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Muslim Stereotypes

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Stereotypes about the Islamic faith and Muslim culture in the United States range from the idea that Muslims do not value education, to the even more offensive notion that they are all violent terrorists. Despite the idea that college campuses are viewed as more enlightened and progressive settings, misconceptions about Muslims continue to abound in these environments. Mercer University is no exception. The Muslim Student Association (MSA) at Mercer University, a university with a strong Christian heritage, is one of the less popular undergraduate organizations on campus and includes only thirty students. In an attempt to demystify the the behaviors, beliefs, and practices of Muslims in the United States, I conducted an ethnography that studies …show more content…
For years the Western media has widely publicized the actions and beliefs of the minority percentage of violent Muslim extremists and portrayed them as congruent with the beliefs and behaviors of Islam. The bombing of the World Trade Center Twin Towers, in New York City and the Pentagon on September 11th, 2001 increased American non-Muslims’ negative perceptions of Muslims and Islam drastically (Khan and Ecklund 2012). The violent Islamic extremist group known as Al-Qaeda, was founded by Usama Bin Laden and Muhammad Atef in 1989 and was responsible for the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center Twin Towers and Pentagon (WGBH Educational Foundation 2012) Al-Qaeda did not possess financial or physical capacity to destroy the United States’ armed forces, so they attacked symbols of America’s prosperity and strength (National September 11 Memorial & Museum 2014). Hate crimes against Muslims in America increased by 1,700 % in the year 2001 and Muslim immigrants living in United States were perceived more negatively than ever before. No other immigrant fraction was met with such hatred (Khan and Ecklund 2012). Even though theses terrorist attacks occurred over a decade ago, many non-Muslims continue to view Islam as a violent religion (Encountering the World of Islam 2015). Though during my interview with Habibah she expressed great distress about this stereotype of Muslims and the Islamic faith. Habibah explained, “Killing an innocent person, Muslim or non-Muslim, is one of the greatest sins that a Muslim can commit. In no way does Islam promote hurting others (Daher 2015). Habibah is not the only Muslim who feels this way. The majority of Muslims are devout and peaceful Muslims who also suffer from violence and terrorism of extremists (Khan and Ecklund

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