Stereotyping Muslims

[Motor Cycle Cruiser]

Last week I attended a diversity training mandated by my employer. At some point in the training there was an exercise about stereotyping certain groups. Muslims were one of those groups, the participants were asked to jot down the first thing that came to their minds as soon as the category was revealed. Here what 30 educated and (somewhat intelligent) people said about Muslims:

 

Scary

Arabs

Religious

Dark

Different

Peaceful

Islam

People in the Middle East

Ali (The boxer I guess)

War Mongers

Argumentative

Extremist

Have more than one wife

People with lots of oil

Very peaceful and certainly miss-understood (That was my two cents)

Long bearded

Suicidal

Dress funny

Crazy

 

I guess if this is what 30 educated Americans think of Muslims I hate to know what the ignorant ones think. The sad part is no matter how much diversity and sensitivity training these people go thru at the end of the day they will go back to their white suburbia settings and get fed more and more fallacies from the main stream media about other cultures and religions that are different from theirs.

 

Just sharing, comments are welcome and feel free to share any positive or negative stereotyping you may have heard.

 

Positive vibrations please…

[Abdinuur]

It saddens me whenever I hear people stereotyping Muslims and Islam or anything that they do not know anything about. They do not read about Islam in articles and Encyclopedias written by non-Muslims.

 

We can write to newspaper articles or news magazines whenever they write any fallacies about Islam, likewise with the Media. We need to be aware of this because in today’s society, people are tuned in more with the Media and we need voice our opinions whenever necessary.

 

Peace and Love.

[Ariadne]

instead of writing a paragraph long of how horrible it is I realized things like this not too long ago that the some PC Liberals are the biggest most stereotypical hate mongers and some of them are severly racist but very good at covering it up...what a sad world we live in

and ALL stereotypes suck but the ones against muslims affect us the most......

[Alisomali]

Indeed we are put in a bad light in the West but we should know one thing, that no matter what Islamaphobes say all that matters is what WE do. If you are a genuine good person it should'nt matter what the racist bigots say. But the hard thing is to most people it matters.

[Filsaneey]

I agree with you MCC, I was with my friend the other day she is white, muslim wearing hijaab, and this guy came to her and said " you are too white to be muslim" so that is how this foreing ppl think about muslim when they don't nothing about them especially stupit Americans...

 

peace.

[SCORPION_SISTA]

long time no see MCC but i see u doing very well.

I have to say i am not suprised about what those intelligents ppl thought about muslims, cause let's face it before those attacks happened any terrorist movies i remember watching they were arabs, i didn't see no american indians or jews or europeans taking planes or buildings as hostages. And i think that with 9/11 attacks it just pushed the paranoia upfront in their mentality, i guess it made fiction into reality. one of the other thing i believe that the media and movies made american confused about it was it made no distinction between being muslim and islam. u always hear in the movies "it was the wish of allah for us to kill these people" and soforth, where it was simply some groups that made concious decision that they hated these americans and therefore they would target some of the things that america stands for, so most americans think that islam as religion encourges if not demands or promotes violence toward others so i guess then the americans have hard time seeing islam as the peacfull true religion it is.

i think that more true exposure of islam is a must and also that we as muslim should follow our teachings and just say to non-muslims "i don't worship what u whorship nor do u whorship what i whorship, u have ur religion and i have my religion" and let it be the end, rather than some violence acts that furthers nothing.

i think if islamic worlds have extreme griviens with the americans, they should unite and go to an official war, where soldiers fight and it could truly be called "jihad" in the true sense of the word.

gosh again i am writing too much, but anyways here is my 1 1/2 cents again. peace.

[X.Playa]

I think its mostly true and its all due to Arabs. Arabs been most visible Muslims and well known, they tend to contribute to this image of Islam.

 

1- Islam is centered in Arab region.

 

2- Islam politically is used by Arabs.

 

3- Founer of Islam was an Arab.

 

4- Most holly places of Islam are located in Arab regions.

 

Add all that and you will get an fanatic terrorist image of Islam, all due to Arabs. Don't blame well fed Americans, the majurity of Muslims have alloud Arabs to hijack an entire religion for their own cause. Take for example Saudi Arabia a nation that exprots its fanatic version of Islam with harsh Wahaabi creed, trains millions of Musilm students , supports thousand fanatics around the world all for the benefit of the Saudi Royal family to look Islamic and hide under Islam.

 

Its sad but Islam is known for :

 

1- Ignorance, Islam doesn't tolerate freedom of religion and freedom of choice.

 

2- Islam doesn't tolerate freedom of women. It don't matter how you cut it, Islam doesn't give women much regard, from Nigeria to Afghanistan Islam is preoccupied by who slept with who and what women wore, an entire religion that is based on gaurding women's private parts, indeed its a shame.

 

3- Islam is well known for its harsh premitive practices such as stonning to death, ambutations, beheadings, flogging..etc.

 

We have to reform Islam and give it a better image or leave it for the Arabs , you can't stone men and women to death and expect to be treated like a civilized human being...period.

[Pujah.]

AND WHAT RELIGION DO YOU PRACTICE.....CUZ I'M SURE IT IS NOT ISLAM DANG SOME PPLE GO TOO FAR :mad:

 

WHAT DO YOU MEAN "WE HAVE TO REFORM ISLAM"...WHO GAVE YOU THE AUTHORITY TO QUESTION ALLAH'S WISH

SUBXANALAAH

[X.Playa]

easy butterfly,

 

its a debate, have your point without been fanatical or you would prove my afore mentioned problems about Islam .

 

Take this as an example, in the old testment the Jews laws exactly match what is today Islamic Shari'a, from stonning fornicators, cutting hands of theifs and beheadings , but yet the Jews and Christians have evolved into modern socity and learn to deal with these social problems with todays morlas and ethics with better results, why are the Musilms stuck up in pre-Islamic Arabia and Casr Al Jaahili Imriu Alqeys style i have no idea...and we should debate that, its all about image consider the Sufi mysticm compared to Wahaabi and Xanbali harsh dry Islam....thats if you are educated enough about Islam.

[-Serenity-]

Correction there X.Playa, we have to reform MUSLIMS NOT ISLAM.

I do think a little more leniency with the law wouldnt do much harm.

However, you're wrong on all three accounts there...

1. Islam is not known for ignorance...maybe people's ignorance about Islam.

2.Islam protects its women...thought sometimes the enforcers of law go a little to far in implementing these rules. Its useless 2 FORCE a woman to wear the Islamic clothing if her heart doesn't desire. Similarly, jobs and education are a must and her choice.

3.I dont know about KSA but where I live (rest of the Arab world), I've NEVER heard of such a thing let alone seen it.

 

Your entire criticism of Islam revolves around your hate for Arabs.... :rolleyes: what a pity!

[Jamila79]

Athena well said bro

x.playa, bro if you question the unquestionable you may end up leaving your fate.

 

Wa Salaam

[X.Playa]

Athena you are very naive you can't reform Muslims for most Wadaad's abide by Islam when it comes to hand choping, stonning and flogging, unless you disregard these premitive Semetic laws a spade would be a spade.

 

Arabs are the scum of erath and the Quraan attest to that " Ina Acraabi Ashad Kufran Wa Jahlan" meaning the " Arabs have the worst of infidelity and ignorance traits".

 

Most of relgion around the world are peacfull, only Islam tend to wage war from centeral Asia to Nigeria and the Phlipines. Go to the local mosque and you will se an Arab Wadaad wearing "diric" frothing and foaming form the corner of his mouth like a raging camel cursing every humabeing on earth under the term of "gaalo" and requst the "Mumuniin" to say "Aamiin" , it never occured to this foaming donkey that if he had any mercy for his fellow muslims and humanity at large maybe he wouldn't have an enemy after all.

 

What i don't understand about these premitive Arabs , with all their education and wealth how come it never occured to them to change their system of governing within , intstead of crying "Alaahu Akbar" and blowing poor Africans in some poor country like Kenya.

 

God may curse the effeminate Arabs , they have shamed Islam and Muslims so much that today just because Somalis share the same faith with them we are hunted and every where, even the USA soon will place somalia under nations sponsoring terrorism. They have kicked and humilated every Muslim in this world and when we have escaped their god for saken desert , they still follow us with their "terrorism" and use of Islam for their own agenda.

 

Till the Majority of Muslims take over Islam from the Arabs the image of Islam will be depicted and seen as an Arab wearing Diric with 4 women and a camel,. One can't even imagine how these Arabs brainwashed the naive among us so much that only the Wadaad in Mecca from certain house of Qurayshia such as the late "Binbaaz" can give the ultimate "Fatwa" what an arrogance.

[Hibo]

Its true that Islam is the only religion not to have undergone a reformation. Christianity and Judasim did just that. Many leading muslim intellectuals have stated that Islam needs reformation. Why are somalis getting so worked up about it. Even your arab mentors have realised that Islam needs reformation.

[Thinkerman]

so wot exactly would u reform x-player, would u for example make halal interest prvide for laws that protect and indeed promote homosexuality as alright because this is the kind of issues that am sure some one as intilligine as u would no would arise, and where will it all end

[Paragon]

Bollocks to those of you who talk of reformation

 

Islam needs not reformation coz it is the truth itself. You can only change the wrong to right, the stray to straight. Not the stright to astray.

 

By suggesting Islam has to be reformed, is suggesting we go astray.