Islamophobia Dismantled

I was only a kid when 9/11 happened. Fortunately, I was living in a safe enough environment that I didn't have to feel the societal reverberations of of 9/11, namely Islamophobia. In fact, I only found out about 9/11 many years later in my teenage years. But I knew the relatively sheltered environment I lived in was not to be taken for granted, especially as Islamophobia spread across the globe as 'Islamic' terrorism sprouted. Terrorism the likes of Al-Qaeda, ISIS and the many groups that had 'Islamic' or Arabic names undoubtedly shook my faith, as I'm sure it did to many. To be honest I don't blame those who had a negative impression of Islam. Every horrific act of terrorism that came out in the news and singling out the Quran or hadith without context, coupled with the propaganda machine just cemented the idea in the minds of the masses that Muslims are indeed terrorists.

It was only by educating myself of firstly my religion and secondly world events that I came to the conclusion that it was all just propaganda. In fact, I'll even go the extra mile and daresay that in terms of hate, fear and war-mongering, Muslims are last on the list. After going through the myriad of 'terror' groups I learned that many of the 'terrorist' groups were actually politically driven. Whether a group was just fighting to survive, freedom fighters, rebels, or just plain outright power hungry is a story for another day. The fact is that many used Islam to theologically and morally justify their actions. Many Muslim leaders go to the opposite end and try to water the religion to dissociate Islam from violence, but it was only after having a good, truthful look at Islam was I able to come to terms with the issue of jihad. But that's for another day too.

So with theology out of the way, I wanted to ask myself: "Why?" Why is this happening to us? And then I started to put the pieces together. I'm not going to list it here, but you can do it yourself by reflecting on these 3 points, each leading to another: 1) The not-so-very conspiracy theory that 9/11 was an inside job, 2) the supporters of terrorist groups and 3) the ease at which the West exploited the Middle East for land, money and influence. Whatever it may be, I still found it at odds for the religion so closely linked to terror and violence was at the same time be seen as some of the most 'welcoming, polite and friendly' by those who experienced living in a Muslim country. Even more astonishing is the fact that people, even in the West, Islam converts are on the rise.

True practicing Muslims that uphold the Law are contributing members of society.

May Allah instil in us love of that which Islam has brought, amin.

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