Muslim-Americans still face social dissent

By Karthik Soora     2/24/11 6:00pm

In the past year and a half, public anti-Muslim sentiments have become increasingly toxic and vitriolic. A Florida pastor threatened to burn Qurans, gaining worldwide media attention. The proposed mosque in Nashville, Tenn., has faced protests, arson, graffiti and even gunshots. The great state of Oklahoma has even passed an overwhelming referendum that banned the use of "Sharia law" in the state. Nationally, overall Gallup poll data shows that American impressions of Islam have decreased in favorability in the last five years. Muslim-American claims now comprise 25 percent of discrimination claims to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Tea Party-leaning politicians increasingly argue that Muslims will never be able to assimilate into America, some even stating that all Muslim-Americans are a threat to ?"normal" Americans.

This assumption is a mistake.

By rejecting Muslim-Americans as our fellow citizens, we walk right into Osama Bin Laden's hands. Bin Laden's strategy rests on the premise that Islam and the West are incompatible. His terrorists conduct attacks against the West and hope a resultant popular backlash against Western Muslims will make them believe assimilation is impossible and violence is the only recourse. Up till now, however, Americans have largely avoided the bait. Though our hands are not completely clean, we as a country have avoided returning to the days of Japanese internment and have largely lived in harmony with our fellow Muslim-Americans.

---

---

However, there are many, particularly those on the far right, who lack foresight. They fail to realize that the vast majority of Muslim-Americans are already well integrated and accustomed to balancing their dual roles as both Americans and Muslims. To reject them and their culture while calling them terrorists and radicals is to fall into self-fulfilling prophecies whereby we create the very terrorists we despise. After listening to current rhetoric, particularly that of the great Sarah Palin, I was inspired enough to stand up, write this column, and "refudiate" her statements.

It seems fairly obvious that the majority of those who fear Muslim-Americans have never had exposure to them, and most are likely unaware of the many Muslims that exist in their midst. To them, all Muslim-Americans are a Taliban-like caricature they most likely see on Fox News: bearded, angry, uneducated, and completely dedicated to Islamic domination of everyone's life. They fear the scary monster Muslim "under the bed" and miss the everyday ones who care more about Black Friday shopping than ideological concerns.

They should take a step outdoors, extend a hand in friendship and come to know their fellow Muslim-Americans as I have. Yes, most of them do not drink. Yes, many of them do not date. But yes, they are all normal and still know how to have fun.So, I'm not suggesting that you should all go out and hug the nearest Muslim-American you see. But the struggle to avoid a "Clash of Civilizations" doesn't just start in the hallowed halls of Washington or the UN, it starts with you. Do the patriotic thing and stand up to Bin Laden.

Uncle Sam wants you . to get to know a Muslim-American.

Karthik Soora is a Will Rice College senior.

---