The Issues Surrounding Muslims in the West - Term Paper Example

 Discuss some of the issues surrounding Muslims in the west and how do they compare to Muslims living in Muslim/Arab countries? It is an undeniable reality that the Muslim minorities living in the West are confronted with myriad potentially disturbing issues and obstacles compared to other Muslims living in Muslim countries. This is the kind of subject which has not sunken into the depths of anonymity with changing times, but continues to attract considerable attention throughout the world. General consensus is that Islam is one of the fastest growing religions in the world and the number of Muslims continues to drastically increase every year with particularly high surge noticed in the Western world. Still, it is quite unfortunate that the Western media has largely stuck to quite a prejudiced and controversial approach in portraying Muslims over time which has only served to aggravate the already devastated conditions encountered by masses of innocent Muslims living in the US and European countries. There is no denying the fact that everyday Muslims in the West are marginalized for the actions of a few extremist groups. This essay is basically an attempt to scrutinize what the growing body of contemporary literature has to say on the subject of notorious issues surrounding Muslims in the West and reflect on why they are made victims of an inevitable scandalous propaganda. It is an established however grave reality that in the present day world, more and more people are losing their patience with religions and all the vivacious debates that come along with them. People are tired of listening to animated critics arguing among themselves on whose religion is better than whom and do not care much about what is the reality of each major religion in this age of fierce competitiveness and materialism. Even the Western countries today cannot be called primarily Christian countries because majority is composed of secular people leaning towards atheism. In such circumstances, it has become substantially hard for practicing Muslims living in the West to convey their message, fears, concerns, and requirements to largely unresponsive and nonchalant non-Muslim majorities. It is virtually impossible for them to get significantly unreligious non-Muslims pay attention to the obstacles encountered by them let alone remake their minds about Islam. It is not just following 9/11, but long before that sorry incident Muslims in the Western countries have remained victims of unjustified aggression. However, it is true that western aggression and intolerance picked momentum after 9/11 attacks and the rate of issues targeting innocent Muslims reached its climax. Despite many empty arguments put forward by prominent Western politicians that their problem is not with Islam, truth is that practicing Muslims are more under attack than non-practicing Muslims. Hijab is a highly sacred Islamic practice for Muslim women and the routine adamant Western contempt and criticism for this practice is highly objectionable. Muslim women engaged in relentless struggle to defend their right to observe hijab are shamelessly ridiculed by the Western media especially in France where they are not given any room to be vocal about their concerns and are vehemently repressed. It is almost as if both the public and government in France fear hijab more than any other social evil of the most horrendous and abominable kind. They detest this one of the most fundamental rights of Muslim women more than they abhor the astonishing rate of rapes committed in their societies. This scarf controversy in France is a definite and sorry attack on freedom of many Muslim women who intend to interfere with no one’s peace of mind by observing veil. It is worth mentioning here that the French nation and rest of the Western public is less to blame for this attack on Muslim women’s freedom than several government and law enforcement agencies which continue to turn a blind eye to real facts. There are such pronounced riots witnessed in France every now and then but the angry headscarf war continues to thrive ceaselessly. This war continues to make to the top of French political debate even after 10 years when girls were first banned from wearing veils in French state schools since 2004. That hijab ban was followed by even more unjustified and controversial 2011 law banning veil from all public places by Nicholas Sarkozy which became an epitome of the Western detest for followers of Muhammad. This situation is made worse by the negative approach taken by western media and how it discusses very serious issues faced by Muslims either disparagingly or insouciantly. The headscarf is a simple piece of fabric virtually incapable of tarnishing a society’s reputation, but it is presented by the media as a highly dangerous weapon of mass destruction capable of wreaking havoc in society. This war has become a French obsession and still continues to make headlines as “MPs are now considering passing a new, tighter law limiting the professions in which headscarves can be worn” (Chrisafis). What serves to complicate the situation further is that this resolute hatred for several fundamental rights of Muslims stems not from fake arguments of a few biased groups alone, but a great number of popular politicians and scholars are also seen arguing against Islam and not extremism which should actually be ostracized. The globally acclaimed book “Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World” authored by Carl Ernst is worth mentioning in the context of tumultuous issues targeting the Western Muslims because it unveils many moving and informative aspects to this subject. It strains to convey this message that Islam is not a faith of extremism but one of peace and tolerance which is why Muslims should not be condemned from observing hijab or demanding halal meat no matter where they live. The author casually but intelligently discusses why Muslims living in non-Muslims countries are discriminated against by the Christian majorities and why nothing concrete is done by official authorities to put a stop to this ongoing propaganda. It is because the job of portraying Muslims is unfortunately in the hands of a few highly prejudiced non-Muslim groups who go to any length to paint even the most innocent Muslim citizens in the darkest shades possible. They do this to satisfy their inner satanic urges but their actions have deep-rooted consequences witnessed in countless hardships handled by a great number of Muslims. The routine misrepresentation of various Islamic practices like jihad, hijab, and prayers is one major form of attack on peace and freedom of Muslims in the West by some very evil groups who have no faith themselves and are intent on creating endless distances between Muslims and non-Muslims. There are many remarkable examples of Islamophobic hysterias in the US also which identify how Muslims there too are faced with myriad problematic and even painful issues. Ground Zero Mosque or Park51 Controversy is one such recent example of very illogical Western obsession with freedom of Muslims who seek recognition within the US. This controversy explains how relations between Muslims and non-Muslims within the US are becoming worse with passing times. Ground Zero Mosque Imams claim that the building will be built near the World Trade Center site despite Western criticism and negative reactions. It is popularly claimed by the American critics and opponents of the Park51 project that building a mosque or an Islamic center near World Trade Center is a vicious insult on all victims of 9/11 incident which is totally illogical but can make sense if appraised from a highly prejudiced mind. Blaming the entire Muslim community for unforgivably brutal activities of some Muslim fanatics is empty mockery but sadly this is the most pervasive thought thriving in the Western society. Answering wickedness by even more wickedness is not a wise strategy but one that quite effectively makes lives of millions of Muslims living abroad unbelievably miserable. According to Siddiqui, Muslims around the world are faced with disturbing issues because they are not properly understood by others especially in non-Muslim countries, which explains why there is a greater need now than ever before to acknowledge what the Qur’an has to say. In her highly thought-provoking book “How to Read the Qur’an authored by Siddiqui, it is discussed why a drastically new and innovative approach is required to understand Islam not just for the benefit of Muslims but for education of non-Muslims as well. Many wars between Muslims and non-Muslims can come to an end if it is realized that the Qur’an is not an enemy, but a glorious solution which is not solely meant for Muslims but anyone interested in overcoming many attractive evils of this world can refer to it. One major amazing aspect of this book is that it is entirely unchanged and no modifications are included in it as is the case with Bible. So, the contemporary non-Muslim world can really benefit a lot from what original message is contained in this book and realize that Muslims in the western world mean no harm by being able to practice their faith like observing veil or offering prayers. Because the Qur’an strongly defends the message of tolerance and stresses that everyone from any religious background should face no hurdles in practicing their faith, spreading the message to understand this book could be a great start to setting angry affairs between Muslims and non-Muslims on the right track. There is a very beautiful collection of invaluable ideas in the sacred book of Muslims which can serve as an eye-opener even for the most stone-hearted and biased of all. This is why Siddiqui infinitely stresses on the importance of reading and understanding the Qur’an and introduces a multitude of ways in her book to encourage non-Muslims to appreciate the message of Qur’an. Compared to issues faced by Muslims in the Western world as discussed already, women in Muslim countries are seen fighting for entirely different reasons. While no restriction of any kind is exerted on hijab on any level in the Muslim/Arab countries, they are encouraged more to stay inside their homes than going out and working in offices. In stark contrast to Muslim women in non-Muslim countries, those in Muslim countries are frowned upon and even ridiculed when they express the desire to work professionally after working so hard through colleges. They are appreciated when after earning a good college degree, they opt to stay within the boundaries of their homes and look after their families. Compared to that, women in non-Muslim countries regardless of their religious backgrounds have same rights for education and employment as men. Controversy arises only with the insistence on observing purdah, while in Muslim countries controversy arises for Muslim women at nearly every step of life whenever she wills to protect her personality and her right to work for example. In addition to honor killings which are sadly still rampant in many parts of Muslim countries, myriad Muslim women everyday are threatened with the blackmail of divorce by angry husbands when they refuse to leave their jobs and work professionally. If great attention should be paid to granting Muslims their fundamental rights in non-Muslim countries, it is equally important to upgrade the status of certain disadvantaged Muslim groups in Muslim/Arab countries also. Adherence to the real message of Islam as identified in the Qur’an is required both in the Muslim and Western world to improve the living status of Muslims. Only thorough understanding of this book can clear nasty confusions and resolve many issues faced by Muslims in Muslim and non-Muslim countries. Concluding, this much becomes clear from the above discussion that rethinking Islam and portraying Muslims in a positive light as a way of closing the rift between Muslims and contemporary non-Muslim community is critically important to handle tragic issues encountered by millions of Muslims. With continued silence and no vocal objection, a rift can stretch into an abyss which is the need to reconsider the real message advocated by Islam for the betterment of both followers of Muhammad and other people from diverse religious backgrounds cannot be ignored. Claiming that a majority of Muslims living in the contemporary Western world is quite defenseless and desperately seeks recognition would not be a hyperbolic statement given many momentous obstacles stopping the practicing Muslims from openly observing their faith. Works cited: Chrisafis, Angelique. “France’s headscarf war: ‘It’s an attack on freedom’” The Guardian. 22 Jul. 2013. Web. 04 Nov. 2013. Ernst, Carl. Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World. USA: University of North Carolina Press, 2003. Print. Siddiqui, Mona. How to Read the Qur’an. London: Norton & Company, 2008. Print. Read More