Stereotypes are generalizations, or assumptions, sometimes based on projection, that people make about the characteristics of all members of a group, based on an image about what people in that group are like. The image is often wrong and doesn’t take one person into account. It can lead to prejudice and might even lead to discrimination. There are stereotypes about every culture and every religion in the world, the Indians, the Asians, the English, the French. But the most common stereotyped people today is the Muslim people.
Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. If one did research about Islam, one will find that out. If one does research about Islam and listens to what the media, like television, says about Islam, they will find two completely different images. One very common image that the media portrays the Muslims as terrorists. We carry bombs and we do all the killings. From these images on televison, people create negative stereotypes about Islam and the Muslim people as a whole.
Now people think that Muslims are terrorist and they think that Muslims are bad people. They follow what the Qur’an says, so the Qur’an must preach violence. They see the women wearing the hijab and “restricting” their freedom to show off their bodies. And they don’t see any women going to drunken parties and having boyfriends and having fun in the streets. So people think the women are oppressed and they should be “freed” from that oppression. They look at images on the television and see how “poor” the Arab world is and think there’s no schools and everyone is running in the streets. And so they make the conclusion that no one is learning anything, especially women. They think that Islam doesn’t believe in Jesus, peace on him, since Islam doesn’t believe that he is the son of God or anything.
And one has an identity and one forms that identity by identitying against. To identify against, first we define the “other” and then we define themselves as “not the other.” People believe that the Muslims ar terrorists and carry bombs and people are not terrorist and people don’t carry bombs.
These are some of the stereotypes the Islam as a religion has.
All Muslim women are oppressed.
To tell you the truth, Muslim women are not oppressed.
If Muslim women are so oppressed, then why dont they just convert to another religion?
Yes, Muslims don’t drink at bars and women wear the scarf, but Muslims believe that God put those rules for a reason. Muslims believe that God doesn’t want us to be tempted to do bad stuff. If you take away the temptation, you’re not tempted. Why does He put the temptation there in the first place? He wants to see if people like us will listen to Him.
Muslims are freed from having to make bad decision that will sometimes change their lives, like drinking. When people drink, they very often lose control of themselves and they could do stuff that are uncalled for, and on top of that, alcohol gives you a lot of problems in the future. One does get addicted to alcohol, so one spends a lot of money on alcohol. If one drinks too much, one could pass out. If one drinks and drives, one could get into an accident. In the long run, alcohol causes so many health problems, one of them being liver damage. One’s liver is one of the most important organ in the body.
We pray five times a day, so that we could think of God all the time. Many Christians only go to church on Sunday and think of God only then. Muslims fast in the month of Ramadan from even before sunrise to sunset; one of the reasons is learn self control. Another reason is to feel what the poor people have and to think of food as a gift instead of a necessity, like people always do. Muslim give alms, so that we don’t think we are the richest people. Greediness is common around people.
Muslims believe that God put rules. If you follow them, you will be saved, in this life and in the one after.
True feminists should work to free the Muslim women.
From what? There’s nothing to be freed from. We are not oppressed, so there’s not we need to be freed from. They are actually a lot happier than any other religion, because again, the temptation is taken away. They call Islam a backwards, tradition religion, but what is wrong with being traditional?
Muslim women are forced to cover their heads.
Wearing the hijab is in the Qur’an, but Muslims are not forced to do it. Our dads don’t have a gun at our heads saying that if we don’t do it, he will shoot. Not all the Muslim wear the hijab. The hijab takes commitment. One can not wear it one day and take it off the next.
The hijab is a beautiful thing. One who wears it doesn’t have to worry about how their hair looks in the morning. But one who wear it should cover everything except their hand and face, unless their face is beautiful, then they also have to cover it. If you are beautiful, it’s better to hide it than show it off. When women are all out there showing everything, they are usually called sluts and whores and hoes. One who wears it gets a lot more respect than one who flaunts their stuff. Wearing the hijab doesn’t distract the guy from his work. Men actually get their work done instead of thinking about the women next to him. Men treat women who wear the hijab like a person, instead of being distracted by her beauty. Wearing the hijab is also an attitude and a behavior rather than only just a fashion statement.
The concept here is temptation, too. Men are tempted to pursue a woman by her beauty. Men are usually looking for a short term relationship after they pursue the woman.
Muslim women are generally not allowed to be educated.
That’s the silliest stereotype there is. It’s very hard for a Muslim to fathom how did that become a stereotype. Why would God not want Muslims women to be educated? Education for Muslim women is no sin. Women have the same rights to be educated as men do. Muslim women do too. Women go to college and even pursue their own careers. Muslim women do too. Edcuation in the Arab world is a actually a duty. It’s a duty to educate men and women alike! Is that really hard to believe? In fact, my mom came all the way to the United States just for our education. Besides without education, where would Muslim women be?
Most Muslims support terrorism.
If you took a survey to give to all Muslims in the world and ask them this question, you will find that about 98% don’t support it. Muslims DON’T support terrorism. I don’t support terrorism. Heck! I didn’t even know the word existed before September 11, 2001. Muslim actually hate the word terrorism. It’s so overused. Thats is just the propaganda that is on the televsion trying to brainwash you folks to thinking that, to give the United States justification to go into Iraq. The United States is not at war with the religion. It is at war with one country, Iraq. They have something that the United States wants. So the United States gets jealous and makes up all these stories about the Muslim people. And people use to defense mechanism of projection. The government “hates” the Muslim people and so the United States “hates” the Muslim people. So in return, they think the Muslim people “hate” them, when it is completely the opposite.
Islam preaches voilence.
If Islam did preach violence, then why are Muslims on the news right now? Why werent Muslims on the news before September 11, 2001? If it did preach violence, we would have been on the news since television news started. And beside the literal translation ofthe word Islam is “peace and submission to God.” It preaches voilence and yet its the fastest growing religion in the world. Come on, people, think!
Islam and Christianity have no common beliefs.
Islam and Christianity both belief that there’s a God. They both know Jesus, peace on him, but Islam dont believe that he’s the son of God. If he was the son of God, that means God was married and He had kids. Thats the literal translation of the son of God. They both believe in Adam, peace on him, and Eve and Noah, peace on him, and the flood. They both believe in Moses, peace on him, and the ten commandment. They both believe in the end of the world and Judgement Day. They both believe in Abraham, peace on him, and his son and that he almost sacrificed his son because God told him to. Islam even had a day where we celebrate that day, which is the big Eid. So they have so many common beliefs.
So in conclusion, all these stereotypes are wrong and if one want to know the truth, one has to do his own research because not all what the media says is true. It doesn’t take a rocker scientist to figure out that Islam preaches violence or know that Muslim women are not getting educated are false. People need to start thinking for themselves and stop letting the media dicate to them what to think and how to react to it.
