Introduction
Muslims in the United States believe that their fellow citizens do not view Islam as an integral part of mainstream American culture and that there is significant persecution against their religious community. At the same time, Muslim Americans indicate a continuous strain of optimism and good attitudes. They overwhelmingly express pride in being Americans, the idea that hard effort guarantees success in our society, and satisfaction with how their individual life is going, even though they are not happy with how the country is progressing. Even though the fundamental principles of America and the nation’s history place a high value on religious liberty and compassion, the government has historically discriminated against many religious communities, including Catholics, Jews, and Mormons. Americans today claim that some religious communities still face prejudice.
Muslims in the United States
Women are more likely than males to report experiencing discrimination overall, and this is particularly true for those who consider themselves Muslim due to the way they appear, wear, or talk (Hwang & Pang, 2017). A person experiencing unequal treatment is one who is given special treatment because of their religion in terms of recruiting, hiring, advancement, disciplinary action, and remuneration. When an applicant or worker receives unfavorable treatment because of their religious convictions, this is known as religious discrimination. Workers who are coerced into participating in or refraining from religious observances in order to maintain their employment are subject to religious harassment. When an employer takes disciplinary action against the company for requesting spiritual adjustments, making threats or filing a claim, helping another person file for discrimination, or providing testimony in a discrimination case, this is known as retaliation.
Muslim women and girls have historically been prohibited from entering public spaces such as malls unless they consent to be checked by security personnel or agree to take off their headscarves and other religiously mandated clothing. A ban on wearing religious attire by teachers in public schools has been approved by specific state legislation and maintained by some courts (Liebert et al., 2020). Additionally, teenagers have been deprived of the opportunity to wear the hijab to schools and have been prohibited from taking part in different activities like sporting events and musical performances. A troubling increase in hate speech has coincided with such racist laws, with grave repercussions. People are hostile toward American Muslims when widespread racism and discrimination are on the decline.
American perceptions of Muslim women in society are influenced by the discourse that pits Islam and Western ideals against one another. Due to Islam’s purportedly patriarchal character, Muslim women are allegedly always in danger and oppressed (Hwang & Pang, 2017). One of these difficulties is the growing debate and uncertainty over the purpose of veiling. First and foremost, those who follow a feminist reading of the Qur’an assert that there is no one single definition of veiling. Instead, there are regional differences in what defines veiling. Some women opt to cover their faces with a Niqab, a term that refers to a variety of materials.
Conclusion
To sum up, being a black Muslim in the Philadelphia area, I can say that, unfortunately, I face many stereotypes in my direction. It is pretty tricky for me to behave in society, but I do not lose hope that by getting to know me closely, people can rethink their attitudes. Thus, I try to convince the maximum number of people so that society speaks in a new way about Muslims and women in particular. In addition to personal career development, I also have a mission as a representative of a society that is oppressed by the mainstream population of the area. I want to correct misconceptions about my community and prove to people that equality should come first.
References
Hwang, B., & Pang, K. (2017). An era of Islamaphobia: The Muslim immigrant experience in America. Pepperdine Journal of Communication Research, 5(1), 11.
Liebert, S., Siddiqui, M. H., & Goerzig, C. (2020). Integration of Muslim immigrants in Europe and North America: A transatlantic comparison. Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 40(2), 196-216.