Muslims are People Too

With this past weekend being 9/11 I was reminded of the stereotypes that are placed on Muslims because of the horrific act of a smaller group of people. Muslims have been discriminated against since the terrorist attacks. Many people are afraid of Muslims, believing that all are evil. Although it has been 14 years, Americans are suspicious of anyone wearing Muslim apparel on their heads. The terrorists that hijacked the planes were Muslim and performed because of their radical belief in doing it for Allah. These people have now been labeled with a single story that all Muslims believe in performing terrorist attacks.

September 11 will always be associated with the Muslim religion, but many people over-generalize this group of people. Some posts blamed Muslims and encouraged anyone reading their tweet to never forget what kind of people did this to our country. These kind of people are most likely the people that have not personally associated with a Muslim. Without this association, they only have this single story of who they are and it is an awful one. However, others who knew people weren't afraid to tweet about how hard being a Muslim in America has become. They remind us that many Americans have only been considering one story. 

It is terrible that because of the action of a small group of people, Muslim Americans now suffer. Many of them were living as citizens in America long before the events of 9/11. Many of them lost loved ones and were shocked just as much as the rest of us were. Although time may have healed many wounds for American families, Muslims still suffer through discrimination for something they had as much control over as we did. Airports say that they randomly select all persons. But how come the man in the snapchat knew he was going to get randomly selected? He'd probably been selected every time he went through that line. Without meaning to, these security officers discriminate against their culture simply because the stories they have in their head about Muslims are all connected to their job. Muslims, terrorists, hijacked planes... I am grateful that they understand their duty to keep flights protected, however how do they know if they are randomly selecting a Muslim while a terrorist of a different faith slips past them?

In addition, Muslims are viewed in taking out their problems in a violent manner. This once again goes back to the violent terrorist attacks. One store in Oklahoma refused to sell guns to Muslims. This is extremely discriminatory. A lot of Muslims live in a violent place because a war is going on in Israel. This does not make them violent. Muslims are fighting for their freedom of religion just as Americans fight for freedom. 

Muslims are not violent terrorists. Yes, some of them are, but there are some rogue Christians too. We should not be afraid to associate with people that wear hijabs or look middle eastern. The single story that is placed on these people is a horrific one that has impacted every single American, including American Muslims. God has commanded us to love our neighbor. He did not say to love our neighbor, except Muslims. They may wear different apparel and pray differently than you and I, but they are still children of God. One story tainted their image for Americans and many across the world and one story is not enough to know a person. We have no right to be afraid and generalize. They are good people trying to do the right thing just as we are. Muslims are people too.