This narrative begins by bringing to light a main issue in the Islamic world: modest dress. The speaker paints pictures of radical believers handing out pamphlets discussing how all good Muslims must reject Western ideas of "freedom, equality, liberation" that did nothing for women and went against their beliefs. These leaflets do not necessarily encourage wearing the headscarf or full-length, long-sleeved clothes, but insist that it is a command from Allah as if women were his slaves. This does nothing for the way the world views Islamic culture. The narrator goes on about how these radicals only enhance the hatred for the Muslim peoples of the world because this is all the media portrays. To step back and look at these radicals from an outsider's viewpoint, religion aside, they appear to be dangerous. The fact of the matter is, these people represent such a small portion of the population that, without the media's fuel, would largely go unnoticed, as many radical Christian movements in America go unnoticed. The way that the media portrays these radicals as a significant movement that most Muslims believe in and follow, it's no wonder why the world looks on the Islamic world in fright. If the media would show the truth, the reality of ordinary life in the Islamic world and faith, then perhaps these radicals would seem like less of a threat. How can we say that America is a melting pot, accepting of all cultures and traditions, if we succumb to believing such extremists are the whole embodiment of Islam?
This website offers viewers insight from Muslim voices on how wrongly they are perceived by the world. Stereotypes are created through fear and ignorance. Hopefully, as more and more Muslims speak up to the truth about their beliefs, we can become aware of how our ignorance has really created the Monster Muslim we think we know.
Muslim Voices
I really enjoyed reading this because of the way you compared the Muslim radicals to unnoticed Christian radicals. A VERY good point. Certain things are kept out of the public eye because they are less appealing and strike less curiosity. The media is a generally positive institution in our society but sometimes they just do bad things. But catering to the insult of another, and beautiful, culture such as Muslim is wrong and hopefully more people will understand Muslim people better.
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