Islamophobia, as defined by the Runnymede Trust Report, is an “unfounded hostility towards Muslims, and therefore, fear or dislike of all or most Muslims.” Islamophobic sentiments have been growing in the U.S. in response to recent high profile terrorist attacks. This issue has been further inflamed by political candidates using anti-Muslim rhetoric in the current election season.
Senior Ashley Alkhatib is a Muslim, but not a strict believer. In her opinion, Islam is a peaceful religion and benificial to the lives of those who have converted.
However, Alkhatib has been subject to the Islamophobic reactions that people have had to recent terror attacks: “I even had a coworker at my old job that told another one of my coworkers to be careful of me. But in her own words, it was, ‘Be careful with her. Remember what happened in the Orlando shooting?’. And I think it was very messed up for her to say that because, obviously, I had nothing to do with it.”
Alkhatib has struggled with being the subject of intolerance. “It’s very frustrating to deal with… the looks random people give me,” she says. “But I think it’s really sad when things get to be too much that you can finally say, ‘it’s okay. I’m used to it.’”
Politics plays a key role in the popularization of Islamophobia. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has expressed his concerns for both non-radicalized Muslims and Islamic extremists, saying that Muslim Americans are failing to “turn in the people who they know are bad.”
In the past, Trump has called for a complete ban of Muslims entering the country, but his current stance is “extreme vetting,” which would increase the rigor of America’s refugee screening process.
Alkhatib says, “Trump has people consumed and engrossed with his policies. It’s really hard to argue against him considering he has millions of supporters, but I think anyone who has an open mindset, and anyone who is willing to hear other people out will know the truth.”
Alkhatib expresses that the truth can be found by better understanding Islam, saying, “Anyone who tries to read the Quran and has an imam translate it for them, knows that Islam truly is a peaceful religion. I think people believe the things they see because they see it on the media… and just because some aspects of society may suggest that we [Muslims] all supposedly have something to do with these bombings and shootings … it doesn’t mean it’s true.”
For any group facing intolerance, advocacy is an important response. Alkhatib says, “I just appreciate that there are voices out there who put their life in jeopardy just to [advocate] for Islam. I definitely [advocate] for Islam, but I’m just not doing as much as other people are. There are people out there who get killed trying to protect Palestinians and Muslims all around the world.”
Islamophobia does not only affect members of the Islamic religion. People who have a stereotypical image of Muslims as being Middle Eastern commonly discriminate against non-Muslim individuals solely based on their appearance.
Junior Iman Adibi, a nonreligious Iranian, speaks of a time that he believes he may have been profiled as Muslim, saying “I remember going on my D.C. trip and I was one of my only friends to be randomly inspected. So that may be Islamophobia or just a coincidence. [I am] not sure.”
While Adibi was unable to identify whether this was Islamophobia, he found it peculiar that he was the only one, amongst his friends, to be inspected in the airport.
Parallel to Alkhatib’s view, Adibi believes, “The vast majority of Muslims are … good people, but there is that very minute group of radicals, like ISIS, which may be a reason for someone having Islamophobia.”
Alkhatib emphasizes that she is completely opposed to the ideas of radical jihadist groups. “I definitely do not agree nor am I happy with what ISIS is doing. My heart breaks for the families out there who lost people due to shootings just as much as any American’s heart breaks. My heart breaks for 9/11 deaths just as much as other people do. Just because I’m Muslim, doesn’t mean my heart doesn’t break.”
