In the given reality, strong police-community connections are essential for efficiently functioning law enforcement. Despite the fact that the topic of misunderstanding and discrimination of minority communities by the police, only a fraction of attention is given to the discrimination and misunderstanding of the Islamic culture. It is crucial since anti-Islamic sentiment has been increasing in northern America since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and ongoing Middle Eastern crises have resulted in an influx of Muslim migrants in the United States. Consequently, it has led to an immensely diverse community, which makes it especially vital to explore further the communication between the Muslim community and justice system professionals.
When it comes to the misunderstanding Islamic community, numerous cultural markers are influenced by preconceptions presented in movies, television, music, and other forms of social media. These prejudices generate misleading narratives, which are frequently utilized against specific demographics in order to further an agenda (Robles, 2017). For example, the Muslim community has been at the forefront of anti-terrorism discourse since the criminals of numerous terrorist incidents were identified as Muslim (Robles, 2017). Muslims are portrayed as conservative people, and the Islamic faith is connected with religious fanaticism (Robles, 2017). When representatives of this culture are featured in major criminal television series, they are generally associated with terrorist acts. The negative perceptions related to the Muslim community foster mistrust of the Islamic faith and its adherents, which is mostly known as islamophobia.
As for the evident examples of misunderstanding on both sides, it is noteworthy that criminal profiling plays a vital role. Criminal profiling is a kind of discrimination that may involve variables such as nationality, cultural belonging, and appearance (Robles, 2017). After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the criminal justice system examined possible terrorist activity at the national, regional, and municipal levels (Robles, 2017). In order to improve security, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) began changing its profiling procedures and began questioning Arab and Muslim-looking people at airport terminals (Robles, 2017). Thus, due to religion and beliefs, as well as language, there was an increase in misunderstandings between criminal justice professionals and people of the Islamic community, which had an impact on interactions between the groups later.
Consequently, communication between criminal justice representatives and Muslim Americans throughout this decade has left an indelible mark on understanding between both parties. According to the Vera Institute of Justice’s 2006 assessment of the connections between Arab Americans and criminal justice professionals following 9/11, most Muslim people are concerned about not so evident issues. For instance, the community is afraid of racial profiling, border security, and “anti-terrorism” tactics more than violent racist acts in their community (Robles, 2017). Although some Muslim Americans got increasingly involved in advocacy organizations following 9/11, a 2006 study revealed that alienation and departure from the Islamic community rose.
Thus, there is a need to incorporate specific practices that can help eliminate the barrier between the two parties. For example, the first practice is understanding the public, which implies comprehending the current conditions of the community and its constituents.
- By acknowledging the issues and putting the community’s interests first, the law enforcement officers will allow the citizens to feel safer and nurture trust between both parties.
Diversity training implies instilling diversity awareness among the justice system employees, which later has an immense effect not only in this field but on the public.
- The practice assists public and justice system professionals in critically examining preconceptions and cultural stereotypes frequently accepted by the public and criminal justice professionals.
Procedural justice implies the way the justice system professionals interact with the community and how these interactions influence the relationships between two parties.
- Since procedural justice refers to fairness in actions, instituting it will make it possible to eliminate unjust arrests and racial profiling. This way, the representatives of minority cultures will feel safer.
Police legitimacy implies the extent to which the justice system professionals can utilize their power and authority.
- The benefit of incorporating such practice will include further training that might help the officers comprehend the influence of possible hostility on community relations. The efforts of justice system professionals to instill social order might result in better mutual understanding.
Diverse hiring practices are one of the most critical steps to ensuring that the criminal justice system is entirely qualified to serve the public. It implies expanding departments and hiring individuals from various cultural, racial, or other backgrounds. There are several benefits of instituting the given practice:
- Diverse hiring practices can facilitate trust in the justice system professionals from minority communities.
- Moreover, diverse hiring practices can lower the discriminatory and misunderstanding tendencies of law enforcement professionals.
Hence, the issue of misunderstanding between the Islamic community and justice system professionals has been acute since the 9/11 attack. Such events led not only the public but law enforcement agencies to create certain biases toward this culture. For example, racial profiling still plays a vital role in the misunderstanding between both parties. Consequently, a series of practices need to be established in order to restore trust and a sense of safety.
Reference
Robles, J. (2017). Islam is the new black: Muslim perceptions of law enforcement. McNair Scholars Research Journal, 13(1), 82-92.