As the race for the presidency continues, the public eye turns to scrutinize the remaining candidates. Some of the GOP frontrunners have blamed the Islamic religion for the actions of ISIS.
But ISIS has perverted the interpretation of Islam to portray their cruel actions.
As more of the candidates blame the Islamic religion for terrorist attacks such as the ones in Paris, this causes Muslims to be more discriminated against by the public.We need to stand up for the Muslim community because they are being mistreated by the American public.
Although ISIS stands for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, none of this holds true for the group anymore. The group has stretched far beyond the borders of Iraq and Syria, now reaching from the Mediterranean to Egypt.
The group claims their brutal actions in the name of Islam, but Islam promotes nonviolence with its followers. Holding such a large amount of the population responsible for the actions of the terrorist group endangers the rights Muslims have to their religion. By blaming the religion of Islam for these violent acts, people choose to ignore the real message of harmony and peace.
A stereotype of the Muslim community is that every follower is a closet terrorist, but a terrorist is someone who uses violence or force to intimidate a population. Everyday Muslims you see in society do not use force to influence people to follow their views. The people prejudiced against Muslims are often more violent than Muslims are by calling them names and harassing them as they carry on their everyday lives.
We have to dismiss the idea that Islam equals terrorism and stop unnecessarily persecuting those who are trying to express the religious views they have the right to.
Political entities such as Donald Trump and Ben Carson use their high rank in society to target Muslims and hold them accountable for actions that they are not involved in. Candidates like Jeb Bush have called out these claims against Muslims and call for the action of engaging in the Arab World to conquer ISIS. Officials like him haven’t used their societal power to attack Islam but rather focus the argument on more of what needs to be focused on, which is overcoming this terrorist group.
Standing up for those who are experiencing discrimination is the first step to be taken to alleviate the overall attitude of bigotry towards the Muslim community. Although this might sound intimidating, it will start the recovery of the hostility Muslims face every day.
Whether it’s calling out people for their discriminatory actions or becoming better educated on the religion, it’s important to start making a change. All it takes is that first step.
