As we all know the media has enough power and influence to move the masses. The media can easily sway the public opinion in any direction, whether that is for the better or worse. In the situation with Muslim Americans, picture the media as an overly hungry bear. The media constantly feeds off the public’s interest levels and there is no better way to keep people interested than by making situations controversial. By only associating negativity with Muslim Americans the media is subliminally encouraging the idea that Muslim Americans correlate to negativity. If I were to ask you to name two Muslim affiliated organizations the first two you would probably think of would be al Qaeda, and the Taliban but both organizations carry with them a deep negative connotation. But what about organizations such as The American Muslim (TAM), or Muslim American Society (MAS); these organizations help show the other side to Muslim Americans.
The Muslim American Society is found across the United States and works to promote equality and freedoms that everyone is guaranteed. This organization that roots itself within the community and helps give back to those they can. This organization depicts Islam in its proper fashion, not the typical extremist form that is commonly seen by the public. The American Muslim organization strives to promote peace and equality as well; however, this organization works by fostering a healthy environment for education. Through discussion and conversation this organization expresses the true meaning and intentions of Islam. These two organizations take nearly similar approaches to reach a common goal; to change the way the country and the world perceives Muslim Americans
I think it's great that you are pointing out other leader organizations of the Muslim faith. While most people won't ever say it outright in public, most people use the terms "terrorists" and "Muslims" as synonyms. There are so many differences in the religion based on the many interpretations of the Qur'an. If we really looked into our own assumptions about Islam, then we would probably see just how skewed our opinions of them are. America needs more education about Islam. The sooner we tune out the voice of the extremists and replace it with moderate Muslims, the better we will all be. We can’t typecast Muslims based on a small minority. More education on the other major Muslim organizations would help us overcome this.
ReplyDelete