Since President Donald Trump has been a little, tensions have begun to overflow in the melting-pot of diversity that is America. Trump and his supporters have exalted several discriminatory policies, and one in particular targets adherents of the Islamic faith. Recent events and those in the past in play, the fear that resonates in so much of our nation is understandable, but misplaced. In fact, I’d like to make the argument that the steadily growing isolation of Muslims in America is more detrimental to our society as a whole than anything else.
I believe that the situation that we are in now is reminiscent of post-9/11 America: when the towers fell due to hijacked planes, American citizens pushed for stricter airport laws, which the government enacted. Similarly, a considerable number of citizens are pushing for restrictions and safety measures placed on Middle Eastern and Pakistani Americans—the only difference is that the government may now enforce laws that directly infringe upon the rights of a group of people. If everything that Mr. Trump promised during his campaign comes true, we might be dealing with a new set of Jim Crow Laws.
I watched a documentary recently, one that featured a Muslim woman who went across high schools in America, teaching Muslim youth about how the media portrays them. Her mission wasn’t to rile up unnecessary tempers, it was to prepare them for the life of random security checks and undeserved aggression awaiting them. She didn’t condone violent retribution, and instead assuaged any of their rising insecurity as an American citizen by assuring them that, yes—the USA is their home. They don’t belong anywhere else.
Because something that’s been happening lately is that there has been a slowly rising trend in Muslim youth joining terror organizations. Bullied and discriminated against, hated for situations and events that shallow-minded extremists of their faith have produced, they grow up in a world of reproach and disgust and eventually decide—why not live up to their reputation? They’re already catching flack for something they’d never done, so why not go ahead and do it?
What we need now is to understand each other. We need to communicate, to compromise, and at the very least tolerate each other. It is, of course, more easily said than done—but a single conversation—a single youth realizing where he belongs, here, on this side of civilized society—could make for a world of change in the future.
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