Israel is justified in attacking Hamas. If civilians die too, too bad. Actually, the majority of Gazans are not supporters of Hamas. But for the victims of these U. To us, Kuwait was a defenseless maiden who was raped and brutalized by a vicious thug. The US, like a knight in shining armor, went in, rescued the maiden and chased away the vicious thug.
But the Muslim world saw it differently. To them, Kuwait was a spoiled and arrogant rich kid, who did nothing to earn his wealth and who, nonetheless, treated his poorer cousins like dirt. They view US military action in the Gulf War not as a brave and noble action, but as an act of hypocrisy. But because he fought against a superpower, a non-Muslim superpower, he was transformed into something of a hero in parts of the Islamic world, particularly in its farther reaches.
If young soldiers are going to lose their lives, Americans want to believe that it is for a noble cause — that these ultimate sacrifices are being made to defend ideals in which we believe. In Kuwait, Americans were dying to defend a nation in which no elections were held, no legislature existed, and women were not even allowed to drive.
Of all the beleaguered peoples in the world, the United States chose the Kuwaitis to defend. Of course the US has a long, long history of supporting repressive and despicable dictators all over the world, not just in the Middle East. If we need these dictators for geopolitical or economic reasons, then we are more than willing to overlook human rights violations.
This policy may benefit our short-term best interests, but the people who live under the oppressive rule of these US-supported dictatorships see it differently. It is only natural that some of them might hold it against the United States. And, unfortunately, it is not surprising that some of them want to seek revenge. Our hatred for the government that replaced him even led the US to cozy up to Saddam Hussein. One of the Islamic dictatorships that the US passionately supports is the one that rules Saudi Arabia.
It would appear that it is this unholy alliance that inspired Osama bin Laden to intensify his terrorist campaigns. In organizing a coalition to fight the Taliban, the United States is again ignoring human rights considerations.
Pakistan is ruled by a military dictatorship. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are among the least open regimes in the world. At the moment, our friendships with these governments seem to be necessary compromises with our ideals, but in the long-run they could backfire just like our earlier support for Saddam Hussein and for the Taliban. Update: Americans like to think that we support ending dictatorships and replacing them with freedom and democracy.
But this righteousness has been selective. George W. Bush literally held hands in public with King Abdullah, the head of the Saudi dictatorship, and Barack Obama was filmed and photographed bowing down to him.
Suddenly Democrats and Republicans alike rose to the defense of the Afghan people. We began arming the anti-Communist opposition, known as the Mujahedin, which included the ultimately victorious Taliban. Never mind that they were religious extremists with a disturbing agenda. I tried to point out to Rohrabacher that just because a group opposes Communism does not mean that they support freedom and democracy. The good Congressman was clearly taken by surprise. I watched as he tried to process this unusual perspective.
But also at the same time, finding sources of resilience and trying to find ways to gain strength from the experience. The attacks triggered a wave of reflection about religious identity in the Muslim American community, including among Arab Americans, African Americans and Americans of South Asian descent, according to Amer. And how important is my religion to me? Do I want to present it publicly? Or do I want to keep my religion hidden? After , there were reports in the media of Muslim women removing their headscarves and people shedding visible signs of religiosity.
And on the other hand, many Muslims went the other way in terms of trying to represent their faith and trying to get more engagement, more involved in interfaith dialogue. Once they no longer felt invisible, once they felt the weight of government surveillance and suspicion, they recognized the need to build coalitions with other marginalized communities. Arabs and Muslims in the United States realized that if they wanted to get support from other Americans in defense of their civil rights, they needed to build stronger ties, says Cainkar, who adds that U.
Search Search. Home United States U. Africa 54 - November 12, Although Arab people in general have an unfavourable position towards America, they are pretty wary of American people too. What is more, political and societal anti-Americanism seem to be strongly related — too strongly to consider them disconnected opinions that have completely separate causes…. Our objective is to disseminate and apply survey findings in order to contribute to political reform and to strengthen institutional capacity for public opinion research.
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated with news from Arab Barometer directly to your inbox. First Name required. In , voters elected the first Muslim women to hold a seat in Congress: Democratic Reps. Omar and Rashida Tlaib. In an interview, Tlaib told ABC News that her Muslim faith and background helps her understand the harm that can come from Islamophobia and xenophobia.
And you're actually making us less safe in your and you're also enabling hate and racism in our country when you target people solely based on their faith,'" Tlaib said. The Muslim population in the U.
And as more Muslims continue to cultivate communities across the country, more houses of worship in the U. Islam has been seen in the Western world in a negative light, according to Bazian, who believes this negative portrayal couldn't be further from the truth. He says education is the first step to ridding the faith and its people of this stigma.
Most Americans don't know a Muslim, or admit to not knowing anything about Muslims, according to a Pew Research Center survey. Besheer Mohamed, a senior researcher at Pew Research Center.
We'll notify you here with news about. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? And how have Afghan women fared under the Taliban? Comments 0. Top Stories. Turpin sisters speak out in 1st interview about 'house of horrors' Nov 10, AM.
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