Posted on 11/30/2004 6:32:03 AM PST by cweese
Before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the word "Islamophobia" was not part of American vocabulary. Now, more than three years later, the fear of Muslims or their potential link to terrorism has permeated the American psyche.
Austin Muslim Nahid Khataw would have described herself as shy and introverted in the past, but now she considers herself outgoing, even an activist.
"I feel like I'm more confident now than I was before," she said.
Khataw and her friends began spreading the word about Islam to clarify misconceptions.
"I've done quite a bit, and I would like to see and go to other places, and to other churches and synagogues and teach them or just tell them about Islam. This is my mission," Khataw said.
Khataw began her mission to teach people about Islam after her son was harassed at school for being a Muslim. She also decided to stop wearing the hijaab, the traditional Muslim veil, to protect herself.
"I was scared. I heard so many cases that people were being harassed because they were wearing hijaab. Children were pulling the hijaab off and hurting them. I thought it would be better for me and my family not to wear it," she said.
The word hijaab literally means screen or partition. Muslim women wear the veil to prevent the mingling of opposite sexes, which could lead to pre-marital sex, a sin according to the Quran.
But many modern Muslim women believe the hijaab is too restrictive. They say after Sept. 11, 2001, wearing the veil is like stamping the scarlet letter on your chest.
"They would be portrayed as a terrorist if they're wearing it – 'Muslims who wear a hijaab - they are bad,'" Nahid said.
To negate those stereotypes, one Muslim woman, a student at the University of Texas at Austin, embraced the hijaab after the terrorist attacks.
Annia Raja said in a way, she is embracing her faith.
"It really has made me more self-aware, as far as when I'm in public that I am representing Islam. And that I need to do all that I can to really show people what Islam really is. Through that, people are more invited to ask me about it," she said.
Raja said the veil has liberated her and helped her create a strong Muslim American identity on campus.
"I live with 11 other girls and I'm the only Muslim. They all know, they'll see me praying - my roommate will just walk in and see me praying. It's not a big deal to her at all. I'll pray in random buildings on the UT campus," she said.
Muslims from 65 countries attend the University of Texas. Students say they don't stand out as much because of the large international population.
"We have found that it's easier to be a Muslim and easier to practice Islam faith in college cities, in college towns like Austin, because people are more open-minded," student Zafar Sadiq said.
However, Jim Harrington, of the Texas Civil Rights Project, said he's seen many Muslims leave the country because of Islamophobia.
"There is Islamophobia here in Austin. I don't think there's any doubt about that. It's not that you can point to concrete things like cross burnings in front of the house, but it's sort of indirect words, sort of indirect pressure, unwelcome suspicion, remarks that make people feel very uncomfortable. When you put that together with government policy, people would rather go somewhere else, and that's a loss to us," he said.
Harrington said Islamophobia has manifested itself in four ways: racial profiling at airports surveillance of Muslim students hesitance to hire Muslims police treatment and detention of Muslims
"Austin is not quite as liberal as everybody thinks it is...we have an East/West divide in terms of race right now, in terms of I-35 ...we've had that for years...even if you are more progressive than other parts of Texas, in that sense, it still doesn't mean that everybody in that community is progressive," Harrington said.
In the past three years, Harrington said about a dozen Muslims have come forward to report discrimination in Austin. He also said these blatant incidents don't represent the subtle Islamophobia that exists on a daily basis.
I think very few people in the USA suffer from "Islamophobia" (FEAR of Islam). We aren't SCARED of the bastards, we DISLIKE them for their disgusting actions. I would use the word HATE, but then I would get dumped on by the politically correct types.
Here we go again...the self absorbed worries of some Muslims and those who pander to them. Maybe they ought to focus of Islamofascism and not 'Islamophobia'.
There is only one misconception about islam in the last 50 years:
Islam is a religion of peace.
Until I see as many demonstrations worlwide by muslims condemning murder, mayhem and destruction as bullshit articles like this one, I am totally deaf when it comes to SMs*
*SM© = Sweet Muslims
Not me--I readily admit I fear Islam.
So it would be islamohatred... Well I have it... I can't stand them by now!
You mean the misconception that Muslims celebrate when an aid worker is disemboweled, when reporters get their head's chopped off, or when children are sent into pizza parlors to blow up other children, or when you fly planes into buildings.
Go pound sand.
Actually, Austin is pretty liberal. One graduate I know said the way to resolve the problem with Islam is, "stop making them angry with us". This is typical of academia. It is not the wearing of the scarf that scares people, it is the insistance on the part of Islam that their customs trump US culture that pisses people off. If people are worried about terrorism they only need to recognize that most terrorism is the product of Islamic mentality. And as for profiling, we should do that too. If we know who may be a threat, they should be subjected to careful review. Its not that hard to understand either.
Precisely!!! I wrote News8 a lengthy letter about this series, also asking when they will have a series on Islamofascism and how it permeates worldwide, including the US.
Here is one of those friendly statements in the Hadith that is so popular among non-Islamics:
"The time [of resurrection] will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews (and kill them); until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: O Muslim! there is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him!".
But generally a "phobia" is an irrational fear. There's nothing irrational about fearing Islam.
Here is the problem.
If you come to America seeking a new and better life, then you need to leave the politics of the middle-east back in the middle-east.
The problem comes when people come to America expecting America to change for them, not vice-versa.
When westerners go to the east they are told countless number of times to respect the eastern culture.
So why is it when people from the east come to the west, that this rule is ignored.
The truth is that muslims do not respect westerners because most are not muslims. They think westerners are infidels worthly of slaughter.
When faced with this pattern of thought, I see no room for any common ground.
The point in the article about profiling at airports is so off the mark, it's in fact the opposite. The little old grandmothers are profiled instead of the shifty middle-eastern males.
"All Muslims are not Terrorist but all Terrorists are Muslims"
Enough Said
Yep and Hitler and Goebles decried the rampant Naziphobia of their generation,Stalin the Comradephobia, Pol Pot the Kymerophobia, and Dracula the vampirophobia....
Islamophobia translates into rapeophobia, torturophobia, chidsexslaveophobia,murderophobia,
dhimmiophobia etc etc etc
She wants to clarify Islam to us unbelievers, yet she isn't willing to wear a veil? How can we believe what she says? Maybe I just don't understand Islam.
So mainly it is an interpretation in someone's mind. Nothing you can point to, but gosh darn, they know people hate them.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.