i edited my paper so i hope you like it and understand it!
Stereotypes are generalizations, or assumptions, sometimes based on the defense mechanism 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 images could be positive or negative. However, 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.
Where are most of our stereotypes coming from? If you think about it for a sec, you will realize that almost everyone in the US has a television. and so almost everyone watches it.Theres so much, these days, about how muslims are terrorists and about how muslims are commanded to kill the “infidel”, so I believe we get most of our stereotypes from the media. The media is trying to brainwash people into thinking that there are only categories of people. We don’t have to go ahead and meet them because we think we know what they will be like when we really have no idea what they are like, and, God forbid, it’s a sin to walk up to a person and meet them, right?
Why is stereotyping so easy to promote? I have two reasons. There could be more, though. The media definitely takes advantage of the fact that people are ignorant. They have no prior knowledge of the subject. They won’t know if it’s right or wrong. Some people are like sheep and believe what the media tells them, and don’t think for themselves. So the people in the media say, “Lets give them the knowledge, and they will believe anything we say because they won’t know if it’s right or wrong.” This is obviously way they promote the stereotypes of islam.
And another reasons is fear. The media promotes these stereotypes by repetition, so over and over we see those stereotypes. That’s how people learn these stereotypes. People have lived with these stereotypes for quite sometime now, and they start to get afraid because they start believing those stereotypes, and when people are afraid of something, they tend to keep away from it. My impression is that racist people are afraid that african americans will rob them because they show that a lot in the media. People are afraid to admit that they are gays because they are afraid to be hated on by their family and friends and society, so they hate on them back. People are afraid to admit that they are ocd or schizophernic because of the stigma that the mentally ill have because of the media. They show a lot of mentally ill people as wild and crazy and they need to be institionalized because they are crazy. People are afraid to be identified as muslim because of the stigma that the muslims have.
And these stereotypes promote prejudices, not that the media wants the people to be prejudice against the muslims. “According to the social identity perceptive, self esteem depends on both personal and social identity. Social identity refers to the pride derive from membership in various groups. The theory purposes that self esteem can be undermined by either threat to personal identity or social identity. Threats to both personal and social identity may motivate efforts to restore self esteem, but threats to social identity are more likely to provoke responses that promotes prejudices and discrimination. When social identity is threatened, individuals may react in two ways to bolster it. one common response is to show ingroup favoritism, for example, tapping an ingroup member for a job opening, or rating the performance of an ingroup member higher than that of an outgroup member. A second common reaction is to engage in outgroup derogation, in other words, to “trash” outgroup that are perceived as threatening. Outgroup derogation is more likely when people identify especially strongly with the threatened ingroup. When people degorate an outgroup, they tend to feel superior as a result, and this feeling helps to affirm self worth. These unfortunate reactions are not inevitable, but threats to social identity represent yet another dynamic process that can foster prejudice.”
And its much easier for people to use outgroup derogating, because its easier to trash talk people that are not from your “kind” because it’s more accessible. Not many people could do ingroup favoritism because there’s not a lot of opportunities to do it. And people do tend to feel superior and so that helps with their self-esteem because everyone want to feel good and superior to another person.
The most common stereotyped people today is the Muslim people. So people hate on Islam because of all the stereotypes out there, and because it makes them feel superior since they are not “savages,” like all the muslims are. And they are much more “civilized” than the Muslims are. Its much easier to trash talk Islam then to find out the truth and then spread it around.
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 an image in their heads about the religion of Islam and then project it to all the Muslim people and mainly on the religion of Islam. If one think about it, they will see how unfair it is for a Muslim, actually for anyone, living in Western society may feel about these very unfair stereotypes that the media is projecting on Islam and the Muslim people as a whole.
Now people think that Muslims are terrorist and they think that Muslims are bad people. The holy book is the Qur’an and 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 or going to bars and having boyfriends and having fun and running around in the streets. So people think and assume that 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 there’s no education and think that the only reason that there’s no education is that they are so “poor.” 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 to make their stereotypes and prejduices possible, they use the concept of identifying against. One can see that everyone has an identity. Some people form their identity by identitying against. To identify against, first we define the “other” and then we define themselves as “not the other.” The media gives these stereotypes and people now believe that the Muslims ar terrorists and carry bombs and people are not terrorist and people don’t carry bombs. So people who don’t think for themselves think that the Muslims are “savages” and would kill anyone in sight. That makes them not want to convert to such a peaceful religion such as Islam and people don’t want to be identified as Muslim because it’s associated with all these bad images in the media and the overused word of terrorism.
These are some common 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?
If they are so unhappy with the rules that God put on them, then when why don’t they just convert to Christianity or Judaism? They would be a lot happier, huh?
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. And you must be asking yourself, “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, and one could even die from drinking too much alcohol, which would be exactly like suicide and if you killed yourself, you would be going to the most bottom part of hell, which is what the Muslims believe. 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 and that patience is a virtue. 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 in the world. Being selfish and greedy 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. Again, if Muslim women are so oppressed, then why don’t they convert to another religion? 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 men from their work. Men actually get their work done instead of paying attention or 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. So if that is taken away, then they are not tempted to persue the women in front of them.
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. Men 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. I didn’t even know what the word hijack mean. 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, even though some people think it is. It is at war with one country, Iraq. They have something that the United States wants, which is a small three letter word, but it makes a big difference, oil. So the United States gets jealous because it doesn’t have any 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 and muslim are commanded by God to “kill all the infidels.”
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! I didnt even know what was an infidel until like very recently. Five to eight million muslims live here in the united states today. So if islam really taught violence, then ask yourself, “WHERE IS THE VIOLENCE?” So all that kill all the infidel stuff is nonsense, because if it was true, then HOW WOULD THE CHRISTIANS AND JEWS LIVE GENERATION AFTER GENERATION FOR 1400 YEARS IN THE MIDDLE EAST? AND THEY STILL LIVE IN THE MIDDLE EAST! THINK ABOUT IT! THINK ABOUT IT! THINK ABOUT!
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 commandent. They both believe in the end of the world and Judgment Day. They both believe in Abraham, peace on him, and his son Issac 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.
Muslim people are forced to make the non muslims convert and they treat the non muslims bad if they don’t convert.
We are not forced to make non muslims convert. We are not telling them to convert and we don’t have guns to their heads if the don’t convert. Treatment of people who refuse to convert to islam is the same as all the other people. Muslim don’t treat people who wont convert like dogs and then the people who are converting or are already Muslim like angels, same with the people who divert away from islam. If they want to divert, it’s going to be their problem in the future, not ours. We treat all people alike. If they dont want to convert, bravo! Its their choice, not ours.
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. The media is giving wrong information to the people and it’s not fair that the media is doing that. However, 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 because there are a lot of Muslim women at my college. People need to start thinking for themselves and stop letting the media dicate to them what to think and how to react to it.
