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“More than 80,000 Muslim immigrants were called in for questioning by federal agents and required to enroll in a national registry. Tens of thousands more were searched and interrogated at airports and prevented from travel through the use of no-fly lists.”

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When an act of terrorism is committed by a Muslim, it gets more negative coverage and scrutiny from the public than if the act of terrorism were to be committed by someone from a different faith. There is typically more discourse around cases of domestic and global terrorism because Islamophobia is as normalized as it is. The religion of Islam is viewed less as a religion and more as a recruiting organization, feeding into the negative feelings about the faith. We as a society must ask ourselves, "Why do we give cases of Muslim terrorism more weight than any other cases of terrorism? Isn't the action what matters more than the background of the person who committed that action?"

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In some instances, conservative Islam can be too overbearing. From personal experience, I understand how Islam could be viewed as restrictive because some devout followers will let religion dictate their whole lives and allow it to consume their livelihoods. I have encountered Muslims who refuse to listen music or anything other than Quran verses or who will not let their children attend school events such as prom or school-sponsored graduation parties because they are haram (impure). Because this traditional way of thinking conflicts with the more modern, open-minded way of thinking in today's world, there is a cultural disconnect between conservative Islam and the western world. Though Islamophobia is not justified in any sense, it is understandable that nonbelievers of the faith would be hesitant to want to learn more about it because of the extreme lifestyles that many devout followers live.

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Sharia law is the Islamic legal code, and it is the basis of the governments of many Muslim dominated countries, especially those of the Middle East. The essence of Sharia law still exists within the legal system of many Muslim countries, though it has been warped in some ways to benefit the views of Muslim men who tend to hold the power over women. Countries like Saudi Arabia, where women did not have the ability to perform daily activities as basic as driving until recently, fuel the global perspective that Muslim beliefs restrict the liberties and egalitarianism that Americans champion for. Because mankind created government systems out of Sharia law and manipulated it to favor, in part, patriarchal perspectives, outsiders view Islamic countries as coercive and dictatorial, thus giving the faith itself a bad reputation because of the nations and corrupt officials that represent it.

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Autocracy in Muslim Dominated Countries 

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Autocracy in Muslim Dominated Countries 

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Because America is a democratic nation where citizens are granted more freedoms than in many other parts of the world, it is understandable to, as an American, see the autocratic regimes as oppressive. Western powers are seen as more developed on a global scale due to their democratic and secular governments, so the latter appears unjust. America was built on a revolution that worked to escape tyranny, and seeing a dictatorial style of ruling in many Muslim dominated countries is unnerving, causing the average American to connect Islam and autocracy/tyranny with each other, no matter however false that connection may be.

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A survey from 2018 reported that American Muslims were more likely than other faiths to believe that Muslims are more capable of displaying negative behavior, highlighting a lack of faith in the peacefulness that Islam was initially founded on. Because of the misuse of Islam and the recruitment of Islam for evil, many Muslims find themselves questioning their faith and straying away from the religion, myself included. Several surveys have been conducted that show a religious realignment and decrease in religious sentiment amongst younger generations today. A decrease in the pride in Islam among non-extremist practicers amplifies the pride of extremist practicers in the faith, and that is what the public ultimately sees as the face of Islam. If Muslims themselves question the values of the religion, then it is not unbelievable that nonbelievers would question the religion as well.

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The word jihad is misused in American media, causing upheavals when referenced. The word jihad translates to a struggle, and it is used by Muslims to describe their struggles with achieving the best version of their Muslim selves, the struggle with building a good-hearted and strong Muslim society, and then, of course, the struggle against the enemies of Islam. However, the meaning has been misconstrued so that jihad is now a flashy buzzword associated with terrorist values, and the terminology is affiliated with many terrorist arrests, leading people to link the word jihad with terrorism. Any Arabic words associated with Islam, for that matter, are misinterpreted by Americans as relating to terrorism. When many Americans hear an Islamic dua, a prayer, or the Adhan, the Islamic call for prayer, going off in a public setting, they are instantly alarmed because they do not take the time to understand the culture and customs of the religion. Misinformation and a lack of education are major factors in the continuation of Islamophobia.

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Mosques were infiltrated and many mosque leaders, also known as Imams, were arrested and charged on account of conspiring against the US and promoting terrorist activity. Imam Ali al-Tamimi, for example, was sentenced to life in prison for supposed legal pronouncement (fatwa) to his Muslim followers about jihad.

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Cultural and religious questions were embedded into modified standard civic integration tests in order to single out Muslims and test their abilities to tolerate different groups of people (ie. LGBTQ+ individuals, members of different faiths, different ethnic groups, etc.).

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Muslims in the United States became potential terrorists because the terrorists that executed the events of 9/11 were reduced down to their religious beliefs, making it easier for a stigma around Muslims to exist in our world. Islam itself became public enemy number one and assumed the form of a new red scare, a growing threat to American lives if left unchecked by government forces. Attempts at uncovering sleeper cells, groups of inactive terrorists that exist within a target population until ordered to act, resulted in Muslim Americans countrywide being placed within the overarching category of potential terrorists.

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Muslim organizations were kept on constant watch, and federal institutions looked into their activity closely in hopes of uncovering any remotely suspicious activity. The Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, the largest Muslim charity in America, was convicted of terrorism charges with limited evidence that their donations were being allocated towards terrorist causes. Five Palestinian American members were put on trial and retrial to ultimately face sixty-five years in prison, and a list of 246 non-indicted "co-conspirators" was released, which is not normally done if the additional parties are not indicted. These names were those of people that belonged to prominent Muslim American organizations such as the Islamic Society of North America and the Council on American-Islamic Relations; releasing this list allowed the US to maintain suspicion and foster an atmosphere of distrust against the Muslim community.

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Mass Securitization of American Muslims 

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Mass Securitization of American Muslims 

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Securitization, when discussed in a religious context, refers to political measures that are taken to preserve the security of citizens that typically violate basic rights or laws. The securitization of Muslims occurred, internationally, through the increased military presence in Muslim dominated countries and, domestically, through increased policing in Islamic centers. Islamic conservatism, because it is widely yet falsely associated with religious radicalism, enables the government to deny Muslims certain aspects of their right to the freedom of religion and gives US officials greater control over religion without having to face condemnation for their denial of equitable treatment towards minority groups such as Muslim Americans.

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As a result of the war on terror, Islamophobia became more rampant around the world because people started to believe that Islam was the cause of the issues in the Middle East. France, for example recently attempted to ban hijabs, niqabs, and anything of the sort after a terrorist attack in the French city of Nice as a way to discriminate against Muslims. They also banned burkinis, full coverage, halal (pure) bathing suits, from French beaches. These decisions show not only that Islamophobia exists outside of America but also that it is codified in foreign legislation. The whole religious group was punished for the actions of a select few extremists, something that has been a recurring theme when an act of terrorism is committed by a person of Islamic background.

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Islamophobia has become codified as a result of its portrayal globally. The integration of Islamophobia into US law began with the Patriot Act, but it did not end there. The Muslim ban, instituted under the Trump presidency, was a direct manifestation of the war on terror and a direct attack on Muslims. America, a nation often referred to as the "melting pot" of people, attempting to restrict a minority from entering the borders emphasizes the extent to which Islamophobia has spread. Many of the people coming from the countries on the ban list were also refugees looking to escape the humanitarian crises in their nations (ex. Yemen, Syria, etc.), and it is inhumane to have denied them the help they needed on the constant suspicion of sleeper cells existing somewhere within the refugee communities. Racializing Islam so that all Middle Easterners are grouped into the category of Muslim is a harmful stereotype as well, as proven by the Muslim ban that denied people from several select Middle Eastern countries entry into the US on the basis that they were Muslim, even if they were not. By ingraining Islamophobia into law, people continue to see Islam as a threat and a one sided way of thinking surfaces.

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The media has negatively reported on Islam so much to the point that Islamophobia has become normalized. By reporting primarily on the war torn nature of Muslim dominant countries and frequently referencing the Islamic faith when discussing any matters pertaining to these nations, people have become convinced that Islam itself is the problem. People develop the notion that Islam is oppressive and the nature of the religion molds extremist individuals because the vast majority of media coverage that they are exposed to shows Islam in a violent, negative light. The normalization of Islamophobia is the result of the War on Terror and the coverage of the War on Terror.

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In his Netflix stand-up show, "The King's Jester," Muslim American Hasan Minhaj comments on the Patriot Act and the way that he personally was impacted by the passing of this law. He comedically describes his experience with undercover FBI officer, "Brother Eric," who encroached upon Minhaj's religious life within the mosque and his personal life at home in order to get false confessions regarding terrorism out of young Muslim boys. Though he jokes about this experience, it was a sad reality for many Americans.

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Historical Importance of This Level of Encroachment 

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Historical Importance of This Level of Encroachment 

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This level of encroachment is reminiscent of the Quartering Act during America's revolutionary period. People's livelihoods were destroyed and freedoms were violated by the involvement of the government in their daily lives, particularly in their homes. It is important to note that the Patriot Act did essentially the same things to Muslims that Americans fought so fiercely against the British to stop.

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There was essentially an infiltration of daily Muslim activities. This entailed the surveilling of their activities at mosques, MSAs (Muslim Student Associations), halal establishments, etc..

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How and why is Islamophobia enabled? What perpetuates this negative view of Islam?  

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How and why is Islamophobia enabled? What perpetuates this negative view of Islam?  

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What are the consequences of the War on Terror in the present day?

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What are the consequences of the War on Terror in the present day?

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In an attempt to combat terrorism after 9/11, wars were waged in Middle Eastern countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan. As a result, these countries have been stagnant in their growth and national wellness due to the lack of available resources and stability needed for them to recover from the effects of these wars. Because American forces were in these areas for so long, fighting wars initiated by western powers in the name of counterterrorism, the Middle East became dependent on Western forces to uphold their countries. This is especially evident when looking at Afghanistan, which collapsed into the hands of the Taliban, an extremist Islamic organization, almost immediately after American forces were moved out. To this day, these Muslim dominant Middle Eastern countries struggle to reach their fullest potential and face countless humanitarian crises that require foreign aid, mainly from western powers such as the US.

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News coverage on Islam usually paints the religion in a negative light. News headlines about Islam have to do mainly with terrorist attacks, so the American public is typically only exposed to the violent side of the faith. Right after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when the Patriot Act was being instituted, the news would not report on the fact that fake, pre-planned terror plots were created by the FBI in order to get false terrorism confessions out of Muslim youth. Paid informants from the FBI would try to rope Muslim youth into becoming part of their made up conspiracies, which was not covered in the news, but topics such as the Newburgh Sting (a 2009 terrorism plot in the Bronx) and the Fort Dix Five (a 2007 terrorism plot in Fort Dix) were aired on national television, thus continuing the stigma against Muslim Americans. Feeding the American public primarily negative information about the Muslim community by only reporting on Islamic extremism allows the stereotype of Muslims as being dangerous to continue to exist.

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Muslim communities were surveilled by legal forces in the US as well as by their own community members. They were told that they were not doing enough to stop the spread of terrorism within their own communities after 9/11, leading to many Muslim Americans being recruited by the CVE (Countering Violent Extremism) program to spy on and silence any retaliation from other Muslim Americans. A spirit of conformity began to emerge in this silencing as Muslim Americans could not oppose the terrorism investigations occurring in America without feeling as though they were going to be labeled as terrorism sympathizers by demanding privacy within their communities.

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Hassan v. City of New York was the first case on behalf of Muslim Americans in response to the unlawful NYPD surveillance of Muslims. This case sparked in response to the NYPD surveillance of Zaimah Abdur-Rahim, and reports noted that she was a teacher for young Muslim girls, her school was inside her home, and that she had mostly African American students. This court case was the first example of Muslims speaking up on a government level for the good of the community.

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The Patriot Act was a law passed with an overwhelming majority of Congress after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It essentially created a human mapping system for law enforcement, whereby they were able to monitor Muslims throughout the bay area on the grounds that they were surveilling for suspicious activity.

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How and why were Muslims targeted in the post 9/11 world?

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How and why were Muslims targeted in the post 9/11 world?