Anti-Muslim sentiment: Forgotten remnant of 9/11

Within a week of the 14th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, a homemade clock in Irving, Texas reminded us of the anti-Muslim sentiment piercing our country.

On Sept. 16, 14-year-old Texan, Ahmed Mohamed, brought a clock he had built at home to MacArthur High School, where he is a freshman, to show to his engineering teacher. The device made a sound in his English class, and he was prompted to show his teacher the source of the sound. After the teacher commented that it looked like a bomb, officers detained Mohamed. Instead of praising his accomplishment, the school administration suspended him.

The unjust treatment of Mohamed is simply a symptom of a larger problem. In the past few years, anti-Muslim sentiment has become an undercurrent in American society and American politics. We need to recognize it before we can work to end this tenet of racism and religious intolerance within society.

Following 9/11, anti-Muslim sentiment is an undeniable aspect of our culture. The attacks ushered in an era of prejudice and discrimination for many Muslim Americans, as many Americans began to use Islam as a scapegoat for the frightening reality of terrorism on American soil.

According to a Gallup report titled “Islamophobia: Understanding Anti-Muslim Sentiment in the West,” 52 percent of Americans do not believe the western world respects Muslim societies. Additionally, 48 percent of Muslims reported they were subjected to discrimination within the past year. Muslims are twice as likely as Catholics, Jews and Protestants to experience such discriminatory treatment.

According to statistics from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports program, anti-Muslim hate crimes are five times more likely to occur today than prior to 9/11. Just last year, three young Muslim Americans — Deah Barakat, his wife Yusor Mohammad and her sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha — were murdered in what was likely a hate crime in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The initial silence of national media outlets forced Americans to take to the streets with vigils and rallies to declare “Muslim Lives Matter.”

Backlash against the Chapel Hill hate crime touched life at Pitt. Pitt’s Muslim Lives Matter vigil gave students a chance to reflect on the solidarity of their experiences.

Alaa Mohamed, a senior sociology and global studies major at Pitt who was involved in the organization of the Muslim Lives Matter vigil, said of the hate crime, “Razan Diya and Yusor embody us, and we embody them. We have Muslims at Pitt who wear the hijab, just like Yusor and Razan. We have Muslims at Pitt in the dentistry school. Almost every single Muslim at Pitt has dealt with discrimination at one point or another.”

This month, the nation rallied to Ahmed Mohamed’s defense following his suspension. President Barack Obama granted him an invitation to the White House. Major figures like Hillary Clinton and Mark Zuckerberg have voiced their support for his innovation.

Unfortunately, we must remind politicians that “Muslim Lives Matter.”

The Republican Party has capitalized on anti-Islamic rhetoric that feeds into anti-Muslim culture. Throughout Obama’s presidency, certain members of the political right have circulated rumors of his Muslim heritage. According to a CNN poll, 43 percent of Republicans still believe that Obama is Muslim. These allegations are false, but they also highlight anti-Islamic culture. The creation of these rumors stems from the Republican assumption that Muslim heritage is inherently bad.

Republicans, despite boasting identities as staunch supporters of the constitution, are often shortsighted when it comes to interpreting the rights of religious freedom.

For a party that disguises acts of bigotry as acts of religious liberty— such as Kim Davis’ refusal to grant same-sex marriage couples wedding licenses — Republicans have no understanding of religious tolerance.

According to Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC), the reality is that “young men from the Mid East are different from Kim Davis, and we’ve got to understand that.”

Unlike what some politicians may believe, Mashal Wakilpoor, last year’s president of Pitt’s Muslim Student Association, said Islam is far from a religion rooted in radicalism and violence.

“The word Islam comes from the root, salam, which means peace. So already the very foundation of our religion is peace,” Wakilpoor, a senior English writing and neuroscience major said. “There is no way you can claim Islam is violent or radical after reading the Quran.”

What hasn’t been peaceful, however, is the treatment that Muslims continue to receive.

According to Alaa Mohamed, “The presidential candidates are now talking openly about us like we aren’t Americans. Like we’re not even human. As we preach equality for every other group, Muslims are being disregarded to a point that’s disgusting … but also terrifying to us.”

Most recently, current presidential candidate Ben Carson declared that he did not believe that the United States should elect a Muslim president, saying that Islam is not consistent with the Constitution. This statement ignores the fact that there is no religious requirement associated with the presidency.

Social media has served to increase awareness of anti-Muslim sentiment. After the recent anniversary of 9/11, #afterseptember11 trended on twitter. Many Muslim Americans used the hashtag to share their painful stories of the impact that America’s anti-Muslim culture has had in their daily lives.

One of the most circulated tweets from @razakomari reads, “#afterseptember11 I grew up without a mom because someone with a gun decided that she needed to answer for it with her life.”

If we are going to continue to champion the United States as the land of equality, we need to work to make that a reality for sone of its most neglected residents.

Alyssa primarily writes on social justice and political issues for The Pitt News.

Write to her at aal43@pitt.edu.