Muslim Discrimination on the Rise

Since the presidential appointment of President Obama, America was believed to reach a higher acceptance of one another. The facts today point in the opposite direction with Steven Greenhouse's article on religious discrimination. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission receives complaints of job loss, degrading slurs, and unsatisfactory conditions for Muslims. 

“There’s a level of hatred and animosity that is shocking,” said Mary Jo O’Neill, regional attorney of the E.E.O.C.’s Phoenix office. “I’ve been doing this for 31 years, and I’ve never seen such antipathy toward Muslim workers.”

How can America be called progressive, if Americans live in the shadow of prejudice against those of a certain religion? The general public cannot hide behind the fact that the president is black and give the overall sentiment that Muslim prejudice is okay because the offense is minor. When a radical person, such as Terry Jones, presumes that the country is behind him on an outlandish proposal, America reflects intolerance.

“In America right now, there are intense concerns about many issues — immigration, the faltering economy, the interminable wars” and the erroneous belief, held by many Americans, that the first nonwhite president is Muslim, said Akbar Ahmed, a professor of Islamic studies at American University.

Whatever the reasons may be, the attitude must change if the population can work together to face bigger challenges on the horizon. Although religion and race make individuals different, the instinct to move forward and to be a shining example for the world, is American.