Due to pressures in the media and society, the Muslim Student Association is attempting to stimulate thought and discussion with a panel on “Islamaphobia in America.” The association is seeking to conduct a healthy discourse on Islam and the perceptions of Islam in the media. This is a great opportunity for non-Muslim and Muslim students a like to see where the other is coming from and realize that Islam is more than a religion, it is people.
First and foremost people deserve to be respected, no matter their religion, race, sexual orientation or otherwise. The bottom line is people are people. People don’t always agree, people don’t always get along, but for society to move forward, people have to move on. As college students that are a part of a heterogeneous campus, we have an opportunity to interact with people from a world we would only see through the media. Next time biased thoughts creep up, remember the people around you can prove them wrong.
September 11 is a sore spot for Americans. A country was brought to its knees by a small group of Muslim extremists. However, these few should not represent the majority and Americans, from whatever religion, should remember this. Just because the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist group, engaged in acts of terrorism in the past doesn’t mean all white people were or still are racist supremacists. People and cultures change and not all people are represented by a minority.
As a society we watch the media and our perceptions are shaped by it, no matter what we think. This means education is key. Even before the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. was at war with the Middle East, where majority of the population identifies as Muslim. Current students grew up seeing the U.S. fight against the Middle Eastern countries and struggle with, what many saw as foreign, social justices present in their cultures. While not all students identify with this group of people, they should recognize what they don’t know or understand and seek to find out why so they can come to a better understanding about the people behind it.
Students at N.C. State have shown they can be tolerant and can actively seek to educate themselves. They have shown they can advocate for social change, but it starts with the individual. Each one of us must educate ourselves and understand and come to terms with differences between what might be a different culture. We can truly move forward and begin to tackle the true problems that affect everyone in the world, not just our backyard.
