Muslim women
The series of coordinated attacks in the United States on September 11th, 2001, commonly referred to as 9/11, changed Muslims’ general perception. It was even worse for Muslim women in the United States and the nation’s allies. Extremism cases against Muslim women increase post 9/11. Gender-based discrimination against Muslim women was abundant during this period. However, the intensity of the situation reduced a few years later. Before then, Muslim women had been victimized and exposed to different levels of extremism. Two of the women whose cases will be used as focal points for the research are Larycia Hawkins and Ibtihaj Muhammad, who face different kinds of stereotyping from society.
The Al-Qaeda terrorist group claimed responsibility for the September 11th, 2001 attack in the United States. The result was a religion based discrimination mainly characterized by negative stereotyping against Muslims in the United States. Hate crimes against Islam and Muslim citizens increased exponentially post 9/11 (Anderson, 20002). The national intelligence and law enforcement agencies reported receiving many civil rights complaints, most of which were against Muslim citizens. Most of the reports were against women who were reported to be wearing hijabs. Freedom of religion no longer applied for Muslim citizens, and the most affected individuals in contemporary society were women wearing hijabs. Different social places, including schools, workplaces, and prisons, had strict rules attributed to personal profiling where Muslims were subject to negative stereotyping. All women wearing hijabs in these environments were subject to societal prejudice. Women wearing headscarves reported being victims of physical attacks or insults. Headscarves were the first element of profiling and identification as Muslims.
Roughly half of the American Muslim population reported being victims of discrimination and religious-based bias (CAIR, 2016). Public stigmatization continued to increase over time in the period post 9/11. Women wearing hijabs were automatically recognized as Muslims, and most suffered accusations of being members of terrorist organizations. Sixty percent of American Muslim Women reported being victims of at least once incident of religious-based discrimination post 9/11 (Rippy & Newman, 2008). As a result, most Muslim women were angry with the general population for negative stereotyping. They isolated themselves from society as their insecurities increased. The result was a negative impact on their lives. Most women could not leave their homes, and most questioned their identity as American citizens. They distanced themselves from the general American society. They were vulnerable to radicalization as a way of getting back to American society. The result was women jihadists waging future attacks against American society. The increase in terrorist attacks made the situation worse. Women wearing headscarves were targets of both citizens and terrorist organizations, which sought after vulnerable Muslims.
In the years that followed, cases of terror attacks continued to increase. Discrimination was not only against Muslim women but also against American citizens who showed sympathy and compassion towards Muslims. An example is Larycia Hawkins, an American woman who supported Muslim women fighting for their civil rights. Instead, her fellow American citizens disowned her and treated her as they did Muslim women. She lost her job as a political science professor at Wheaton College (Graham 2016). She received so much attention from the public as the woman who sided with society’s enemy. She was stripped of her rights as an American citizen and subject to negative stereotyping. Wearing a headscarf supporting Muslim women only exposed her and put her at the center of the limelight. Like other Muslim women, she was subject to social pressure and hatred.
Muslims were perceived as violent and a threat to national security. Some of the leaders promoted hate against women, while others encouraged societal unity and collaboration between Muslims and non-Muslims. However, hate against women was at a peak, and the vision of peace would never happen despite urges from responsible leaders in the United States and her allies. Their citizens also perceived Islam as a violent religion. Muslim women were denied prominent roles in society. Volunteers were also subject to scrutiny and spite as the general society perceived them with malice. The effort of Larycia Hawkins in the civil-society to show that Muslim women were not different was rejected (Everet et al. 2015). Instead, she was also treated differently for being a supporter of Muslims by wearing a headscarf. This is an example of discrimination against Muslim women post 9/11. A decade later, this would change, and Muslim women would get equal treatment, but it took great effort, ahttps://essaygroom.com/influences-on-culture/nd many American citizens’ sacrifice.
The case of Ibtihaj Muhammad was different from that of Larycia Hawkins. While Larycia Hawkins lost her quality life for supporting Muslim women, Ibhitaj Muhammad’s life and generations after her changed for the better. Muhammad was the first American Muslim Woman to participate in the Olympics wearing her headscarf (Harvard, 2016). Her story is significant because she achieved what many before her didn’t. Muhammad opened a pathway for her fellow Muslim women to engage in various activities internationally with little or no prejudice. She broke the negative stereotype associated with wearing headscarves in America and her allies. She leveled the playing field and allowed all Muslim women to express themselves freely. More women were allowed to engage in athletics, among other sports, while wearing their headscarves. She changed the definition of Muslim women in the United States and the surrounding nations. Society no longer upholds the typical gender-based discrimination against Muslim Women. On the contrary, Muslim women in contemporary society are allowed to take up prominent roles. Civil liberties, including freedom of religion, now apply to Muslims in society, unlike times not so long post 9/11.
The religious group’s diversity continues to spread in the United States a decade and a half post 9/11. Muslim women wearing headscarves have been assigned leadership roles in the government of the United States. However, the Muslim population is not evenly distributed across the different states in America. Access to education among Muslim women continues to be normalized. Consequently, the number of educated women in society continues to increase. This is an unprecedented phenomenon in the post 9/11 era, but society’s changes have seen the equal distribution of different privileges. Muslims now have American citizenship contrary to past populations, which were discriminated against because of their religious beliefs and wrongful perception as terrorists. The modern society no longer perceives Muslims are threats, and their automatic affiliation to terror groups has subsided. Instead, they are perceived as United States citizens deserving equal respect and treatment from citizens and the government alike.
The definition of Muslims, especially women, has changed significantly over the years. The two women whose lives have been analyzed is proof that time is a significant factor when evaluating the degree of change in the perception of Muslim women in the United States. The terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, changed the perception of American citizens on Muslims. While men’s religious affiliation might have been challenging to deduce, women were easy to profile since most wore headscarves as required by Islam laws. This made them easy targets and victims of gender-based religious discrimination. However, this negative stereotyping became outdated over the years, and Muslim women have been accepted in society.
The early American Muslim woman had little recognition in the society. Gender-based discrimination prevented Muslim women from holding prominent roles in society. The period immediately after 9/11 saw increased negative feelings against Muslims. Most importantly, social interaction with Muslim women was forbidden. Individuals who defied the street laws suffered the same fate. For example, Larycia Hawkins lost her job supporting Muslim women by wearing a headscarf (Graham, 2016). This is different from modern women. In contemporary society, Muslim women and their supporters are allowed to hold prominent jobs. They have been assimilated in the political sector holding significant positions in government. This is different from the age immediately after 9/11 when they were perceived to have ulterior motives by being members of society. Time has changed the perception of Muslim women and their involvement in leadership and decision-making in society.
In the traditional setup, Muslim women were subject to uncalled for scrutiny. As a result, most of them were not legal American citizens. As a result, they were limited from engaging in various activities in society. However, modern society regards Muslim women as equal members of the community. An excellent example is Ibtihaj Muhammad, as explained earlier in this paper (Harvard, 2016). She is the first Muslim woman athlete wearing a headscarf to compete at the Olympics. This is proof that modern society regards Muslim women as equal members of society. Her participation in an international competition was a statement that Muslim women have a place among other denominations to represent themselves. The positive example was also an illustration of long-term change in attitude that Muslim women across the globe should fight against gender-based discrimination and take charge of their lives. This has played a significant role in liberating women across different societies in the world.
Muslim women faced stigmatization to the extent that they were not allowed to go to their worship places. They were often humiliated, which led to isolation, which negatively affected their social lives. These traditional stereotypes have become outdated in modern society. The United States government enacted various legislative measures to ensure that all citizens’ rights, irrespective of their religious obligations, were protected. The free exercise clause allows people to practice their religion without interference from the government (Bardes et al., 2013). This aspect of modern society gives Muslim women the liberty to engage in various religious practices freely. This has eradicated humiliation fuelled by religious differences and helped protect Muslim women in society. The move by the United States has challenged other nations to enact laws that protect Muslim women from gender-based religious discrimination.
Muslims, especially women, were not allowed to pursue an education in traditional society. They were tasked with household chores for most of their lives. This stereotype has, however, changed in modern society. Muslims now have access to education, with many students leaving their motherland and moving to the United States to pursue higher education (Schaeffer, 2016). This is an unprecedented change in cultural orientation in various parts of the world. Some of these students end up settling in the United States after getting job offers, which justifies the increase in the country’s Muslim population. The modern society in the United States embraces diversity, and Muslim women have been assimilated into the community that upholds equality. Irrespective of their unique religious view and beliefs, the Muslim community now co-exists peacefully in the United States, among other religious groups. While the earlier events that led to the disruption of peace and began religious-based discrimination will not be forgotten, society seems to have cleaned the slate and allowed American Muslims to co-exist harmoniously.
To sum up, there is a massive change in the perception of Muslims in American society. Traditionally, they were discriminated against and perceived as terrorists. The association of various terror activities with Islam tainted the religion’s perception, and believers suffered the consequence. Muslim women were primary victims since they were easy to profile thanks to their headscarves, commonly called hijabs. They were not regarded as equal members of society and were often subject to different types of victimization. Larycia Hawkins is a perfect example of Muslim women’s traditional perception, while Ibtihaj Muhammad defines the modern perception of the same. The two women had different experiences for supporting Islam. One lost her job and was discriminated against by society while the other changed Muslim women’s perception. Traditionally, Muslim women were not allowed to hold a prominent role in society, while in contemporary society, they have major leadership roles. This is a significant change in the definition of Muslim women in the era post 9/11. This is significant because, during this era, Muslim women’s perception has often been shrouded in mixed perceptions, mainly due to the affiliation of the religion with terrorist activists.