Global Terrorism and Racial Profiling
The current situation is complicated by the accelerating development of humankind, globalization, and the digitalization of all processes. Thus, the possibilities of communicating one’s own views and conflicts on geopolitical, social, or religious grounds have increased. One such problem of the present time is terrorism, which can take absolutely different forms. It should be noted that by definition, the term implies an act of cruelty or intimidation aimed most often at civilians in order to achieve social or political shifts.
However, it is worth noting that the dissemination of the term occurred after acts of the bombing of airplanes, buildings, and cars some time ago. This fact signals the relative newness of the concept, and the connection of the most famous cases that gave rise to it has likewise contributed to the formation of the corresponding prejudices. With the involvement of radical representatives of Muslim movements in the most high-profile incidents, the exact notion of terrorism is still largely associated with people in this community (Welch, 2019).
Nevertheless, it is worth noting that over time, the education of civilization is growing, and such prejudices are becoming a thing of the past. Such an association can be directly correlated with racial profiling, which is essentially a discriminatory practice. Such unfair judgment violates human rights regardless of the community or association against which it is directed (Abualnaja & Nayer, 2019). Marginalization is counterproductive in the context of combating any illegal activity and treating Muslims as potential terrorists is ineffective and inhumane. This is why measures that address the threat rather than potential racially profiled suspects in the future are primarily important.
Awareness and Negative Consequences
In a civilized society, raising awareness can lead to many negative consequences. Moreover, in this case, there is no significant difference in the group of people to whom such prejudicial attitudes may apply (Nagra & Maurutto, 2020). One of the main and most notable is undoubtedly discrimination and the stigmatization that often accompanies it. The perception of every Muslim, especially those in national or religious attire, as a terrorist results from such stigmatization. It leads to potential marginalization and possible spikes in violence or brutality due to legitimate conflicts.
In addition, such attitudes directly violate human rights and civil liberties, for example, privacy, the importance of private life, the rights of expression, and religion. A democratic society is built on human rights and exists on the basis of equality for all. Accordingly, their violation undermines the very foundations of this format of society’s existence and destroys its values. This further increases the potential loss of trust and division between representatives of different social groups. Members of Muslim communities may feel misunderstood and resentful, which exacerbates alienation and can increase the degree of radicalism.
Social profiling, which ultimately results from stigmatizing people based on race, ethnicity, or religion, contributes to fear and mistrust. This disruption of relationships not only occurs between social groups but can also include negative attitudes on the part of political or legislative bodies. Law enforcement officials may feel prejudiced against people wearing specific clothing because of their heightened sensitivity. This focus of attention due to prejudice can contribute to missing the actual threat, which is unacceptable in a fast-paced society. Such attention does not help combat terrorism but only divides society and discriminates against its citizens. As a result, the situation has no positive consequences, which emphasizes the disadvantages of this state of affairs.
Radical Islamic Fundamentalists and Islamic Spiritual Practitioners
Even with the avoidance of stigmatization, it is helpful for people to know the differences among the various Muslim community members. Certainly, such knowledge should not lead to worse attitudes toward any group since the direction of one’s faith is not a sign of terrorism. In the same way, a person with a knife in his hand is far more likely to be a cook than a murderer. It is impossible to judge an entire social group by rare representatives. For example, most rapists are men, but that cannot mean marginalizing all men and branding them all as rapists.
In the context of considering people who practice Islam, we can distinguish two groups whose beliefs and actions differ greatly. At its core, Islam can be described as a much more peaceful religion than most mainstream religions, such as Christianity or Judaism (Haider, 2020). Islamic spiritual practices confirm this: they focus on practicing their religion spiritually and peacefully. At the center of their understanding are the moral teachings of the Hadith, the holy book of the Qur’an, and the five pillars mentioned therein, which constitute the foundation of the faith. These include prayer, charity, the proclamation of faith, fasting during Ramadan, and the pursuit of a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca. This concept is called Tawheed, which denotes the oneness of God, and the example of the Prophet Muhammad is important to this group of believers (Islamqa, n.d.). However, the second group differs significantly from the first in its perception.
Radical Islamic fundamentalists prefer to interpret Islam in the context of justifying the use of violence. Representatives of this movement deny standard and traditional interpretations of the Koran and the precepts of religion because ideological and political goals can rarely be achieved by peaceful means. Radical fundamentalists see only violent passages in their holy books and ignore peaceful texts, meanings, or messages (Haider, 2020). At the same time, they are willing to prove their point to others with a high degree of aggression, committing acts of violence or terrorism in some cases. However, it is worth noting that even among such interpreters, there are very few directly dangerous people who might pose a threat to those who do not share their views.
Therefore, the vast majority of people who practice Islam refer specifically to practitioners of spiritual practices. They tend to reject the beliefs or actions of the rare radical Islamic fundamentalists and continue to focus on a peaceful interpretation of the texts. It is all the unseemlier to generalize or stereotype all Muslims based on isolated cases of terrorist attacks committed by a few extremists. It is further confirmed by the fact that most victims in such cases are often fellow Muslims (Abualnaja & Nayer, 2019). Religious disputes and a high level of religiosity among Muslims can be observed precisely in Muslim countries in the Middle East, and most emigrants have nothing to do with radicals.
Thus, the understanding that stigmatization by any social group is discriminatory and rights infringing becomes apparent and logical. Labeling does not contribute to the solution of a particular problem but only slows down the development of society and can lead to its division. It can only be achieved with universal equality and the understanding that humanity has the opportunity to preserve itself and continue to prosper successfully.
References
Abualnaja, N., & Nayer, G. (2019). Do Muslim Americans support racial profiling at airports? Islamophobia Studies Journal, 5(1), 11. Web.
Haider, M. (2020). The racialization of the Muslim body and space in Hollywood. Sociology of Race and Ethnicity (Thousand Oaks, Calif.), 6(3), 382–395. Web.
Nagra, B., & Maurutto, P. (2020). No-fly lists, national security and race: The experiences of Canadian Muslims. The British Journal of Criminology, 60(3), 600–619. Web.
Welch, K. (2019). Race, ethnicity, and the War on Terror. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Oxford University Press. Web.
What is the meaning of Tawhid? (n.d.). Islamqa. Web.