Before this course, I was aware of some of the social issues that Muslims have on a day to day. In my life, mainly my adult life, I have been interested in understanding as many religions and cultures as possible. Of course, this is no easy feat, but knowing people from all different cultures and backgrounds allows our knowledge to expand in ways that are unimaginable. During my early college years, I was very interested in taking a course called world religions and I was able to learn from as many as the course would provide.
My perception, however, changed when I met some of my friends and acquaintances that are Muslim. My neighbors, in fact, are from Jordan and have taught me about their beliefs and about the similarities with Christianity. Helping me understand that the differences that create these frames of Islamophobia, are centered with the intent to oppress. These tactics are constantly used by governments and other politically related entities to achieve certain goals. Some of which we have seen in recent decades, in relation to the oil in the Middle East.
I was told by my friend, who is Muslim, that the intentions and goals create shifts or changes in the meaning of islamophobia. At times, if there’s an expectation or intention of war, they tend to fuel the media with violence. Thinking back to the war in the early 90s and 00s, we saw this in the form of incorrect correlation between extremist groups and the Muslim communities. According to our course, acts of terrorism, such as those by ISIS, in the name of Islam are mostly against what the general Muslim community believes to be correct. My friends have always given me their opinion on the topic and have always agreed that these acts, which are sometimes directed to Muslims, are not of Muslim practice.
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