Muslim in America free essay sample

In the article Muslim in America authors Jeffrey Sheler and Michael Betzold describe the hardships of being a Muslim in modern American society, they also give us in depth look at the normality of these American citizens and how they do not differ from any other ethnic group, how they yearn for acceptance, and how theyre adapting to American life. Muslims feel very much at home in Middle America(655). As a Muslim who has grown up in America I related to this article on so many levels. Even though racism exists and the world is full of ignorant people, you cant never truly grasp the idea until youre a victim of it. Around the time of the September 11 attacks, I went to the mall with my aunt who was wearing a hijab or a traditional Islamic covering. Every store we walked into the reactions were the same and the customer service horrible. We will write a custom essay sample on Muslim in America or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Store clerks would just turn away instead of greeting or welcoming us to the store, you could see the discomfort and revulsion on their faces as they checked us out. This truly sadden me, and showedme how hateful and ignorant people were. In a post 911 world being a Muslim in America has proven to be extremely difficult. Islam has been present in North America for a very long time; however it still remained an unfamiliar to most Americans. The attacks on the World Trade Centers on September 11 shed a gloomy light to this misunderstood and unknown religion. The tragic events of September 11 had a deep impact on most Americans. We mourn for the 3,000 innocent lives that were lost, we were shocked by the cruelty of mankind and most importantly we were surprised that religion was the justification for these heinous acts. There are 1. 2 billion Muslims in the world, and the group of radicals that committed those acts did not represent all of those people. However, people were angry, confused, and were looking for answers; so innocent Americans became scapegoats for simply sharing the same faith as the attackers. Most American Muslims have assimilated to American society pretty well. Most American Muslims are hardworking, law abiding, middle class citizens. The seven million Americans who call America home are very diverse. Coming from 22 different nationalities, and 1/3 being of African American descent (656). From Dearborn, Michigan to the culturally diverse New York City, discrimination against Muslims, vandalizing of Muslim shops, even bomb threats of mosques were reported. It seemed as though we were treating hatred with hatred, instead of calling for an understanding people were lashing out against this religion, and everything it stood for. You cannot fight fire with fire, and understanding is c rucial in the world today. Communication is the main component in understanding each other. In a country as diverse as ours, being familiar with different religions, and cultures is extremely important. At the end of the day, no matter who or where we worship we all have the same goal to live in a peaceful world, and achieving the harmonic dream requires a collective effort. We must eradicate racism, and talk openly about our ignorance and continue to learn from each other, in order to create a more pleasant world for this generation and the generations to come.