“During the 2008 US presidential election campaign, the religious affiliation of the Democratic nominee, Senator Barack Obama, became a matter of intense public speculation. In a bid to torpedo his candidacy, some of the Senator’s opponents claimed that his loyalty to the United States was suspect. His Muslim roots, they said, rendered him unfit for the nation’s highest office. Although the Senator refuted these allegations by asserting that he was a Christian and a long-standing member of the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, his adversaries insisted that he was secretly a Muslim.” (Ali Asani, Infidel of Love, pg. 50)
Islamophobia is a awful tool that is becoming more and more present in current times, especially in the United States. We can see, even in the Presidential race of 2016, how candidates can prey off of the islampphobic tendencices of the American people to get more sounds bites and popularity among voters. By painting Muslims as the enemy, many Americans can justify hate speech, among many others undesirable actions. In his manuscript, Professor Asani discusses at length what a cultural studies approach will do for islamophobia, and how ignorance in the United States leads to wrong assumptions made about Muslims. In fact, he notes the irony in this: Muslims are often depicted as the enemies of the United States, yet they tend to hold some of the most democratic ideals, and are likely to value the same ideas as Americans. The quote from Asani’s manuscript illustrates a high profile example of such islamophobia, and the somewhat absurd assumptions people make as islamophobes.
In the quote I selected above, from Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, he highlights this concept of Islamophobia being an outlet for hate and racism that Professor Asani discusses in his manuscript. The large take away for me is that there is a gross ignorance of Islam in the United States, and superimposing this fact with the American flag is perhaps an ironic statement our society today.
In addition, I chose to replace the stars with an outline of what is generally thought of when asked to imagine a mosque. In class, we discussed Islamic architecture in the United States, and how the diversity of mosques is poorly misrepresented in the American mind. Coupled with the quote on Islamophobia, I am hoping to illustrate ways in which the American public can begin to understand Islam. For example, if we can simply grasp a small thing such as the diversity of Islamic architecture, and veering away from idealized caricatures of the religion, we should be also able to begin understand Muslim cultures as well, and perhaps change media portrayals and political agendas.