Upcoming author, K. M. Awad discusses the struggles she faced growing up as a Muslim American in her book, Reflections of the Past. Throughout her school years, Awad was the victim of bullying, racism, and discrimination, because of her ethnic background and religion. She struggled to make friends, until later in high school and struggled at home as well because of the different cultures she was exposed to. This was the root of Awad’s identity crisis, which many children of immigrants face in the U.S. She was born and raised in California, but her parents had immersed their home with the culture and religion they brought from their homeland. Awad always wanted to live a life of her own choosing, instead of being told what to do by anyone. Her writing is raw and moving, it takes a lot of courage to write down your decisions, mistakes, and your past altogether, for the world to read. Many Muslim Americans will find Awad’s story inspiring and relatable.
Unfortunately, a majority of Muslim Americans have been victims of discrimination and racism. Especially after the events of 9/11, the world has not been the same for Muslims, not only in the U.S. but all around the world. According to research conducted by Pew Research Center, here are the top problems that Muslim Americans face in the U.S.:
Negative views about Muslims, discrimination, and ignorance about Islam top the list of the problems Muslim Americans say they face. The most frequently mentioned problem is people’s negative views about Muslims (29%), including stereotyping, being viewed as terrorists, and distrust. One-in-five (20%) cite discrimination, prejudice, and unfair treatment as the biggest problem facing Muslims in this country. Another 15% mention ignorance or misconceptions about Islam.
Far fewer cite religious or cultural problems between Muslims and non-Muslims (7%) and negative media portrayals (5%). Only 4% of Muslim Americans mention jobs or financial problems, issues that have dominated the public’s list of most important problems for the past several years. Just 4% say that clashes or disputes within the Muslim community are among the most important problems.
About one-in-six (16%) Muslim Americans say there are no problems facing Muslims living in the United States today.
More than a quarter of Muslim Americans (28%) say that in the past year people have acted as if they were suspicious of them because they were a Muslim, and 22% say that they have been called offensive names. About one-in-five (21%) say they have been singled out by airport security officials because they are Muslim; among those who report having flown in the past year, 36% say they have been singled out by security officials.
Another 13% of Muslim Americans say they have been singled out by other law enforcement officials and 6% say they have been physically threatened or attacked. Overall, 43% of Muslim Americans report experiencing at least one of these kinds of acts in the past 12 months. However, reports about these types of experiences have not increased substantially since 2007 (40% said they had experienced at least one of these acts then). Further, nearly as many (37%) say that someone has expressed support for them in the past year because they are Muslim.
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