Semites”, which was invented to refer to these two distinguishable but closely related groups. The dual construction of Jews and Muslims, however, began to split and after World War II, some liberal Jews, especially in America, tried to distance themselves from the Semitic tradition to emphasize their similarity to Christians. There have been doubts on whether a “Judeo-Christian tradition” truly exists, and some scholars even argued the correct term should be “Judeo-Christian- Islamic tradition”. Despite the ambiguity, the term is commonly used by the media and politicians nowadays and many have imposed the “Judeo-Christian nation” on the United States. Such notion is even more strengthened as the United States established stronger alliance with Israel.

 

Political Motivation

Although we are aware that Islamophobia is reproduced through an organized network, we have not understood the source of the financial support and the motivation behind it. Many organizations and donors to the Islamophobia industry listed on the Fear.Inc reading are interestingly associated with the state of Israel. Why would people in Israel fund the production of Islamophobia in the United States? One possible motivation of these Israeli donors is the idea of Zionism, “the national movement for the return of the Jewish people to their homeland and the resumption of Jewish sovereignty”. Israel has been in territory conflicts with Arab countries for years and inciting Islamophobia could provide justifications for its alliance in the West to take political and military actions in the area. After 9/11, the portrayals of Islam as violent and Muslims as terrorists provided legitimacy for the Bush administration to declare war on Iraq and topple the regime in Syria. The political motivation of the U.S. government in promoting Islamophobia is often discussed, but the influence from Israel and its patronage to the Islamophobia industry in the West is not as apparent.

 

The Industry of Islamophobia

Money talks. Behind the political and historical motives of Islamophobia, a systematic business has been built on promoting fear of Muslims. From 2008 to 2013, $200 million dollars was spent by anti-Islamic organizations promoting fear and hatred of Muslims by painting them as a threat to “western values” . Regardless of how based in fact these claims may be, those who hold significant power in our society use them to paint a picture that suits their agenda. Florida Senator Alan Hayes put it quite eloquently when he said, “Our religious, political, and peaceful way of life is under attack by Islam and Sharia Law. Save my generation from this ideology that is invading our country and masquerading as a ‘religion’. It’s sedition: They are determined to overthrow our State and our Country.” By selling this idea that Muslims are the enemy and that he is the candidate who will address the issue, politicians like Alan Hayes appeal to the masses who have been influenced by the Islamophobia industry.

This system of Islamophobia in the United States is self-perpetuating as those who profit off of the narrative are the ones who control it the most. For example, we can look at the case of Frank Gaffney, president and founder of the Center for Security Policy. The Center for Security Policy is one of the major sources of divisive rhetoric for politicians who promote an anti-Islamic agenda. By giving this misinformation to influential social and political figures, the narrative is perpetuated as is people’s perception of the prevalence of the issue of Islamic terrorism. Thus, organizations like the Center for Security Policy are perceived as valuable sources that protect our national security and are able to amass large amounts of funding.

Instead of focusing on issues that affect our society on a large scale, these organizations and politicians alike play on fear. For example, if we examine the rates of violent death in the United States we see that 406,000 people have died from gun violence since 2001 compared to roughly 3,000 who have died from incidences of domestic terrorism. Even though gun violence is a significantly greater public threat than domestic terrorism, the perception for many citizens is in reverse due to the efforts of this industry built on fear-mongering.

 

Our Thoughts

To view outsiders as a threat is a natural biological tendency we have deep within our lizard-brain, it is not inherently good or bad, it just is. It’s a characteristic of our natural self-preserving tendencies. “If I don’t know them, then I can’t trust them,” is the sub-conscious dialogue we all have in our heads whether we recognize it or not. What is important is not whether we have these thoughts, but rather how we engage them and act on them.

If we reflect on the history of civilization, those who seek power have used this inherent defense mechanism to manipulate and control people in order to achieve their agenda. Whether the motive is political or financial, those who recognize this flaw of ours have been able to use it to achieve great power at the expense of those they ostracize. Whether it be the European history of colonization and imperialization, mass movements of genocide or the enslavement of human beings, those in power have used our natural tendency to “other” the unfamiliar. It is the natural tendency for history to repeat itself, and no matter how progressive we find our society to be today, Islamophobia is the reincarnation of this paradigm.

Note: The authors of this article have also suggested the following reading: Pro-Israel Group Spreading Islamophobia at Columbia University