Occasionally, in the midst of the busy schedules and buzzing world filled with information and ideologies that are competing for attention, and our money through the mighty cult of consumerism...a good dose of humor does a psyche good.
While having an appreciation for the positive elements of religions, we too have an equal appreciation for humanism and the Free Thinking camp, as we are planted in the world capital of the evangelical fundamentalist, sometimes extreme, Christian tradition.The current generation is missing George Carlin. RIP George.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
The Media on Muslims and the Two U.S. Hikers
One of the greatest things about living the the U.S. is the array of friends and people we have had the honor of meeting, who've come from all over the world and who have represented many ethnicities and faiths. Some of our dear friends have been Muslim. With the 10th year anniversary of 9/11 right around the corner, coupled with the current international issue of the two American hikers currently detained by Iranian authorities, we reflect on the social changes that have taken place for both Muslim and non-Muslim individuals and communities in American society.
We remember clearly the morning of 9/11 and the fear that had filled our minds and hearts as we watched the twin towers fall live and in real time on television. We were living in campus housing at that time and had momentarily stepped outside to view our clear skyline and static silence with nobody in site. Our children are at school, we thought with a panic. We had no idea what to do, what was occurring, and the local silence was only raising our anxieties all the more. It seemed as though seconds were hours.
After a few moments of viewing our immediate landscape, our neighbor came out, too with worry. Our neighbor was an international student from Jordan. Our neighbor was Muslim. He adored our children, celebrated milestone events with us, and was our close friend. When he came out, he suggested what he thought might be occurring, which was related to the middle-Eastern terrorist organization, Al-Qaeda . Within a short matter of time, the news confirmed his own fears and concerns.
Within the days that followed, he and other Islamic individuals in the community, as well as Indian of the Hindu faith, began to experience incredible hostility and discrimination from the local community. Some experienced threats and violence, our neighbor included. While previously held with high esteem by locals in the community, active in both adult and youth soccer teams, and generally very outgoing with healthy energy and vitality, he began to withdrawal from both the local community and college life.
Overnight this predominately white small college town developed an instant fear and paranoia of anybody who looked to them, like a person who could be Muslim, based on the images and profiles showcased on the news. Very few failed to realize that Islam is one of the most diverse religions in the world. That is, people of all skin tones and hair textures are Muslim, not just people in the Middle East. But somehow for America, on that day, all people in, or from the Middle East, were necessarily Muslim, and consequently, terrorists. After a few weeks of letting the dust settle in our local area, our neighbor had served as a guest speaker to a minority relations class to help educate on the Muslim faith and dissolve negative stereotypes. The students were quite engaged and had many questions. Sadly, this is something that should have been done at a national level, but was not. As a result, hate crimes against Muslims, and others believed to be Muslims but weren't, spiked. It is important to remember too, that many acts that constitute discrimination and hate crimes go unreported or if reported, are not treated as a hate crime.
But not only were Muslims believed to be only Middle Eastern by many, they were believed to be perpetual foreigners and not American. It was not just international Muslims who experienced the harms and pains associated with the xenophobia and racism in the U.S., but American Muslims also. This point could not be any better illustrated than with Suheir Hammad with the poem she presents below:
Recently when speaking with a Muslim student from Egypt at a major university, he reiterated the points that seem to be virtually silent, if not unknown, to American society in general. Some of the points emphasized were that the overwhelming majority of Muslims throughout the world, both here and abroad, are against the terrorists, and too see those who attacked America as terrorists. He reminded further, that the Taliban has killed more Muslims than others. In his candid spirit, he expressed the principles of his faith where the foundation is based on peace and tolerance.
A decade has now passed since the September 11th attacks. Not only have negative stereotypes and irrational fears of Muslims, based on social ignorance and propaganda, permeated the hearts and minds of many Americans, but many innocent Muslims have been victims of discrimination and hate crimes. Furthermore, too many have been unjustly and illegally imprisoned, coupled with being victims of crimes against humanity (Guanatamo Bay for example) from the U.S., as well as abroad (Abu Ghraib for example). No safety nets were, or have been, set in place to prevent wrongful arrests and imprisonments, or reparations in place for those who have been wrongfully arrested, imprisoned, and harmed due to the racial and ethnic profiling that is associated with the Islamic ethnicity and religion, as far as we know.
But taking us to today. In the news here in the U.S., two U.S. hikers in Iran were arrested and are being held in prison for illegal entry and suspected of being spies. There is much to discuss with regard to this issue, but what stood out most, is the front page coverage of this story. We don't have exact numbers on how many Americans Middle Eastern nations have arrested and detained, but it appears the U.S. has them beat. Surely if this were a frequent occurrence, it would be on the news more often and groups of various sorts in the U.S. would have formed to help combat the issue. It is our hopes that the hikers are in good hands and their human rights are not violated, but can't help noticing how much mainstream attention these two people have received in comparison to the virtually invisible hundreds of Muslims, and otherwise suspected terrorists, who have been unjustly arrested and illegally detained by the U.S. The preponderance of coverage on the former and lack of coverage on the latter serve to fuel the negative stereotypes mentioned above. How as a nation, do we cure this issue? How do we ensure all people, regardless of personal faith and physical features are safe and secure, with the highest ethics, protections and standards afforded both by, and to, the communities and the larger society? The very same ethics, protections, and standards we would hope Iran would implement and ensure for our two Americans while in their nation?
We remember clearly the morning of 9/11 and the fear that had filled our minds and hearts as we watched the twin towers fall live and in real time on television. We were living in campus housing at that time and had momentarily stepped outside to view our clear skyline and static silence with nobody in site. Our children are at school, we thought with a panic. We had no idea what to do, what was occurring, and the local silence was only raising our anxieties all the more. It seemed as though seconds were hours.
After a few moments of viewing our immediate landscape, our neighbor came out, too with worry. Our neighbor was an international student from Jordan. Our neighbor was Muslim. He adored our children, celebrated milestone events with us, and was our close friend. When he came out, he suggested what he thought might be occurring, which was related to the middle-Eastern terrorist organization, Al-Qaeda . Within a short matter of time, the news confirmed his own fears and concerns.
Within the days that followed, he and other Islamic individuals in the community, as well as Indian of the Hindu faith, began to experience incredible hostility and discrimination from the local community. Some experienced threats and violence, our neighbor included. While previously held with high esteem by locals in the community, active in both adult and youth soccer teams, and generally very outgoing with healthy energy and vitality, he began to withdrawal from both the local community and college life.
Overnight this predominately white small college town developed an instant fear and paranoia of anybody who looked to them, like a person who could be Muslim, based on the images and profiles showcased on the news. Very few failed to realize that Islam is one of the most diverse religions in the world. That is, people of all skin tones and hair textures are Muslim, not just people in the Middle East. But somehow for America, on that day, all people in, or from the Middle East, were necessarily Muslim, and consequently, terrorists. After a few weeks of letting the dust settle in our local area, our neighbor had served as a guest speaker to a minority relations class to help educate on the Muslim faith and dissolve negative stereotypes. The students were quite engaged and had many questions. Sadly, this is something that should have been done at a national level, but was not. As a result, hate crimes against Muslims, and others believed to be Muslims but weren't, spiked. It is important to remember too, that many acts that constitute discrimination and hate crimes go unreported or if reported, are not treated as a hate crime.
But not only were Muslims believed to be only Middle Eastern by many, they were believed to be perpetual foreigners and not American. It was not just international Muslims who experienced the harms and pains associated with the xenophobia and racism in the U.S., but American Muslims also. This point could not be any better illustrated than with Suheir Hammad with the poem she presents below:
Recently when speaking with a Muslim student from Egypt at a major university, he reiterated the points that seem to be virtually silent, if not unknown, to American society in general. Some of the points emphasized were that the overwhelming majority of Muslims throughout the world, both here and abroad, are against the terrorists, and too see those who attacked America as terrorists. He reminded further, that the Taliban has killed more Muslims than others. In his candid spirit, he expressed the principles of his faith where the foundation is based on peace and tolerance.
A decade has now passed since the September 11th attacks. Not only have negative stereotypes and irrational fears of Muslims, based on social ignorance and propaganda, permeated the hearts and minds of many Americans, but many innocent Muslims have been victims of discrimination and hate crimes. Furthermore, too many have been unjustly and illegally imprisoned, coupled with being victims of crimes against humanity (Guanatamo Bay for example) from the U.S., as well as abroad (Abu Ghraib for example). No safety nets were, or have been, set in place to prevent wrongful arrests and imprisonments, or reparations in place for those who have been wrongfully arrested, imprisoned, and harmed due to the racial and ethnic profiling that is associated with the Islamic ethnicity and religion, as far as we know.
But taking us to today. In the news here in the U.S., two U.S. hikers in Iran were arrested and are being held in prison for illegal entry and suspected of being spies. There is much to discuss with regard to this issue, but what stood out most, is the front page coverage of this story. We don't have exact numbers on how many Americans Middle Eastern nations have arrested and detained, but it appears the U.S. has them beat. Surely if this were a frequent occurrence, it would be on the news more often and groups of various sorts in the U.S. would have formed to help combat the issue. It is our hopes that the hikers are in good hands and their human rights are not violated, but can't help noticing how much mainstream attention these two people have received in comparison to the virtually invisible hundreds of Muslims, and otherwise suspected terrorists, who have been unjustly arrested and illegally detained by the U.S. The preponderance of coverage on the former and lack of coverage on the latter serve to fuel the negative stereotypes mentioned above. How as a nation, do we cure this issue? How do we ensure all people, regardless of personal faith and physical features are safe and secure, with the highest ethics, protections and standards afforded both by, and to, the communities and the larger society? The very same ethics, protections, and standards we would hope Iran would implement and ensure for our two Americans while in their nation?
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