3. •Islam
•Image of Islam and Muslims
•Public opinion
•American’s view about it
•Islamophobia
•Leader’s View about Islam and Muslims
•Discriminations against Muslims after 9/11
•Voices of American Muslims
4. Islam is second largest
religion in the world. 1/5 of
world population
Over 1.5 Billion Muslims
Growing at a high rate
(2.9%) without significant
missionary efforts
7. Public Opinion?
What is your view of Islam?
Favorable
Unfavorable
Don’t know
Compared with other
religions, Islamic religion . . .
Is more likely than others to
encourage violence
Does not encourage violence
more than others
Neither/Don’t know
8.
9.
10.
11. According to Polls Over all American Believes that
American Muslims…
57% … should undergo more intensive security checks at
airports. (Gallup)
52% … are not respectful of women. (Gallup)
44% … are too extreme in their religious beliefs. (Gallup)
40% … are not respectful of other religions (Gallup)
39% … should be required to carry a special ID (Gallup)
34% … are sympathetic to al-Qaida (Gallup)
33% … religion – Islam - stokes violence (Wa. Post/ABC News)
27% … should be required to register their location with Fed.
Govt. (Cornell)
26% … Mosques should be monitored by law enforcement
agencies (Cornell)
22% … should be profiled as potential threats. (Cornell)
46% … of Americans have a negative view of Islam (Wa. Post/ABC News)
40% … would be less likely to patronize Muslim owned
businesses (Zogby)
12. Where this Image came from as most of the people
might have never heard about this strange religion
before 9/11 or have no such knowledge of American
Muslims around them?
13. When asked how they
learned about religion
60% from news media
16% TV
11% from Obama’s words and
behavior
14. Cont.
From other Muslims
From their leaders
Being unable to distinguish between Islam and
Muslims.
Media as mentioned and basic stereotypes
17. Islamophobia
is prejudice against, hatred or fear of Islam or Muslims
I. Why increase and decrease favorable reasons
II. Rise in Islamophobia after 9/11
III. Some facts and discriminatory attacks
18. Why the
favorable/unfavorable
change?
Politics: Iraq & Afghanistan
Wars - bankrupt
Current events:
Oct. 2009: FBI Shooting of
an imam in Detroit.
Nov. 2009: Fort Hood
shooting
Dec. 2009: Christmas Day
bombing
Summer 2010: Building of a
mosque near WTC.
Sept. 2010: Burning of Quran
on 9/11
Death of Imam
19. Survey by PEW Research Center
How much do you know about the Muslim Religion?
A great deal
Some
Not very much
Nothing at all
Don’t know
24. S. Carolina Board of Education member
Dr. Henry Jordan
"Screw the Buddhists and kill the
Muslims."
“… the religion of Islam is a "cult" that
worships "Lucifer."
25. Representative
Peter King (R-NY)
“No American Muslim leaders are cooperating in the
war on terror.
"80-85% of mosques in this country are controlled by
Islamic fundamentalists.”
26. Representative
Frank Lasee
Islam is NOT a religion of peace.
Islam IS a religion intent on conquering the
world … this is a central theme in the Koran.”
28. If this kind of Discrimination is shown by the leaders
then what would people think and do?
29. Recent Discriminatory Acts in United States
against Muslims
A Muslim woman, wearing a head scarf reported an assault on
Dec 21, 2010 while sitting in car in Ohio. She was pepper-sprayed
in her eyes, called with names and a remark “All you Muslims go
back to where you came from” where she said all that he cared
was that I am a Muslim. It was caught on the mosque's
surveillance camera
Women response over this incident
Said had never experienced such hatred before Monday, she said.
"I feel very sad. I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed. I can never
forget about this man. I feel like he's still in this room."
30. Cont.
9/11/2010 Burning of Quran day (never happened but caused a
lot of destruction in some countries and media attention)
It resulted in boycott of Wikipedia, Face book and several other
web sites in many Islamic countries for about a month
August 20, 2010 a Muslim woman who work as a hostess at
entertainment giant Disney, reported saying they have
repeatedly sent her home without pay for refusing to remove her
headscarf at work.
October 11, 2010 Another woman Imane Boudlal, 26, claimed in
August that when she wore the hijab to work, her supervisors
told her to remove it, work where customers couldn’t see her, or
go home.
31. Cont.
The Council (CAIR)told the Los Angeles Times that it has
received other complaints over the years from Muslim women
who said they have been denied "front-stage jobs" with Disney
because of their hijabs.
A comment on this news “These muslims who to don't like
our system, our work and dress codes, our life style should GO
BACK TO THE DESERT! IF YOU DON'T LIKE HERE GO BACK
WHERE YOU COME FROM! Americans need to STOP catering
these people! If someone comes in your home and dosen't like
what you do LEAVE! AND DON'T COME BACK! “
32. Cont.
Mosque which was to be built some two blocks away from
ground zero was politicized because of being close to 9/11
place. Yet again religion was blamed for the mistakes of a
group of ignorant extremist people.
Still the most prominent is suspicion of officials when it
comes to national security.
People of eastern background and Arab origin has to wait
for about 5 to 6 hours before they can go out of airport.
This happened with my dad and two cousins also and it
happens every time they are coming back to United States.
May be a good enough reason to be stopped is to have
Muhammad as a middle name.
33. Cont.
Kalima a Muslim female was sent home from Onslow Memorial
Hospital because of her Scarf but called back after a few days. On
her annual review day she got fired from her job saying
Tea Partiers Freak Over Six Flags 'Muslim Day‘ 9/12/2010 where
only special thing was serving of Hilal food (similar to Kosher).
It was also highly politicized. Six Flags has been holding these
events since 2000 for the 42-year-old Muslim nonprofit,
apparently this year, it's getting more attention, both because it
falls on the weekend of Sept. 11 and also because of the ongoing
controversy about the Muslim center planned a few blocks away
from Ground Zero in New York.
34. Cont.
Comment by Annie Hammilton, one one the tea party
members
“STOP THE SILENCE. STOP THE NONSENCE. STOP
THE MUSLIM DAY - THEY ARE NOT AMERICANS.
THEY DO NOT ABIDE BY OUR CONSTITUTION -
THEY ARE NOT ONE OF US - YOU ARE EITHER
WITH US OR AGAINST US - MAKE YOUR
DECISION.”
35. Cont.
She called for a boycott for the amusement park by spreading
discriminatory remarks
"it is funding terror -- and by your silence, YOU are funding terror. YOU
are funding terror.“
Later asked how accepting park admission fees is "funding terror,"
Hamilton can't explain.
None of the tea party commentaries mention that one of the men who
first established the Muslim Family Day event in 2000 was himself
killed in the attack on the World Trade Center.
Muslims were not trying to be insensitive but Ramadan month
happened to be ended on September, 10th and since Islamic Calendar
has only 11 months so it doesn’t fall on same day every year. It just
happened to be that weekend.
36. Attacks with in 36 hours of the 9/11
Six bullets shattered windows of a mosque in Irving, TX. $3,000
in damage was caused.
A bag filled with blood and labeled 'Pig's blood' was thrown at
the door of a mosque in San Francisco, CA.
Four bricks were thrown through the windows of a Muslim
bookstore in Alexandria, VA. Also in Virginia, two mosques
reported vandalism.
In Canada, the front doors at mosques in St. Catherines, ON and
Montreal, PQ were fire-bombed, with minimal damage.
The British Broadcasting Commission (BBC) reported that there
had been many death threats and assaults against Muslims.
37. Continuing harassment and attacks:
On the afternoon of Saturday, 2001-SEP-15, a gunman killed the
49 year old owner of a gas station in Mesa, AZ. He was a Sikh. His
family believes that he was killed because he "looked Middle
Eastern.“
Additional shots were fired at a Lebanese clerk and at the home
of an Afghan family.On the evening of Saturday, 2001-SEP-15, a
gunman killed a Pakistani Muslim store owner in Dallas, TX.
38.
A Christian of Egyptian origin was shot dead in California.Near
Chicago, IL,
There was a march in which about 300 anti-Arab youths waved
flags, shouted "USA, USA," and attempted to march on a mosque
in Bridgeview, IL -- a suburb southwest of Chicago. Colin
Zaremba, 19, said: "I'm proud to be American and I hate Arabs
and I always have." Three demonstrators were arrested.
39. Countless angry looks, obscene gestures, vandalism
hate messages in Internet chat rooms and elsewhere
on the Internet, bomb and other threats via telephone
have targeted Muslim and Arab-Americans since 9/11.
40. Discrimination in the world against Muslims after the
tragedy of 9/11 is more than in U.S. itself
41. The current climate of fear, anger, and paranoia as the
United States is in a perpetual state of war with terrorists
and the “Axes of Evil” has perhaps done irreparable damage
to ordinary immigrant from South Asia and Middle East.
The media has succeeded in creating powerful images of
a”violent and primitive” people based on the “oppressive”
religion and culture of Islam. Heightened negative
stereotypes in the aftermath of the trauma of 9/11 has given
rise to stark moments of discrimination and result is
targeted racism which may be is similar to the experiences
endured by Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Japanese
after the wars of their respective countries with the United
States.
43. Some excerpts from a book “Voices of American
Muslims” by Linda Brandi Cateura
She conducted interviews with Muslims from various
disciplines of lives living in Unites States after 9/11
44. Overseer of our national well-being, Dr. Elias Zerhouni
National Institute of Health (Bethesda, Maryland)
“ It’s a disservice to both sides to cartoonize Islam, to
emphasize just one form of dress, one concept, one position,
rather than present something as it truly is in its many
manifestation , in its reality which is complex and not as
uniform as people might like it to be.
There is a quality that makes for happiness. I refer to family
ties and relationships. They are usually of a closeness that
maintains a good family structure.
I want my kids to interact with Christian friends, Jewish
friends, and understand the complexity of life and society.”
45. A leading imam’s (Omar Abu-Namous) response to terrorism
Islamic Cultural Center of New York City
“The murderers (terrorist) are an isolated group of persons who are
very parochial, with narrow understanding…They read the text of
the Holy Koran and form an understanding, so narrow, as if you
would peek through a peephole and think you had a view of the
whole room inside. No, you would have a very small view of the
room”
46. Feisal Abdul Rauf, Masjid al-Farah
New York (North Bergen, New Jersey) Forceful voice of reason
American Muslims now are in a better position to
communicate a newer American form of islam to their relatives,
abroad, and thereby influence their thinking about islam.
America is a very easy country. You can live any way you
want--- you can live a Mormon lifestyle, an Amish lifestyle, or a
very atheistic lifestyle. You can be anything you want in this
country as long as you’re not a national security threat.
Very easily it was recognized that the Koran and the hadith
do not speak speak to all issues. Many are not addressed in either.
In the science of Islamic jurisprudence, there is a recognition that
issue not mentioned in holy Scriptures have to be judged by
analogy, by consensus, and other sources of jurisprudence.”
47. A school kid of Asian Background
(Bridging Islamic School with Kennedy High)
“ It’s like being with different kinds of people instead of only
Muslims. I feel comfortable with children of many different
religions--- Catholics, Jews, Protestants.
Some times when she (mother) doesn’t cook, we’ll go to
McDonald’s or Taco Bell. My brother can drive and he can take us.
Since 9/11 things seems to change. I get the impression from
everywhere that people think all Muslims are bad. But we haven’t
changed.”
48. Michael Wolfe, writer, convert, filmmaker (Santa Cruz, California)
Heir to three monotheistic faiths
“ Socializing with Muslims is so easy for me because they
don’t need booze to have a good time. I don’t drink and never
have. ..Most of my Christians and Jewish friends don’t seem to
know how to celebrate anything without a glass in their hands.
I notice a new openness on the part of American Muslims
toward others. Since 9/11, mosques and Islamic centers across the
country have engaged in more exchanges with people and
institutions of other faiths than entire preceding decade.
Islam provides for me an amazing intellectual and spiritual
toolkit. By intellectual, I mean that there is nothing mysterious or
not understandable about it. It is simple and direct.”
49. Michael Wolfe is a convert to
Islam and his decision was of
particular interest because he
was Christian on his mother
side and Jewish on his father’s.
He had in his background two
monotheistic religions, neither
of which seemed to satisfy him
until he came across the third
monotheistic faith---islam---
that, for him, completed a
cycle.
50. A Well Known Religious Scholar
Shaykh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, chairman of the Sunna and Sira Council, Qatar
Islam, the religion of tolerance, holds
the human soul in high esteem, and
considers the attack against innocent
human beings a grave sin, this is backed
by the Qur’anic verse which reads: ‘Who
so ever kills a human being [as
punishment] for [crimes] other than
manslaughter or [sowing] corruption in
the earth, it shall be as if he has killed all
mankind, and who so ever saves the life
of one, it shall be as if he had saved the
life of all mankind’ (Al-Ma’idah:32)."
51. Condemned suicide
bombings against
Israeli civilians and
condemned terrorism
in all its forms.
The Grand Sheikh of the al-Azhar mosque,
Sheikh Muhammad Sayyed Tantawi
52. Elie Wiesel
“Unless we safeguard the liberties of all our citizens,
the Pledge of
Allegiance and the Declaration of Independence mean
about as much as a
plastic flag bumper sticker.”
53. Declaration of Independence
“that all men are created equal, that they are endowed
by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that
among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness”
54. Margaret Mead
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can change the world; indeed it’s
the only thing that ever has.”
55. Koran
49:13 Oh mankind! We created you from a single (pair)
of a male and a female, and made you into nations and
tribes, that you may know each other (Not that you may
despise each other).
5:69 Surely, those who believe, those who are Jewish, the
converts, and the Christians; any of them who (1) believe
in GOD and (2) believe in the Last Day, and (3) lead a
righteous life, have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve.
56. Koran
25:63 The worshippers of the All-Merciful are they who tread
gently upon the earth, and when the ignorant address them,
they reply, "Peace!“
28:55, And when they hear vain talk, they turn away from it
and say: "To us our deeds, and to you yours; peace be to you:
we do not seek out the ignorant."
4:94 . . . Do not say to one who offers you peace, "You are not
a believer," seeking the spoils of this life. For God has
abundant treasure. You used to be like them, after all, and then
God blessed you.
57. -- Mohandas K. Gandhi
"I object to violence because when it appears to do
good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is
permanent."
58. -- John F. Kennedy
Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an
end to mankind...War will exist until that distant day
when the conscientious objector enjoys the same
reputation and prestige that the warrior does today."
