Premium Essay

Muslims and Arabs

In:

Submitted By lish0812
Words 365
Pages 2
The major difference between Muslims and Arabs is that Arabs are an ethnic group and Muslims are a religious group. According to the textbook (Schaefer, 2006) “many Arab Americans are not Muslims, and most Muslim Americans are not Arabs” (p. 285). Arab Americans are immigrants and descendants from Arab countries as well as non-Arab countries. Muslims are people who practice the Islam faith. Though Muslims and Arabs are significantly different, they do share some similarities. Both Arabs and Muslims experience orientalism, which prevents them from obtaining classification as individual groups. There are many characteristics of orientalism such as stereotyping of Islam, religious conflict, and misrepresentation of cultures among Eastern countries. Orientalism can contribute to hate crimes because it promotes prejudice. It does this by fostering the idea that everyone within an ethnic group is to blame for the actions and ideas of only a few. For example, Muslims and Arabs have experienced high levels of hate crimes and discrimination since the attacks of 9/11. This is most likely because orientalism helped foster the idea that all Arabs and Muslims are a threat to the country, just because a few were. There are some recent changes to the United States policies that may affect the treatment of Muslim and Arab Americans. The most recent change comes in the form of verbal support for Muslim Americans by President Obama in his State of the Union Address, January 25, 2011. Another change was the amendment of Oklahoma’s Constitution banning Shariah law. State Question 755 was approved in November 2010, which forbids state courts from considering Shariah law; a law based on the Koran and the teaching of Mohammed (American Muslim Perspective, 2010). Also the USA Patriot Act of 2001 contains provisions that condemn discrimination against Arab and Muslim Americans (Schaefer,

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Arabs and Muslims

...family oriented, woman as homemakers, devout, law abiding, fanatically religious, and religion part of government. My participant put for both well educated, undereducated, conservative political values, strict moral values. There are descriptive words used in both of the categories, the ones used in the Christian American there were good neighbors, moral values, peaceable, socially compliant and socially inclusive. In the Arab and Muslims the descriptive words are violent, strict moral values, socially oppressed, patriarchal society. The two descriptors that I think are true about the Christian Americans are that the political environment is open to both sexes and secular content in education and the two that I think are not true are that well educated and not oppressive woman. The reason I say that they are not true is because Christian Americans because all Christian Americans are not well educated there are some that are educated and some that are not. All Christians are not oppressive to woman some of them ridicule and abuse their woman. The Arabs and Muslims are more dominating than other countries when it comes to the woman in their life, the woman has no say so and everything that the man say goes. They are not allowed to have their own opinion; they are to do as they are told. I think the average Americans perception of each group is by physical appearance because appearance is the first thing that you see. When you do not know someone you cannot base it on their personality...

Words: 355 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Arabs vs Muslims

...Vladimir Perozhak Mr. Mohan Pd.2 Middle Eastern Studies Many people do not know the difference between Arabs and Muslims, but there is a huge difference. The Identity of an “Arab” is given based on a person geographical origin. For example, people of the Middle East and Northern Africa are identified as Arabs. Muslims are the people who practice Islam. A large amount of Muslims are located in the Middle East which may be why many people may not understand the Difference between and Arab and a Muslim, infact most Muslims are located in Asia primarily in Indonesia. As you know now the word “Arab” is used to identify ethinicity or nationality and the identification of Muslim is based of religion, in fact some Arabs practice christianity. For example, Syria an Arab country is 80% Christian and only 20% Muslim. The problem between identifying Muslims from Arabs is common throughout the world but maybe the United States more than any other developed country. How do we inform people about their differences? The number one way would be education and educating students about this topic. Another way to inform individuals may be advertisements for adults or even talking about it on the news. It is important for people to know the difference in identities because of all the Middle Eastern conflicts going on in todays society and because of their booming oil reserves which are crucial to our economy and who controls what. Many questions still arise about the identification...

Words: 293 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Muslim and Arab Stereotyping by Western Media

...Muslim and Arab Stereotyping By Western Media Research Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements Of ENG216/246 Course By Ismail Yousry … 111645 Under Supervision of Dr. Ghada El Akhdar Muslim and Arab Stereotyping By Western Media Industrial Engineering MSA University Table Of Contents ABSTRACT………………………………………………………...……3 I. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………3-4 II.LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………………….5-9 III.DISCUSSION………………………………………………………9-11 IV.CONCLSUION………………………………………………………11 REFRENCE………………………………………………………………12 ABSTRACT This research objectively is talking about the negative growing relationship between Arab Muslims and the western world particularly after the world trade Centre attack, Arab phobia have been a part of the western culture. For centuries the Arab has played the role of villain, seducer of our women, hustler and robber-the barbarian waiting at the gates of development. Currently in the 20th century, Arab as seen as terrorists, murderers and enemies due to how media presents them, new images has been emerged to the whole world thanks to Hollywood film makers, this study also aims to reveal the truth image of the Arab Muslim world and to prove the unfair attitude against Arab and Muslims made by the media that was not careful to appear neutral and unbiased. I.INTRODUCTION Who exactly are the Arabs and Muslims? When we use both of these terms, we Are talking about more...

Words: 1807 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Characteristics of Orientalism, Prejudice and Discrimination

...Discrimination Many people confuse Arab and Muslims. Arabs are an ethnic group and Muslims are a religious group. Muslims are believers of the Islam faith. Most Arabs are not Muslims and most Muslims are not Arabs. Muslims cannot be identified by their nationality alone. Being an Arab does not mean that you are a follower of the Islam religion. An Arab is generally from the countries that are now the Arab world. This area is made up of 22 nations of North Africa and what is called the Middle East. Orientalism is defined by our text as the simplistic view of the people and history of the Orient with no recognition of change over time or the diversity within its many cultures (Schaefer, 2006, p. 284). An example of orientalism is that many people in the United States see a mosque as a foreign threat and not as a sign of religious freedom or diversity. Another example is the suggestion that there is a conflict between Christians and Muslims. After the 9/11 attack, the Department of Justice (DOJ) called in many Arab and Muslim immigrants for questioning. They also started a special registration program that targeted visitors from Arab and Muslim countries. These programs caused much suspicion towards Arabs and Muslims by the American citizens. There was a lot of racial profiling that went on towards Arabs and Muslims because of their ethnicity and religious preferences. They also caused the decline in the number of Arabs and Muslims that visited the United States. ...

Words: 334 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

United States Centric-Views Comparison

...Unites States-Centric Views Comparison Mark D. Pacheco Axia College University of Phoenix Unites States-Centric Views Comparison The table comparisons show distinctive characteristics synonymous with the categories of descriptors identified for both individuals listed as Christian Americans and or Muslim Arab Americans. It is uniquely and formally identical in some categories as well as substantially different in other categories, yet still; some characteristics are open for discussion as to their identification to both parties involved. Based on results of independent surveys taken which was not scientific, substantiated or verified by any governmental agency of the United States, or Christian or Muslim Arab American groups or societies. The results are taken from ordinary American citizens not associated with either group of individuals, nor affiliated in any religious capacity, nationality, race, color, or ethnic background as identified as Christian American and Muslim Arab American. In this survey, one could say this is wholly independent and un-biased in the results given. Popular to contrary belief, most Americans give their opinions on subjects based on a few characteristics enveloped primarily with their up-bringing, moral and ethical values instilled in early childhood, their personal belief in governmental policy and societal values. As young children, teenagers, and young adults of parents and communities across this nation, individuals may...

Words: 1260 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Media Reaction

...and television. The media will continue running a story over and over the replaying of a story helps to reinforce this information in people’s minds thus helping to shape their opinion on different subject. This paper will discuss media’s reaction regarding the Arab and Muslim Americans since September 11 attacks. This paper will address the historic framework as well as the political content on this issue. My own opinion will be given on certain messages the media was attempting to portray was this coverage a biased or unbiased as well as was this issue sensationalized or objectively portrayed. For this assignment comes a story from the Detroit news titled Always Suspect: Local Arabs and Immigration. After September 11, 2001 became a turning point in the lives of people in America and around the world. Many Americans lost and gave their lives as well as being injured this had a huge effect on the Arab and Muslim community in living in United States. The lives of many changed due to the actions of a few even the media had a huge impact with people in how they would view these events on 9/11. Months following this tragic event news stations even radio stations their stories focused many on terrorism by Arab and Muslim people. When the average people listen to the news this became...

Words: 1134 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Media's Perception of Terrorism and Influence over the Audience

...western media has become a place where the opinion of the audience at home is of vital importance to the success and failure of the war being fought against terrorism. In today’s time, the media is the main means of expression through which people receive information on terrorism or any other conflict, which then enlighten us about the unfolding events. Since the western media undisputedly is the most powerful, it has the means to present government actions in a supportive way, expose atrocities on either side and raise issues to the public which assist their governmental agenda. Here the question that comes to mind is whether the western media portrays terrorism, Muslims and Arabs in an accurate aspect. The western media uses certain techniques to depict terrorists in their own view which have had disastrous effects on Arabs as well as Americans all over the world. It is very unfortunate that despite all the recent terrorist attacks, weather they were significant or minor, the media still has not come up with a definitive definition of “terrorism” and “who is a terrorist”. The main issue with western media reporting on terrorism is their flaw of having discrepancies in their news. In a recent article “Ethical balance of reporting on Terrorism”, the author states that the western media has had no difficulty labeling the Al-Qaeda terror network as “terrorists” however they cease to acknowledge the same label for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, also known as the PKK (Kanli...

Words: 2642 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

Discrimination

...between Muslims and Arabs? The difference between Muslims and Arabs is that Muslims believe and follow the Islamic religion while Arabs are a group of people united by a single tongue, but are part of different ethnic groups. Muslims are the name give to those who believe in the prophet Mohammed, and follow the Islamic religions and encompass Islamic fundamentals. Arabs are a group of individuals who speak a common language but have no single religion. They are Christian Arabs, Islamic Arabs and even Jews Arabs. The reason why most people intertwine Muslims and Arabs is because most of Arabic territories have large population of Muslims. according to research and news reports within the past 2 years, what are some of the changes the United States has made to policies concerning the treatment of Muslim and Arabic members of society? The United State policy changes in regards to Muslims and Arabs are somewhat controversial. Since 911, the United State have establish policies that would allow the FBI to conduct investigations on any Muslims or Arabs living in the Unite State; if there is a fear that they are tied to terrorist. The policies have put innocent Muslims and Arabs on the FBI watch list and have made Muslims and Arabs a target for suspicion. List two to three characteristics of Orientalism. How may Orientalism and prejudice contribute to hate crimes against these groups? One characteristic of orientalism is western believing that Muslims are all dark...

Words: 440 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Characterisitcs of Orientalism Prejudice

... 2 The terms Muslims and Arabs are two unique demographic identifiers. A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is the Islamic faith, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion that is based on the Qur'an (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim). There are many Muslims who are not Arabs - there are Muslim Indonesians, Muslim Chinese, and Muslim Americans. Arabs are an ethnic group of people who speak the Arabic language, and follow different religions. Many are Muslims, but some are Christians. Arab people are also known as Arabs and primarily live in the Arab World, which is located in Western Asia or North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra- tribal relationships playing an important part of Arab identity (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_people). In terms of changes to United States policy, The Civil Rights Division holds a bimonthly interagency meeting that brings together top officials from federal agencies and leaders of the Muslim, Arab, Sikh and South Asian communities to address civil rights issues (http://blogs.usdoj.gov/blog/archives/1253). There have also been some signs of reverse in the backlash that Muslims and Arabs have endured after the occurrences of 9/11. The Department of Justice seems to be making changes that will protect the innocent Muslims and Arabs so to give them the same Civil Rights as...

Words: 609 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Historians Perception In American History

...public’s perception as a whole. One specific event in American history in which historians’ perception impacted the Arab and Muslim group in society was the terrorist attack that occurred on September 11, 2001. Abu-Lughod, a professor of Anthropology and Women’s and Gender Studies at Columbia University...

Words: 1775 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Afganistan

...like Osama bin Laden emerged. 86). similarly, their policies about marriage, divorce and other legal proceedings are also derived from their religion (Aronoff, p. He wanted to give back Germany its past glory and respect in front of the world, and for that he wanted to create more living space for Germans and thus he conquered the surrounding German speaking areas and created hatred among the leaders of those countries. This is the only way to co-exist peacefully in today’s world. This is important because it is seen in the past that attempts to bring democracy and socialism in the Arab world have failed so badly that it has made the people of the Arab world to denounce these ideas altogether. This attack is important not only because of how widespread it was; but it is also important because of the way it changed the course of the West towards Islam. With that, the West needs to incentivize the Muslim world to adopt democracy and liberalism so that they see the benefits of these systems themselves. ISLAM AND THE WEST – AN INTRODUCTION Islam and the West are different entities in many ways, but because of the globalization in the world; we see that there is an increasing interaction between these two entities, which becomes a reason for conflict in many situations. Modernization, liberalism and globalization are appreciated. This does not mean acquiring Western culture, music, language; but it modernization requires learning modern ways of doing things, progressing in secular...

Words: 5505 - Pages: 23

Premium Essay

Medcal Student

...to “FBI's Tracking of Muslims Raising Alarm with Some” Have Muslims been treated unfairly in this country? In an essay “FBI’s Tracking of Muslims Raising Alarm with Some,” posted on the Internet on October 6, 2002, Philip Shenon and David Johnston write about how FBI set a surveillance campaign to track young Muslim men they think have terrorist cells inside United States to assist Al-Qaeda. They monitor the suspects’ telephone calls, e-mail messages, Internet use, and their credit card charges. They also dare to monitor the suspects’ gathering places, including mosques. The surveillance program has helped the FBI to arrest dozen of young Muslims in western New York, in Detroit, in Seattle, and in Portland, Oregon since late summer. Philip Shenon and David Johnston, the authors of the article, say that the surveillance campaign is centered in the Detroit, Michigan area because the largest population of people of Arab descent lives there. In the article, the authors report that some Arab-Americans and Muslim groups are not happy with what is going on inside their communities. They have complained about the FBI’s unfair accusation that these young men have some connection with Al-Qaeda. In my opinion, the authors of the article have done a valuable thing to make people aware of these problems. I think that the FBI is not doing a great job. I don’t think it came with a right idea to solve this problem. The FBI’s effort to go after these young Muslim men will not eliminate...

Words: 886 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Muslims Portrayed in Media

...Presumed Guilty: American Muslim and Arabs Presumed Guilty: American Muslims and Arabs on Making Contact 2. American School Textbooks – How They Portrayed the Middle East from 1898 to 1994 American Educational History Journal, Volume 35, Number 1 and 2, 2008, edited by J. Wesley Null 3. Scott J. Simon. "Arabs in Hollywood: An Undeserved Image". Emerson College. http://pages.emerson.edu/organizations/fas/latent_image/issues/1996-04/arabs.htm. Retrieved 17 May 2012. 4. 100 Years of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim stereotyping by Mazin B. Qumsiyeh 5. Why Hollywood Owes Me Money by Laila Lalami 6. Khalil, Ashraf (4 October 2007). "But can you play a terrorist?". http://articles.latimes.com/2007/oct/04/entertainment/et-arabactors4. Retrieved 17 May 2012. 7. The Portrayal of Arabs in American Media 8. Patrick Harrington interviews, Jack Shaheen, author of Reel Bad Arabs 9. Driving to Zigzigland – Official site. Retrieved Oct 2012. 10. War on terror drives Arab actor to "Zigzigland" Reuters, 14 Dec 2006. Retrieved 2 Oct 2012. 11. "Terror Probe Changes Face of Racial Profiling Debate". FOX News. 1 October 2001. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,35521,00.html. Retrieved 17 May 2012. 12. "Official: 15 of 19 Sept. 11 hijackers were Saudi". USA Today. 6 February 2002. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2002/02/06/saudi.htm. Retrieved 17 May 2012. 13. MacFarquhar, Neil (1 June 2006). "Terror Fears Hamper U.S. Muslims' Travel". The New York...

Words: 3141 - Pages: 13

Premium Essay

Muslims Portrayed in Media

...Presumed Guilty: American Muslim and Arabs Presumed Guilty: American Muslims and Arabs on Making Contact 2. American School Textbooks – How They Portrayed the Middle East from 1898 to 1994 American Educational History Journal, Volume 35, Number 1 and 2, 2008, edited by J. Wesley Null 3. Scott J. Simon. "Arabs in Hollywood: An Undeserved Image". Emerson College. http://pages.emerson.edu/organizations/fas/latent_image/issues/1996-04/arabs.htm. Retrieved 17 May 2012. 4. 100 Years of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim stereotyping by Mazin B. Qumsiyeh 5. Why Hollywood Owes Me Money by Laila Lalami 6. Khalil, Ashraf (4 October 2007). "But can you play a terrorist?". http://articles.latimes.com/2007/oct/04/entertainment/et-arabactors4. Retrieved 17 May 2012. 7. The Portrayal of Arabs in American Media 8. Patrick Harrington interviews, Jack Shaheen, author of Reel Bad Arabs 9. Driving to Zigzigland – Official site. Retrieved Oct 2012. 10. War on terror drives Arab actor to "Zigzigland" Reuters, 14 Dec 2006. Retrieved 2 Oct 2012. 11. "Terror Probe Changes Face of Racial Profiling Debate". FOX News. 1 October 2001. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,35521,00.html. Retrieved 17 May 2012. 12. "Official: 15 of 19 Sept. 11 hijackers were Saudi". USA Today. 6 February 2002. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2002/02/06/saudi.htm. Retrieved 17 May 2012. 13. MacFarquhar, Neil (1 June 2006). "Terror Fears Hamper U.S. Muslims' Travel". The New York...

Words: 3031 - Pages: 13

Free Essay

Egyptian Sharia Law

...British. They had one major leader (Nasser) in Egypt who helped Egypt declare their independence from Britain conquest. Gamal Abdel Nasser, who formed and established the Arab Socialist Union (ASU), was the second President of Egypt serving from 1956 until his death. He planned the 1952 overthrow of the monarchy, and was deputy prime minister in the new government. While Nasser was controlling the state of Egypt it was still a secular state, leaving the minority religions under somewhat stable state under the constitution of Egypt. Nasser kept the state secular such as having an one-party system which prevented religious groups like the Muslim Brotherhood from an opportunity to voice their political views. This made the Arab Socialist Union the sole party in parliament under the Nasser era. After the death of Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1970, there was a huge shift once Anwar Sadat seized control as being the secretary of the former Prime Minister Nasser. Anwar Sadat drafted a new constitution, which included the principles of Sharia into the Egyptian constitution. The state changed from being a secular state to becoming a religious state. Anwar Sadat abolished certain views of Nasser, which he did not agree with. He abolished the one party rule, which gave an opportunity to Islamic groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood to influence their ideas politically. Thus, I will analyze Sadat’s ideas for implementing the Sharia into the 1971 constitution with limitations of structuralism...

Words: 4140 - Pages: 17