Senior expresses his views on islamophobia
January 20, 2016
Dear Editor:
Over the course of this election season, we have already seen so much hate and discrimination arise. Donald Trump has become notorious for his rhetoric against Muslims, and other candidates are not far behind. This behavior cannot be tolerated, and I am writing to make an important distinction between two attitudes we should all take against this widespread hate. For those of us who assail Trump for his wildly inaccurate, hateful claims, we can either identify ourselves with non-islamophobia or anti-islamophobia.
Non-islamophobia means choosing to be opposed to hateful speech and actions towards Muslims. If you identify as non-islamophobic, you tell yourself that since you do not hate Muslims and you are kind to those who practice Islam, you are doing your part. You are contributing to a better world by not being hateful. After all, itai??i??s not your problem that people mistreat Muslims. Thatai??i??s their problem. As long as you do not have preconceived notions against Muslims, then you can sleep at night, right?
People with this opinion could not be more wrong. If you are non-islamophobic, then you are a bystander. You are part of the problem. You are doing nothing to stop the bigots that misjudge and mislabel Muslims. Instead, we must all choose to be anti-islamophobia. This philosophy change means a great deal. It means that you will not stand for hate against Muslims. It means that you will do your part to spread the word to end discrimination against this religious group. It means that you, as a person, are willing to contribute to improving humanity. Hate breeds hate, and when one of us is hurt, we are all hurt. We must make the conscious choice to stop hate and discrimination against Muslims in America. Stop being non-islamophobic and choose to be anti-islamophobic.
Adam DeSchriver
Senior
Elizabeth Cunningham • Apr 13, 2016 at 10:18 AM
Change happens when people are active about solving a problem. That said, I think Adam DeSchriver makes a great point about non-islamophobia vs anti-islamophobia. Being non-islamophobic means that you disagree with discrimination against Muslims but you simply act as a bystander. Disagreeing with an issue and actually doing something about it are very different things. That’s why if you are against discrimination of Muslims, you should act as an anti-islamophobic; meaning you actively advocate for the end of islamophbia. Just being a bystander is ineffective and makes you just as bad as those who discriminate.
Tyler Rayne-Nero • Apr 13, 2016 at 10:13 AM
Donald Trump during these elections has been well known for his hatred towards Muslims and if you are one to criticise trump for his ridiculous beliefs, you can be categorised as a non-islamophobic or an anti-islamophobic. If you are a non-islamophobic you believe that as long as you don’t hate Muslims for their belief, but allow others to mistreat people that practice Islam you are “contributing to a better world.” If you consider yourself an anti-islamophobic you will fight to end discrimination against Muslims. A non-islamophobic is just as wrong as an islamophobic, if you are against islamophobia you should do your part to end discrimination. I agree with DeSchriver, if you believe that hatred against Muslims is wrong, you should help fight to end discrimination or you are just as bad as the islamophobic, allowing the hatred to continue. You are wrong to allow the hatred against Muslims and help to end the discrimination, and “choose to be anti-islamophobic.”
GRANNY JEAN • Jan 22, 2016 at 2:46 PM
I read your post and thought “What can your fellow students do?” And then I remembered that some, like yourself are old enough to vote. Therefore, one action is to get registered and vote against candidates and any political party that inspires and o/or supports this hateful attitude toward a religious group of people.