An Attack on Muslim Self-Esteem | Teen Ink

An Attack on Muslim Self-Esteem MAG

By Anonymous

     Almost three years after the terrorist attacks ofSeptember 11, it appears the United States has healed its wounds. What manyAmericans are not conscious of, however, is that many American-Muslims have lostconfidence in themselves and the world of Islam because of the discriminationthey have faced since September 11. Muslims did not feel confident of theirstatus in America before, and the attacks of September 11th greatly exacerbatedthis uncertainty.

Although the U.S. recognized Islam as a legitimatereligion in 1952, trouble soon started brewing over the moral being of AmericanMuslims1. When Hamas Abdul Khaalis besieged three buildings in Washington, D.C.in 1977 (during which one person was killed and 30 held hostage), he helped toescalate the mercury in the U.S.-Muslim thermometer1. The thermometer nearlyshattered with the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, which killed 168 people andlaunched a hate campaign against Muslims (even though it turned out to bedomestic terrorism and unrelated to Islam). In the minds of Americans, theseevents and the already-existing enmity toward Muslims affirmed that those ofMuslim descent performed the September 11th attacks.

The loss ofconfidence among American Muslims fiercely burns in me. While visiting my uncleand aunt, I sat in their family room, drinking lemonade and examining thedistorted images of my relatives through my glass, a fixation that alwaysfascinates me. My uncle was talking to my parents about the aftermath of theattacks and I listened, though I thought the attacks had no real repercussions inmy life since they happened two years before and no one I knew had been involved.As his words soaked into my mind and heart, I grasped the effects the attackmight have on me.

"I had all the qualifications for the job, years ofpilot training and experience that would have surely secured me a job a coupleyears ago," he explained.

"Why didn't you get it?" Iinterjected, though I had a feeling I knew.

"After September 11,they don't want a Muslim flying their planes. The way things are going, I mightnot have a job for awhile." The words don't want a Muslim echoed through mymind. Would I suffer the same injustices? Would my identity keep me fromsuccess?

Sadly, my uncle is one of many American Muslims who have facedinjustice in employment, and consequently a loss of self-esteem, since September11. Mohammed Hussein, a Muslim pilot with an impressive record, was fired oneweek after the attacks because of his belief in Islam and his Arabic appearance3.As a child it was his dream to fly, which he diligently worked to accomplish.When asked about his feelings he replied, "After coming to America andrealizing my dream, to have it snatched away because of my religion and how Ilook is devastating. That is not America.2"

The discharge of KarimEl-Raheb, the general manager of a seafood restaurant, following the attacksbecause of his Egyptian descent is another example2. The extent of discriminationin this case was taken to such a level that the co-owner repeatedly askedEl-Raheb to change his name to "something Latin" because he "couldpass for Hispanic2." Although I can only imagine what it feels like to beencouraged to abandon one's identity, it is a reality for many Muslim Americanswho, like Karim El-Raheb, have lost faith in their ability to withstandprejudice.

By coming together and fighting the misconceptions about Islam,Muslims worldwide can build their confidence and fight discrimination. "Ifwe do not speak up to what is the Islamic idea of a moral life and we are cowedinto always being on the defensive just to prove that we are merely human, it'sno use talking in the name of Islam," says Seyyed Hossein Nasr of GeorgeWashington University3. It is important for Muslims to unite and build theirsense of worth and self-respect, because if they don't, no one will. Withoutunity and self-assurance, life would be far more deformed than if people lookthrough lemonade glasses.

References include info from1 www.dawanet.com, 2 www.eeoc.gov and 3 www.pakistanlink.com



Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 9 comments.


DayROSE25 said...
on Jun. 20 2013 at 5:45 pm
I had got a desire to start my own organization, but I did not have got enough amount of cash to do that. Thank goodness my mate said to take the loans. So I took the credit loan and made real my dream.

LINDSEYJune said...
on Jun. 20 2013 at 5:29 pm
If you want to buy a car, you would have to get the home loans. Furthermore, my brother commonly uses a credit loan, which is the most firm.

on Jun. 20 2013 at 4:23 pm
I had a dream to begin my own organization, however I didn't have enough amount of money to do that. Thank God my close fellow suggested to take the personal loans. So I used the small business loan and made real my old dream.

on Oct. 19 2012 at 5:55 pm
joecool101 PLATINUM, Brighton, Massachusetts
26 articles 0 photos 67 comments

Favorite Quote:
Think once and nothing will happen; think again and ideas will flow to your mind.

- Joshua Eibelman

I don't think you understand what you're saying. Radical Islam has declared war on "non'-believers" and this is a fact. The Taliban and other terrorist groups constantly take responsibility for attacks on inoccent people. Your words are ones of hatred, disrespect, and offend to an enormous degree the familis of the people who died in the September 11 attacks. You should not speak about what you don't know. Don't be a defender of radical Islam, terrorism, violence, hatred, and war.

on Oct. 19 2012 at 8:21 am
CrystalAngelDol SILVER, Queens, New York
7 articles 0 photos 37 comments

Favorite Quote:
Never tell your problems to anyone...20% don't care and the other 80% are glad you have them.
- Lou Holtz

AGREED! =)

on Oct. 19 2012 at 8:20 am
CrystalAngelDol SILVER, Queens, New York
7 articles 0 photos 37 comments

Favorite Quote:
Never tell your problems to anyone...20% don't care and the other 80% are glad you have them.
- Lou Holtz

it was an inside job, everybody who has common sense knows this

on May. 12 2011 at 12:08 pm
joecool101 PLATINUM, Brighton, Massachusetts
26 articles 0 photos 67 comments

Favorite Quote:
Think once and nothing will happen; think again and ideas will flow to your mind.

- Joshua Eibelman

you have to understand that radical Islam was behind the 9/11 attacks. This is a fact, and everyone who is in their right mind accepted this.

Jacksprak said...
on Jan. 31 2010 at 11:46 am
I really hate it when people desciminate against muslims. It doesn't seem right to me. a girl at my school named Padma was severely descriminated on, and she was one of my best friends. Was, because she was brutally attacked and left virginia to go back to her home state, texas. I really find we could do alot more good if we stopped descrimanation and came together to destroy the real terrorists. You just have to under stand that it could be christian extremists too, you know. I love this article and hope you can write more of your opinions in here, because your opinion is just what muslims need to heal.

on Oct. 4 2009 at 12:44 am
NorthernWriter, Fargo, North Dakota
0 articles 0 photos 326 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Only dead fish swim with the stream"

I believe in order to build confidence we need a positive image. Images of Muslims that come from the media aren't always right. We need to have media folks to define us, otherwise it's left up to others to define who we are.