:salam2:
well ur not the only one ,
here im posting a research paper this person lives in MI ,and here is what she wrote ,,,,,,,,,i wish u luck in ur search ,,,,,
May Allah guide us all
Over the last eight months, I have observed a very disturbing phenomenon that has dramatically changed my life. I am studying the language of Arabic, and people’s opinions of that, have greatly changed my interpersonal communications within the confines of my community and family. How people communicate with me depends on their views of Islam, and whether or not their opinions have been formed by the media, or by actual acquired knowledge such as picking up a book and reading about “True Islam.” I find that in general, people in my community hear the words “Muslim, Islam, or Arabic” and they automatically think “Terrorist.” There have been actual instances where I have walked into the bar, and people who used to be my “good friends”, have gotten up and moved to the other end, barely acknowledging my presence. In my opinion ignorance breeds fear, and fear breeds anger. This paper is an attempt to answer the questions of how racism occurs through negative media bias, and how racism can impact friendships, world views, and limit one’s ability to relate to others.
I live in a community where people are educated about the world outside of the United States by such resources as “Fox News”, “CNN”, and “MSNBC”. It is my opinion that the negative media blitz that is currently happening was created when President George Bush made the fateful statement after 911. The statement that President Bush made “Why do they hate us?” he asked the nation in an address before congress and he went on to answer with “They hate what they see right here in this chamber – a democratically elected government,” he continued. “They hate our freedoms: our freedom of religion, our freedom on speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other” (Cooper, par 2,3). As per usual with President Bush, this statement was totally unqualified and the media took things from here. At the very least because there is no compulsion in Islam, no one is forced to be a Muslim. “There is no compulsion in matters of faith…” (Al - Qur’an 2:256 ). So therefore, there is freedom of religion in Islam.
Many media programs refer to Islam as a “Fringe extremist group,” as a whole, even though a fringe group usually refers to a small group of people who are not part of the whole. Yet “With more than 1 billion adherents, Islam is the world’s second – largest religion after Christianity” (Jost, par. 1). What most people in general don’t understand when they hear these terms, is that it is not Islam as a whole that is the fringe group; the extremists are the fringe group. Yet these kinds of carefully selected terms used by the media, have sent the American people into a panic, and caused them to think that “all” Muslims are extremists. The worst thing about this is that most people don’t know the difference between an Islam extremist (Islamist) and a true Muslim, or follower of “True Islam.”
Many people forget the violent past of Christianity. “Islam, like ALL religions, has its historical share of violence,” acknowledges Stephen Schwartz, an adult convert to Islam…”But there’s no reason to single out Islam” (Jost, par. 37). It seems that the media has declared war on the human intellect, and won. According to Edward Said, “Israel and the United states, deliberately using the weapons of mass media, psychological warfare, and political pressure, have … been leading a campaign against Islam… ” (Said, par. 3). The worst thing about this is that the American people do not even realize how much the media influences their thoughts. According to an article in “New Perspectives Quarterly,” “Western print and television journalists, as well as Hollywood producers have still not understood the power they wield in this age. They have deliberately added fuel to the fire between the West and Muslims by their constant depiction of negative stereotypes” (Akbar, par. 2). The only things that the media shows the American people, are the negative things, without showing the positive, and the American people accept this as the absolute truth, never questioning that it may be biased and subjective. In a recent chat I had with a journalist from Goa, India, he told me “When I was nobody, I spoke the truth, and no one listened. Now I am somebody, and everyone listens to what I say, but now I don’t always speak the truth.”
I worked on part of this paper at work. The things that were being directed at me while I was writing made me want to cry. The negativity and lies that were being said were terrible. People just do not want to hear the truth because they have been influenced by lies for so long. I had actual proof in my hand that the media was biased, feeding them lies that they were believing; they said it was all lies, that all Muslims are terrorists who want to blow up America. Since I study Arabic now, I am considered by many people to be a threat. I think they are afraid of the truth after all the bad press they have seen: “…our perception of the Muslim American has been formulated by glimpses of Hollywood movies showing Arab fanatics hijacking a plane (see “Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People”, Jack G. Shaheen, Interlink publishing Group, 2001) or a “Dateline” documentary on female honor killings or Stephen Emerson’s malicious bestseller book “American jihad: The Terrorists Living Among Us” (Free Press, 2002). As long as our perception of Muslims in America is based on stereotypical fallacies that can be traced to isolated cases propagated by the media, then the rate of anti – Muslim hate crimes, violence, and discrimination will continue to rise in this country.” (Mubarak, par. 3)
There is a series of videos on YouTube that I wish everyone in the world was forced to watch. I get anyone I can to sit down and watch the best one, and anyone who does watch, comes away enlightened. As Baba Ali from UmmahFilms said, “Who hijacked my religion? I turn on the T.V, and I see this guy explaining Islam, but he’s talking nonsense, I’m like what religion is this guy talking about, not only does he not have any idea what he is saying, but he’s not even Muslim, that’s like getting a Hindu guy to teach Christianity……somehow they keep giving the limelight, to these extremists.. coincidence? I don’t think so. This is how they build an opinion about a group of people, so people end up hating Muslims, but their hatred, is based on ignorance. People aren’t born racists, prejudice is something that is learned. They don’t necessarily come out and say all Muslims are terrorists, but they’ll do everything else so that YOU come up with that opinion” (ummahfilms, Vlog#9).
What has happened to the brains of the people living in this country?
It is like Americans have lost their ability to think or learn as individuals. Is the media really that powerful? Many people have had enough of the media and have started picking up books to read, and learn about Islam for themselves. This is why (in my opinion) Islam is the fastest growing religion in the United States today. If a person has an open mind, and starts to read about “True Islam”, it is hard not to be curious. If a person sees a Muslim practicing Islam the way it is meant to be practiced, there is no way that they can still believe that it is the violent religion that the media portrays it to be. With people treating me the way they do in my community and family, just because I am learning Arabic, what would happen if they knew that I had converted to Islam several months ago? “O men, we created you from a male and female, and formed you into nations and tribes that you may recognize each other. He who has more integrity has indeed greater honour with God. Surely God is all – knowing and well – informed” (Al – Qur’an 49:13).
