End Islamophobia
Muslim people are most likely to get stereotyped and bullied. They get judged by the way they look. Muslims want everyone to have empathy so they can see or feel how Muslims feel when they get judged by looking or being muslim. Islamaphobia needs to end!
Dear next President,
I’m Muslim but you can’t tell that by looking at me. When people find out that I’m Muslim, they stay away from me because they connect Islam with terrorism. But that’s a stereotype and that hurts. Stereotypes about Muslims are a big problem in the United States. I think Islamophobia is a big problem that you should address because there are a lot of bad stereotypes about Muslims and hate crimes against Muslims that are hurting and killing people. If you as the President don’t help with this, who will?
I read an article by Molly Hennessy-Fiske in the Los Angeles Times. Hennesy-Fiske describes the story of a young Muslim woman who got bullied for wearing a headscarf. “Through tears, her friend Sirat Al-Nahi, 20, explained that while Abdennabi was parking, she had been harassed by an elderly white man in the cafe. He suggested that Abdennabi did not know how to drive and ‘should go back to Saudi Arabia.’ In disbelief, Al-Nahi asked the man to repeat what he had said. He did, this time adding, ‘Do you have a gun? You should just shoot me.’” This quote shows that every time someone stereotypes a Muslim as being a terrorist this might hurt someone's feelings and make them feel like a guilty person. In this quote, a man stereotypes a woman who is wearing a headscarf and says “Do you have a gun? You should just shoot me.” This kind of bullying damages people and can make them depressed. If you as the President don’t help with this, who will?
On August 15, 2016, two Muslim imams got shot and killed while going home after praying at a mosque in New York City (Hoff, 2016). Everyone thinks that it was a hate crime against Muslims. This is what happens when people think Muslims are terrorist. And the people who are scared of terrorism are making crimes themselves and they kill innocent people for their hate. Why should innocent people have to pay by getting bullied or killed? If you as the President don’t help with this, who will?
We cannot ban Muslims from immigrating to the US. They are coming here for education and a better life, to achieve something in the future. If you ban them, you are killing their dreams. If we continue to discriminate against the Muslims who live in the U.S., it will create conflict that will really harm the country.
Sincerely,
Akmal
References
Fiske, M. H. (2015, December 21). After attacks, headscarves mark Muslim women as targets. Retrieved from:
https://newsela.com/articles/headscarves-harassment/id/13623/
Hoff, M. (2016, August 15). 2 DEAD, INCLUDING IMAM IN SHOOTING NEAR OZONE PARK MOSQUE. Retrieved from:
http://abc7ny.com/news/2-dead-including-imam-in-shooting-near-ozone-park-mosque/1468756