Unfortunately, the links to
the electronic course reserve are still not working. So, please read “Islam”
from the “Pages” section of the blogspot. I’ve noticed that some of the links
no longer work, but the important ones still do.
To help with our discussion,
you might want to read the following interesting article from the Baltimore Sun: http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/tv/z-on-tv-blog/bs-ae-zontv-muslim-20151211-story.html
Also, check out some
interesting stand up comedy from Muslim/Arab comedians:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFVjiq7MIFY
(careful, some language issues)
I had a random thought while I was reading this. What if we are contributing to the spread of terrorism with our media? Who's to say that having all these negative portrayals of Muslims couldn't drive someone to become a terrorist? Someone growing up with portrayals of their religion and people as evil may become what they see. Especially if they are treated negatively in real life. Just a thought I had.
ReplyDeleteTo sum up, I would have to say that the negative/terrorist representations of Arabs and Islam dominate the news and entertainment world. Yes there is more of a push to making it fair and having positive views and experiences with Arabs. But every time a bomb goes off or someone is shot, it's front page news. And this only leads to greater and greater distrust and a larger divide. If I was Arab I would find it hard to live everyday with that distrust. It reminds me just a bit about the rumors and distrust the country had to the early LDS Church. I've read many of the early newspapers from around the country and the articles about Mormons were meant to enrage and turn people against our faith. Now I would like to believe that the media has changed and is a bit less biased. But knowing that the same thing happened to my ancestors makes me try to judge less and have a more open heart to these people.
I haven't had much experience with Arabs or Muslims, mostly on my mission. But from the experiences I have had I know that they are a nice and kind people. And honestly, sometimes they are just as confused by us as we are by them. I remember sharing a meal with a group of Muslim men on my mission and they gave us the only couch in the house to sit on while they all sat on the floor. We asked if we could sit on the floor with them and they were amazed that these two white kids would sit on the floor with them.
Media focuses on what sells. And right now what sells is portraying Muslims as radical terrorists. It's sad and I hope this generalization can move on soon. But as we each do our part to be knowledgeable consumers to know fact from fiction and help spread the truth, I think it will change.
I couldn’t help but find a ton of similarities between the Mormon and Islamic representations on film. Obviously, this probably has more poignant attacks on the culture in comparison to Mormonism, but both have similar portrayals. In one of the first clips shown, I liked what what said about taking an image that’s being portrayed and trying to do something good with it. I think that’s the basic theme. People already have stereotypes, but the idea is to play with those stereotypes and redirect them a little. One person said that they try to shape the way people see one another.
ReplyDeleteEven though doctrine has more fact, fiction sells more. Light humor in the media about cultures spreads more than you think. People buy fiction over fact—that becomes what we believe about the culture. That’s where I think poking fun and overdramatizing goes wrong in the media. However, the best way to make a heavy subject light is by adding a bit of humor. One person said that tipping “sacred cows” is something that catches a lot of people’s attention. Even though this is sacrilegious, people become interested in the culture instead of just being afraid of a different religion or lifestyle. One person said that they are bridging gaps with laughter. I think this is a very common theme and goal of the producers. If they can bridge the gaps with laughter, it might outweigh the negatives of doing so.
Aside from all of this, I think one thing that most media produces must realize is that one thing on television or the media seems to represent an entire culture. As long as humor doesn’t overlap with fiction, I think that’s a safe place to be. As a viewer, we must also realize that fiction does not outweigh the facts. Overall, though, I feel like the Islamic films do a good job at making light of the culture’s stereotypes while respecting the religion.
Watching these YouTube clips and reading the link really made me think of my World Religions class that I took last year. In the class we studied about 8 religions in-depth. I think that out of all of the religions in the world Islam is probably portrayed in the most “negative” light, especially in America. Because of 9/11, most Americans associate Islam with terror and some sort of idea that they have no respect for human life.
ReplyDeleteI laughed while watching the stand-up comedian and his example of being in an airport. I thought the story was funny, but when I started writing this post I realized that we are so quick to judge Muslims because the majority of Americans truly are afraid and scared what we perceive these people to believe. I am definitely guilty of staring at a Muslim at the airport and may even act in an uncomfortable manner because of what the media has instilled in me. The article listed so many outlets that have continued out this misperception of Muslims and Arabs: Donald Trump (though not surprising), 24, and Homeland.
While doing this blog post the same question kept coming to my mind: Should we blame the media for giving us this perception? I think the answer is no. The real reason for this misperception is because most Americans aren’t going out and doing the research and learning about different religions. Yes, there have been many members of the Islam faith that have done terrible acts of terrorism, but that doesn’t mean that every Muslim is a terrorist. I am glad that I took a World Religions class because it made me less naïve of the world around me. Islam is actually defined as the religion of “peace, submission, or wholeness.” If you ask me, that sounds like the opposite of a terrorist group.
I think that this misperception is sad. I think that Mormons and Muslims are a lot a like. We are both stereotyped to extremes and we both have a deep love for God. The media can be a good tool to learn, but we need to remember that the media does do a good job of playing to stereotypes and it is our duty to learn the facts about different religions.
It is very interesting to me to see how the media has such a powerful impact on how we grow to “understand” and learn about others. Islam is the second largest religion in the entire world, accounting for 23% of the population, over 1.5 BILLION people. How did we come to a global agreement of islamophobia when almost a quarter of the inhabitants of earth are Islam? The answer is media framing. It’s the sad truth that Islam and Arab peopler targeted heavily in the media. They are stereotyped, labeled, and attacked time and time again for their skin color, for their hair, for their clothing, and for their religion. Anyone from the middle east is regarded as a threat and even worse, a terrorist.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that the leading Republican presidential nominee is able to continue to rise in the the polls while being vocally Islamophobic is very telling of how the masses are groomed to agree with bigotry and hate towards media-created stereotypes. As I learned from the articles and from what I have observed since 9/11, Islamic people are accused of being radical terrorists, even though they are unrelated. The media doesn’t differentiate or explain that radical Islamic terrorists are not the everyday Islamic person. Therefore the masses, the audiences of the media, don’t understand that Islamic people are good, religious people with no agenda to kill. I enjoyed watching the stand up comedians because they were able to bring awareness to these issues from a perspective we rarely take the time to appreciate and understand.
For some reason, I have always felt that Islamic terrorism is relatable, in some ways, to FLDS polygamists. Obviously, the terrorist stereotype is much more detrimental however they follow the same idea of a great misunderstanding of religions. Whenever I meet people outside of Utah and mention that I’m Mormon, they think I come from a polygamist family and they misunderstand that polygamists are excommunicated and disaffiliated with the Mormon church. I imagine the feeling I get when I am asked if I have a polygamist family is of minute similarity to how muslims feel when they are accused or though of as terrorists and misunderstood, when their religion is misconstrued and their people are wrongly stereotyped.
It's definitely difficult to cultivate a healthy view of who Muslims really are when there are very few in your community and all you really know about them is what you see on TV and what you read in the newspaper (which, as the articles stated, is overwhelmingly negative). It's extremely understandable for people to be hurt, confused, and sensitive to things related to Muslims because of terrorist attacks that are most often committed by Muslim extremist groups and have greatly affected American society. For that reason, I disagree with the article when it said that movies shouldn't use Muslims as terrorists, because as it also stated, it would make much less sense for another race/religion to commit large terrorist attacks, and it wouldn’t have the same impact. I do, however, agree that there should be a clear distinction between extremists who are a very small subgroup that, as the character in West Wing explained, aren't even really that related to Islam (like the KKK isn't really related to Christianity), and Muslims in general. It is obviously harmful to perpetuate the stereotype that all Muslims are terrorists.
ReplyDeleteI think that humor is definitely a good way to show the public that Muslims are kind and relatable and just like anyone else, like the show Little Mosque on the Prairie does very well, but I don’t think that it’s the only way, it’s just that comedy appeals to most members of our society today so it has the most potential to do good (if done correctly). I think it would be great for more Muslim characters to appear more in movies and TV in any genre and in a much more diverse set of roles that aren't limited to the 3 b's that were mentioned in the article. There should also be more news articles about the good that Muslims are doing in the US so that Americans' perspectives can be enhanced and corrected. At the same time, I don't blame the media for choosing to use characters of other races and religions besides Muslims & Islam because there aren't a ton of Muslims in the US and so it often makes more sense to use characters that will have more relatability and mass appeal, even if having a Muslim character would be more unique and interesting.
It breaks my heart to see the beautiful religion of Islam associated with terrorists, ISIS, and destruction. On my mission, I had the opportunity to meet many individuals of the Islamic faith. They were wonderful people and so kind. The stereotypes that we create in society will lead to ruining us. They prevent the innovation and creation of different groups of people working together.
ReplyDeleteIn media, I do not like the way Islamic individuals are portrayed. I have an especially big problem with the dehumanization of refugees from the Middle East. Instead of showing their stories and personalizing what is going on, they generalize and describe the destruction from ISIS in relationship to these innocent individuals.
We need to lose our ignorance on these subjects and stand up for individual rights. I understand that our country is concerned with LGBT rights or emphasizing that black lives matter, but in the world these problems are minimal compared to what is going on. I wish that the media would emphasize more problems around the world that we could be helping, rather than petty things like where should certain genders go to the bathroom.
I was fascinated by the idea that children growing up (and who don’t personally know Muslims or Arabs) would have only seen depictions of Arabian culture in Aladdin and the images of 9/11 and terrorism. For the first time I thought about Aladdin and the images it projects. The characters in the film exemplify thievery, villainy, and a dash of immodesty. Combine that with terrorist attacks and children most certainly will have skewed perceptions of Muslims and Arabs.
ReplyDeleteThe comparison made by Josh Lyman in The West Wing explained it best: extremist Muslims are like the KKK of Christianity. They’re only a small fraction of Muslim people and I think that it’s unfair of Hollywood and news media to say that all Muslims are extremist and terrorists. I can’t even fathom what it must have been like to be a good-willed, law-abiding U.S. Muslim citizen after 9/11 occurred. I can understand the fear and confusion associated with such tragic events and the Muslim community, but not all Muslims are evil. It’s important for people to sincerely learn about other religions so that they can tell the difference between true and false portrayals of people.
The comedians were pretty funny. I think the reason we think they’re funny though is because everything they say is somewhat true. They’re making fun of their stereotypes. People actually are afraid of Muslims in airports and really anywhere. The general public makes so many assumptions about all Muslims based off of a few incidents that involved radicals and terrorists.
ReplyDeleteI’m in another class called Race, Class and Gender in Media and we discussed this topic pretty in depth. The U.S. has developed what is called “Islamophobia.” It’s totally a real thing that people make snap judgments about Muslims the second they see them. We automatically assume the worst. If we see a woman wearing a hijab we treat her differently. The first few words Americans think of when they say Islam is usually terrorists or bomb or 9/11. Our negative associations with Muslims have ruined the way they are treated. Ultimately, I think the reason we are so scared of Islam is because we don’t fully understand it.
Here’s a quote from my textbook from an Arab-American man on Islamophobia.
“I can’t be bad, I can’t be like other kids and misbehave because I feel like if I do that people will be like “oh, he’s that way because he’s an Arab” or “he’s just that way because he’s a Muslim,” “he’s just an angry Arab like we see in the news.”
A lot of people compare Muslims and Mormons because our religions are very misunderstood by others. I agree in that sense. However, Muslims and Mormons are treated very differently by society. Mormons are seen as nice people who are very conservative but have uncommon beliefs. Muslims are seen as scary, radicals and threatening. Muslims get a much worse reputation.
I’ve seen on the news and through media the different ways people are labeled. Recently, a bomb threat occurred nearby in Eagle Mountain. The threat came from a Muslim man, however he was also white. Articles are skipping over this fact and labeling him as “a former basketball player” or “future basketball coach.” (FOX13). Police took him away and nothing else happened. Everyone went home and returned to normal life. But then we also see a bombing in New York City, caused by a very clearly labeled Muslim man, forced the nearby Islamic community to gather together and hide because they knew of the hate crimes coming from the rest of the public. I think news sources need to be careful at how they label people so we can get rid of bias. People in general need to be cautious about how they view Arabs and Muslims.
Our representation of Islam and both news and entertainment is suspicious at best. Even when we try to be open-minded and inclusive, our major interactions with Islam within the western world have been highlighted by terrorist attacks. Because of this, even when we try to approach a story that has nothing to do with terrorism, we seem to regard Muslims with a certain sense of caution. This caution is either defensive or altogether demonstrative of an overt effort to normalize their culture into ways that we can understand, even when some aspects of their faith aren't translatable into a comfortable westerner's narrative. I feel that we are in a very difficult spot, as representatives of the media (especially news), when it comes to handling such sensitive topics as Islam. The crux of our industry is to distill so much information down into something easy to understand and digest. The problem there is that with an upbringing so far removed from Islamic culture, we have very little means of understanding the broader significance of Islam, and so when we distill information we tend to do it through the filters we already know about Islam (painfully little, at the moment). I think here is a strong case for diversification in the news room. Perhaps its not always feasible, or even fair in certain circumstances to hire Arabic employees over others, but I can imagine that the payoff from having an insider and an expert on the topic of that culture could do a lot to alter our perception of their religion and culture. I think our perception of Islam really is a product of our limited understanding of the culture, and because of that, we don't know how to distill information into a news story in a way that effectively explains the tenants of the religion as well as the events present in the news story.
ReplyDeleteThe Islamic stereo types are no different than any other form of racism, and comes from a deep place of misunderstanding, misinformation, and misjudgment. When I think about my time in Jerusalem and all of the incredible Arab Muslim people I met, I have almost complete respect for the nation at large. Is there truth in some of the portrayals of Muslims? Yes—they are loud, passionate, and expressive; however, that does not make someone into a terrorist. The most passionate people I met were passionate about their families, friends, careers, and helping other. I met countless men and women that would drop anything they were doing to help me. One security guard at the Jerusalem center spent 3 hours with out me knowing, trying to find me something I misplaced. Another two women I met at the Dome of the Rock insisted we take their home made bread they had packed in their lunch. I will never forget the kindness that the Arab people showed to me and the lessons they taught me of true friendship.
ReplyDeleteNever was there a time I felt more unsafe or threatened than I do when in any other major city in America. There is simply good and bad everywhere you go in the world. Rather than focusing fearing the whole based on the outliers, we need to strive to be more informed about the majority. I wish we could categorize people based on their actions rather than their ethnicity, but I’m just not sure if we are capable. Similar classifications exist in all races. All Americans are fat, all Europeans are rude, all Canadians are lumberjacks, and all Arabs are terrorists? Its sad that our human instinct is to organize, classify, and generalize—but it’s a fact that we must be aware of to try to counter.
Beyond anything, I am grateful for my time in the middle east because it helped me see people for people, and to understand the world better. A lot of the original problem comes from the Arab people feeling oppressed and disregarded, so a little education on the issue from our end could go a long way. I do not credit myself as an expert on middle eastern culture, and I know my time there only scratched the surface of the issue, but a change is needed now more than ever to possibly help the original issue and lessen the Arab aggression towards the rest of the world.
I think that the interpretation of Islam in the media and entertainment is actually split. On one side we have the stereotypes of Muslim terrorists in the media especially media that uses humor, like TV shows such as South Park and Family Guy, or in stand-up comedy like the links we were to watch. The two clips that we watched were both Muslim comedians, in which they talked about the stereotypes they face simply because they are Muslim, but in a humorous way. In my opinion comedic media plays up these stereotypes, even to a ridiculous level sometimes to draw attention to it and in a way say that as a society we’re being a little ridiculous in these assumptions of anyone affiliated with Islam is also affiliated with terrorism. On top of this we have this fear, this fear that has been proven true by the radical Islam groups such as ISIS that have and continue to commit terrifying and horrific acts of terrorism time and time again, all over the world. So our news media is saturated with this constant barrage of terrorist attacks by extremist Islam groups, while other media is making fun of this stereotype. However, on the opposite side, there are all kinds of social media trends and TV shows, such as the ones discussed in the article, to show that not all Muslims are radical and to separate them from those that are.
ReplyDeleteI think where the problem lies, is that deep down we’re all afraid, because we’ve seen more radical Islam groups covered by the media than non-radical. There’s also a disconnect, many people don’t know or understand Islam and due to human nature, the thing we fear most is what we don’t understand. One way that many people cope with fear, is through sarcasm and humor. As much as social media trends and other media tries to depict not all Muslims as radical, there is only so far that it can go. The fact of the matter is that many people are too lazy to really do the necessary research on Islam to truly understand the religion. Because Islam as taught in the Qur'an is actually peaceful and loving religion; one of the laws to love everyone, despite differences in religion, it also mentions God more than the Bible. However, what causes the division and the radical groups in Islam, is that the Qur'an is also incredibly contradictory, where it does say some awful things that the radicals take to heart. But honestly the Bible is no different, during the Middle Ages there were radical Christians that took words from the Bible that led to the crusades, one of the bloodiest and most violent campaigns in history. I think that many people forget this, and single Islam out as the most violent religion when in reality there was a time where Christianity and even other religions throughout history have waged savage war on non-believers.
I really enjoyed the comedy by Azhar Usman because he offered a unique perspective that I had never considered. I admit to doing a double take when I see people that look like Azhar at the airport, which I don’t think is right. I’ve seen other people do the same thing. I never thought how discouraging that could be, and how unwelcoming it would be to have that feeling. The only feeling that I can think of (which I don’t think comes close in severity and realness to the feelings Azhar expressed) is when I missed a key tackle in a middle school football game that almost cost us the game. All of us were on the same “team”, and I knew that they weren’t going to do anything to me, but they just glared in frustration when I tried to look them back in the face. They didn’t really want to speak with me either. My team had reason to be a little upset with me, so I cannot imagine the difficulty of feeling that way when I didn’t do anything wrong. My missed tackle was also only for a moment, but working around the stereotypes is a daily challenge for Muslims living in the United States.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn’t help change opinions either when movies like United 93 and others are the ONLY view that we often have of Muslims. Another difficulty is that we remember 9/11 each and every year, which always turns our thoughts to back to the Islamic community in a negative way. That remembrance, while important to our country and to our military, does little to help put Islam in a positive light. My uncle works in Saudi Arabia at an oil facility, and has had the opportunity to work with many Muslims and experience their culture. I have heard nothing but positive things about them. He has lived there for about seven years, and plans to stay there another three. I can’t imagine he would want to stay if those he has met there were not great people. Unfortunately, very few Americans will have the opportunity to ever visit and see how things really are. We must rely on portrayals of Islam in the media, which have done a poor job at showing the Muslim community in a positive light.
It’s interesting to hear of all the comedian interaction with TSA and flying after 9/11. Since the terror attacks, I admittedly have felt differently about seeing those who “look” of Arab decent. What I thought was so interesting was the comedian Azhar Usman’s comment that “they” or the Muslim community, are more scared than anyone while flying anywhere. They are likely to get screened, stopped, and judged, and the 99.9% of them have no connections to anything terrorist related.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely believe that media is the catalyst for a lot of the terrorism that is going on. If there was no way to get public attention instantly, terrorism would be significantly less effective. I’m not saying that media shouldn’t exist to warn and advise on public matters, but it gives terrorist organizations a way to get their message across.
Another key issue I see is how the Muslim culture is portrayed to the world. In reading the article in the Baltimore Sun, it mentions several different types of shows that lay the groundwork for our stereotypical thoughts. When people categorize all people into one standard, it creates negative thoughts and even can lead to hateful action. The article continued and made a good point about some of the more radical comments made by Donald Trump. We are not phased by this because we have been told by media that it is in fact these people with certain clothing, skin features, accents, etc. that are claiming innocent lives. However, as strongly as the media can influence us, ultimately it is on us as a people to do our research, overcome bias, and treat everyone how Christ would.
I would say the description of prejudice against muslims that resonated most with me was the fact that their portrayal in the media is very one-dimensional. Although the the B's(bomber, billionaire, or belly dancer), made me laugh a first, I honestly realized that even in media I consume regularly, the stereotypes are very much alive. The social constructs seem to be so built into our way of thinking that we barely bat an eye. When I see a billionaire muslim villain in a movie, I don't stop to even think about why he is portrayed as a one dimensional scoundrel instead of a complex individual. Protagonists, and even white villains make an appearance in film along with plenty of context to illustrate their potential and reasons for doing things.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I am not convinced that the answer comes from the media itself. Obviously the media could do a better job at developing muslim characters and making them more human, but I feel that the true problem lies in our perception of Islam, which is why we don't question erroneous portrayals. Maybe if our government/american society was more accepting of the Muslim way of life, we would begin to understand them, and take offense to a simplistic portrayal in media.
Maybe Muslims need a Muslim moment just as bad as we needed our Mormon moment.
The way that post-9/11 media treats Muslims has always proved to unnerve me, and I think this is because of my upbringing. I lived in Virginia during the 9/11 attacks, and my father was working three miles from the Pentagon when the plane hit. Strangely, though, I don't remember feeling any fear or worry - my parents tried to keep the news on the down-low because I'm pretty sure they thought I was too young to comprehend it. Because of that, because I never felt the terror associated with 9/11 for myself, I don't think I ever developed any sort of wariness toward Muslims, Arabs, or the Islamic religion. That's a pretty ironic phenomenon (and I'm very thankful I never developed that wariness) because my extended family, particularly my grandparents, don't have the kindest views of Muslims. They're pretty vocal about it to. Growing up with that sort of talk at a lot of our family get-togethers inadvertently made me more conscious of how Muslims are viewed and treated in media.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I loved hearing Arab comedian Ahmed Ahmed tell self-deprecating jokes, I think a lot of what he said illustrated just how ridiculous discrimination and racism is, especially when most of that mindset comes from media. I'm glad that the problematic nature of the TV show "24" was brought up in this reading, because I totally agree that it does not portray Muslims well at all. Honestly, it stands out like a sore thumb, especially now that I think that media is taking a step in the right direction to get rid of negative stereotypes. Still, it's common in TV shows and movies to see an ambiguous religion being used in portrayals of extremism - a religion that has Arab-like or Islamic-like qualities. The movie that comes to mind is the original Iron Man, where the villains who kidnap Tony Stark are clearly extremists but have distinctly Arabian qualities. This is the type of thing, however subtle, that leads people to negatively stereotype Arabs and Muslims. I love what many Arabs are doing to combat this, like using social media to push back against oppressive portrayals and such - like when an Arab couple committed an act of terrorism, and Muslim Twitter users began posting pictures of their cats. It just goes to show that generalizing the beliefs, actions, and qualities of an entire culture is harmful not only to the culture in question but others who now see that culture in a negative light. I think in general media is moving in a more positive direction, but there is still the occasional negative portrayal that continues to paint Arabs in a bad light.
Recently I heard and interview from Ben Affleck talking about Muslim terrorist. He made an argument with the interviewer that he understands why Muslims attack the west and how they were justified in their actions because of the way we treat their religion and mock the Quran. The interviewer followed up and asked if that meant the Mormons should be justified in extremely violent actions against society and communities around the country. He pointed out about how the Mormon church is mocked everywhere in New York with “The Book of Mormon” musical. Ben Affleck stumbled over her words and claimed that it was different.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was very interesting. Doesn’t have a whole lot to do with our discussion but thought I would point it out.
There have been some media which I have seen with Islam. Some Grey’s Anatomy episodes where there is a very kind guy who is muslim and gets brain surgery. But so much more is negative in crime or violence movies and TV shows.
I'm in a class and we have been discussing violence in media. Kids don’t resonate with violence if the one doing to violence is a “bad guy” and gets punished afterwards. I feel like when people get scared the media has to give them someone to be afraid of.
People don’t like the unknown or the uncertainty.
I think that every single ethnicity has stereotypes whether they are positive or negative. A lot of those stereotypes are adopted from common portrayals of the ethnicity and the portrayals can be accurate or not. Movies and TV shows have a huge impact on these stereotypes. Humans have an innate incline to see one thing and then generalize it across everything that shows similar traits. I think that people don't generally think lowly of different races, but people grow up with these implanted perceptions about people that are hard to look past if they don't get the truth for themselves. People tend to live in their comfortable bubble of mind sets and social groups and so if they don't break free from their norms then they are never going to be able to see past the common portrayals of Arabs and other races. I think the events at 911 definitely shifted the views on Arabs and people have accepted those characteristics to be portrayed in all Arabs which is not true. I think the only way to move past the stereotypes and negative perceptions is to become educated on what is truth and what is not.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting because to me it seems like the media almost always puts people in an unfavorable light. This definitely seems like the case for those of the Islamic faith. It is not hard to notice that Muslims in film are one of the three "B's" in the article -- and mainly the "Bomber" in my opinion. Terrorist attacks from the recent past has been a major player in this I am sure -- but the media, specifically Hollywood, hasn't helped the issue. I think it is so vital for people to form their opinions based on real life experiences -- talking with real people of other cultures.
ReplyDeleteLate last year I had the chance to interview a newly made Muslim friend that lives here in Provo. Mustafa is from the outskirts of Mecca and is very, very devout in his faith. My freindship with Mustafa has changed how I see devout Muslims for the better. I met him at a Provo roof top concert where he was standing alone listening to the music. He had a thick accent and very broken English -- but he was very friendly. In a moment when I turned away at the concert, I Provo Police officer singled him out in the crowd and asked him what was in his backpack. While I try to avoid any kind of judgment from the dutiful officer, I couldn't help feel bad for Mustafa and the stereotypes he needs to fight here in Provo.
But I believe he is better off here in Provo compared to other locations in the United States. Mustafa seemed to agree. In regards to Provo he said, "I feel like home. When I see people praying it reminds me that I am not the only one that prays, and that Islam is not the only faith that prays."
It seems like Muslims weren't the only ones that the media was framing in an unfavorable light. From Mustafa's perspective, the United States was pretty much a Godless nation with faithless people.
“I have learned that there are faithful people around the world,” Mustafa said. “When living in Saudi Arabia, I didn’t really think that there were faithful people that prayed in other countries and in other faiths. I have come to learn that there are faithful people all around the world. You should respect all religions even though you do not know much about them.”
When you get to know someone in person, you learn things that you won't find out via the media. Seeing how other people love God is one of those things it seems.