Misperceptions Rusty Ryan Hester Baker College There are many misperceptions regarding Arab and Muslim Americans.

Like any religion, race, or group with many individuals there is also a sect within the group that is considered extreme. White people, Black people, Christianity, Jews, or any group within has extremists that the majorities do not agree with and do not condone their beliefs or actions. White Americans have the KKK, Black Americans have the Black Panther Party, Christians have abortion bombers, and members of the Jewish faith have members that deface Monasteries of the cross and attack young Christian females. (ABCnews, 2012) So why do we have all these other groups that have extremist members, who perform crude acts to other people yet we dont consider the group as a whole as evil? Does America need an enemy at all times for us to be untied in a cause? Does there always have to be a Bad Guy? McCloud asks a great question with the point Im trying to get across, How could Christian Americans presume to be superior, much less convince Muslims to convert to their worldview, if some of their cultural customs were immoral and socially destructive? (McCloud, 2012) There are evils on both sides, but one isnt condemn as the other one was. Of course most would say it was because of the act of the 911 Terrorist that separate the different between Muslims and Christians, but Christians have a rocky path, that with todays technology would be remembered in a different way. But because of 911, along with the practice of polygyny places this religious community squarely inside the cultural imaginings already in place of the Muslim world. (McCloud, 2012). Terror is an epistemological object defined by modernity and attributed to the nonmodern and nonliberal. (Maira, 2009) The United States lead the war on terror on these assumptions, which built a framework that associated Muslims and Terrorist. Then President Bush tried to say there was good Muslims and bad Muslims and told the America people that the good Muslims would be with us against them. (Maira, 2009) The problem with that was he never defined what a good Muslim was, and left the America people to decided this. Given the way our minds work we tied any Muslim that didnt wear an American flag on their shirt as a bad Muslim that was against us. This of course lead to discrimination and segregation. Not on the level of the African American people many years ago, but enough to make many Muslims fear for their safely when faced with a crowd of White Americans. Even after 11 years, Muslim Americans are still facing Islamophobia. Islamophobia refers to a range of negative feelings toward Muslims and Their religion that ranges from generalized intolerance to hatred. (Schaefer, 2012) Like any Phobia, there is something that has happened to a person, something they experienced, that leaves a bad taste in their mouth. In this case its most likely because of 911, which is still burned into a lot of Americans minds. What most dont understand is most Muslim Americans have that same image in their minds. They lived, and experienced the same bad, and fear that any other American had to endure. Unlike the rest they are forced to live the aftermath of hate that came with it. Evidence of hate crimes and harassment towards Arab and Muslim Americans rose sharply after 911. (Schaefer, 2012)

By generalizing a group of people by the actions of a few comes with great crimes. Misperceptions of Muslims drive people to fear and violence to people who did nothing. They never planned to hurt Americans, or support the attack. They never gave information, or tried to hide people that were trying to plan attacks. They are Americans who were trying to live out their lives peacefully, and respectfully. They are no different than the average christen, who believes in a higher power and looks for guidance in their faith.

Schaefer, R. T. (2012). Racial and ethnic groups. (13th ed., pp. 114-145). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. Mccloud, A. B.(2010) Journal of World History. (21.1 Mar. ) p154. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Maira, S. (2009)Good and Bad Muslim Citizens: Feminists, Terrorists, and U.S. Orientalisms (35.3) p631 ABCnews (2012) Death to Christians: Suspected Jewish extremists deface monastery Retrieved from http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/02/07/10339856-death-to-christians-suspected-jewishextremists-deface-monastery?lite