Consider peace: A portrayal of Islam

IOWA CITY - Islamophobia is the prejudice against, hatred toward or fear of Muslims or those perceived to be Muslim and it is something Iowa City West students have experienced.

West Side Story investigated just how prevalent Islamophobia is, why it happens and what can be done to stop it.

For many students at West, religion doesn't play much of a role in others' perceptions of him or her. But for some Muslim students, their religion - or rather, other's attitude toward it - is a constant factor in their daily lives.

Most of the discrimination against Muslims is because of microaggressions, which are every day verbal, non-verbal and environmental slights, snubs or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory or negative messages to target people based solely upon their marginalized group membership.

'If a black guy walks into an elevator, a woman will hide her purse; it's kind of an instinct. It's a microaggression,” said Doaa Elgaali, a former West student. 'Even though she's not calling him out, it's that thought that, ‘OK, black people are thugs, so I'm going to keep my purse next to me.'”

Even if they don't feel as if they're being specifically attacked, many Muslims do feel these unintentional pressures.

'People stare you down. I notice that, but I tend not to look for reactions,” said another West graduate, Ruaa Elkhair. 'I just go about my day. Sometimes you just notice some odd stares, so you just kind of assume it's because of how you look and stuff like that.”

While most of these microaggressions come in the form of strange glances and slips of the tongue, some people seem to go out of their way to call out Muslims.

'Once there was a noise and I thought it was a rat, and I kind of looked startled. My professor was like, ‘what's wrong?' and I said, ‘I thought it was a rat.' He said, ‘Ha ha, don't worry, it's not a bomb,'” Elgaali said.

And it's not just what other people do. Lots of stereotypes have been internalized. Sophomore Ala Mohamed feels as if she always has to be on guard.

'I would never say the word ‘bomb.' I would never say the word ‘gun' or anything like that. I know that saying any of those words would just bring on bad things,” Mohamed said. 'I don't like leaving the house a lot, being a Muslim. I'm always scared that someone's going to come up to me and say something and I'm not going to be able to defend myself as much as I want to.”

Race also is an added factor for some Muslims.

'I'm a black Muslim, it's worse for me than to be a white Muslim. So sometimes, I'm afraid to go to a job interview because I'm afraid I won't get the job because I have the hijab on,” said senior Fatima Saeed.

But why is Islamophobia so prevalent in American society? A 2010 Time magazine survey showed that 28 percent of voters believed that Muslims should not be eligible to be a U.S. Supreme Court judge and one-third believed Muslims should be prohibited from running for president.

Many believe the media has misconstrued the beliefs of Islam.

'I think the media plays a huge role in showing how people are,” said junior Mohammed Elobeid. 'The media is only showing the bad side of Islam, not focusing on the good side, which is a lot bigger and better. But they only show the bad people on TV.”

The media also has guided Americans to fear Islam.

'If I wasn't a Muslim and you told me a Muslim terrorist (was behind) 9/11, I would automatically judge all Muslims,” Saeed said. 'But ... Islam actually means peace in Arabic. There's a passage in the Koran that comes right after Cain and Abel that says if one person kills another person, it's as if he killed all of humanity. Another (misconception) is Jihad: jihad is the struggle for each person, not ‘let me shoot everyone who doesn't believe in my word of God.' Terrorist is often associated with Muslim, but that's not true.”

Students believe Islamophobia can be fought with education and changes in media coverage on Muslims.

'Not everyone's the same. That's been said about everything; we're all different and we have to accept our differences,” Elkhair said. 'I think Americans should be more open, should understand that not every single person that follows a certain religion acts a certain way.”

Saeed believes people should learn about Islam.

'I took Biblical Lit ... and it was a surprise ... that I was a Muslim in a Bib-Lit class but it's the Bible; we agree with the Bible, we think Jesus happened, too, so why not learn about it?” Saeed said. 'So Muslims go out of their way to learn about other religions, when (other) people don't go out of their way to learn about Islam.”

Elgaali believes that, as well, but with the added stipulation that it's the general American public that needs to be doing the work.

'I don't think that I should go out of my way to teach people and to make sure that people understand that Islam isn't a violent religion,” she said. 'When I want to learn about other cultures or other people, I go out and do my own research, and I'll ask around.

'I think if people are genuine and they really want to know if something is right or wrong, whether it's a religion or a sect, they will go out and they will do the research.”

However, change may take more than a personal re-evaluation. Students believe change is possible when Islamophobia ceases to be the status quo.

'If you show everyone that Muslims are good using the media, you would basically have a chance to get the information to the people,” Elobeid said.

Despite experiencing Islamophobia, Saeed is very proud to be a Muslim.

'I make sure when I'm doing something, I say that I'm a Muslim,” she said. 'I don't want to hide it away ... I want my friends to say ‘I know a Muslim girl and she's not like (the media portrayal of Muslims) at all.”