By Maria DeCasper
On Friday Nov. 13, hundreds of people gathered in cafes, bars, bistros and concert venues across Paris for what was supposed to be a typical night out. Instead, 129 people lost their lives when several terrorists carried out vicious attacks around the city. Within 24 hours, ISIS, the jihadist extremist terrorist organization, claimed responsibility for the horrific act of terror. In this tragic time, people from across the world showed their support and compassion to the citizens of France. However, the United States distinguished itself among others, not for its compassion, but for the Islamophobic and opportunistic opinions voiced by many American politicians and media outlets. Rather than simply condemning a terrorist organization for these horrific deeds, many Americans chose to direct their anger toward all Muslims, making no distinction between the extremist terrorist group and regular individuals of Muslim faith. Some politicians and news outlets went as far as to blame Syrian refugees for the attack, despite ISIS being one of the main reasons many of these people had to flee their homes.
Furthermore, some American politicians chose to capitalize on the tragedy, and use it to promote their campaigns and political agendas. Among the most reactionary statements were those by Newt Gingrich who tweeted, “Imagine a theater with 10 or 15 citizens with concealed carry permits.” and Rep. Jeff Duncan of South Carolina who tweeted, “How’s that Syrian refugee resettlement look now? How about that mass migration into Europe? Terrorism is alive & well in the world. #No”. Gingrich and Duncan are only two among many politicians who chose to warp human tragedy for public attention.
The backlash from the French was almost instantaneous. French politicians, journalists and regular citizens alike condemned these statements, with the French Ambassador to the U.S., Gérard Araud, even calling Donald Trump a “vulture.” However, the backlash from Americans was mixed in with support. Unfortunately, many people in our country felt that these Islamophobic and opportunistic statements by our politicians rang true. And that is a real problem.
The high level of support for Islamophobic statements in a country as diverse as the United States is not only morally reprehensible, but also worrisome. By declaring war on all Muslims, American citizens are declaring war on fellow Americans. Already, threats against the lives of Muslim and non-white Americans are flooding Twitter, Facebook and other social media outlets. Some of these tweets blatantly call for mass murder. Despite this, media and politicians are hesitant to label these statements as threats of terrorism. Moreover, there are many people who support these statements. It is bewildering to think that a country divided by such hatred and bigotry can defeat ISIS. Moreover, this hatred only gives ISIS recruiters more material to work with. Islamic extremists want all Muslims to feel threatened and unsafe, because that makes it easier to convince people to support ISIS’s cause and embrace violence and ISIS’ quest for world domination. Islamophobia is advantageous to ISIS because it helps them convince people that joining the terrorist organization is their only way of survival.
In this time of deep unrest across the world, with lives being lost in staggering quantities in places as far apart as Kenya, Beirut and France, it is necessary for people to stand together as a united front against terrorism. In order to fight terrorism, the United States must focus its efforts on eliminating prejudice and hatred. Otherwise, terrorism will permeate our news for decades to come.
Most importantly, Americans must hold their media outlets and representatives accountable for these statements. It is horrible to think that people who explicitly hate and discriminate against others based on their religion govern our country, and that news outlets that are supposed to accurately inform people equate all Muslims with ISIS, which is akin to equating all Christians to the Westboro Baptist Church. That stands against everything our country is built on and it is simply unconstitutional. The United States cannot afford to fall into Islamophobia. Generalizing all Muslims as Islamic extremists will not “wake up” our country nor help defeat ISIS and Al-Kaeda; rather, it will only further the divisions in our country, and consequently make it weaker.
Maria DeCasper, FCRH ’17, is a philosophy major from Miami, Florida.
