An Essay Examining Discrimination against Muslims in America
Emily Fanning, Fall 2015
This essay discusses that Muslims in America face discrimination and danger through violence and vandalism due to their faith. Since the September 11 World Trade Center attacks media and society perceive all Muslims as extremists and enemies to the U.S. The majority of Muslims are being forced to live in fear of being judged or discriminated against because of their faith. There have been hundreds of recorded incidents of violence, vandalism and arson against people believed to be Muslim that the Justice Department has investigated since September 11. Muslims make up 2 percent of the U.S. population, however they account for one quarter of the religious discrimination complaints that were filed in 2011. Not only do Muslims face violence, they also face workplace discrimination, which makes it more difficult for Islamic followers to get a well paying job.
The U.S. government and media both play important roles in determining how Muslims are treated. A Florida minister threatened to burn a Koran and some U.S. states attempted to ban the use of Muslim religious law. In conservative states, Muslim discrimination was worse by only 2 percent of applications by the Muslim candidate received interview invitations compared to 17 percent for the Christian candidate. Media depicts Islam as “fundamentalism”, “extremism” and “radicalism”. Many U.S. citizens assume this image, which adds to the amount of discrimination faced by Muslims. By depicting Muslims as terrorists, the media has used this as a way to justify the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It is clear from the examples used in this essay Muslims face discrimination, which escalated after the devastating September 11 attacks.