Like the last three British prime ministers, Barack Obama has had a philosophy and plan to win the hearts and minds of Muslims, both overseas and at home. Even when Muslims do try to take some action in solidarity with their Muslim brothers and sisters, they are torn in different directions with these countless competing issues. The feeling of persecution, backlash, and severe massacres that go unreported are prime causes of the erosion of true identity. The black civil rights movement and the anti-Apartheid struggle are inspiring examples of this. British and American press reports that refer to the male predators as Asian are also trying to avoid the issue of religion as the common denominator among these men, since surely no one meant to suggest that immigrants of Chinese, Lao, Japanese, Burmese, or Cambodian ancestry were involved in this organized crime. This may all be true, but it is beside the point. But can we bring it back? 12Copsey, Nigel, Janet Dack, Mark Littler and Matthew Feldman. One in Five British Muslims Have Use Food Banks Due To Rising Living Costs, Six Muslims Named In Times 100 Most Influential People of 2022, Fatima Binte Muhammad: The Best Of Role-Model For Women, Hawaya Unveils What British Muslims Really Think About Marriage. Malcolm X Vanguards of Justice Scholarship, Measuring The Impact of Islamophobia on Muslims, Internalized Racism Internalized Islamophobia, The Role of Personal Experience in What Types of Islamophobia Are Ingested, Reinforcement of Islamophobic Messages in Islamic Spaces, Non-Muslim Counseling and the Mental Anguish of Young Muslims. This paper discusses how the Singapore government attempted to (re)imagine the Muslim identity in Singapore based on the crisis of the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) arrests in 2002. "Islamic" identity has recently come on strong, with threatening rhetoric towards Jewish students on college campuses and Democratic politicians eschewing the phrase "Islamic extremism." Having a proper definition for "Islamic" has high global stakes, but simultaneously theorizing and politicizing "Islam" has diminished our understanding. The West, with its unrelenting individualism, can be a harsh, cold place for third-world immigrants and their children. The Muslim Brotherhood Mourns Prominent Leader Essam Al-Erian . How many of us know that the original flying machine was built not by Leonardo Da Vinci or the Wright Brothers, but by a ninth-century inventor named Abbas Ibn Firnas? It was inspired by the inaugural project of Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research,Modern Pathways to Doubt in Islam, by Youssef Chouhoud. Identity Crisis And Muslims . Almost the entire audience raised their hands. Young Muslim women, in particular, are denied the right to construct their own identities. Muslims are left feeling apologetic about their identity. The experience of Germany, with the largest Muslim population in Western Europe after France, shows that a significant Muslim population at the heart of Europe need not produce either violent Islamist groups or destabilising social unrest. As one of the older participants in my group, Samina, age 20, said, I stopped coming to themasjidbecause I got sick of being treated like a second class citizen. One of the girls ironically said she found a strong identity in fighting off Islamophobic comments from her non-Muslim therapist. I asked all of my participants if they thought their parents were more loving than those of their non-Muslim friends. Constructing a strong identity based on strong conviction and confidence of true Muslims can lead to a healthier Muslim society and especially the younger Muslim generation. Muslim patients and health disparities in the UK and the US. One of the essential components in satisfying this need is engaging in positive interactions with others within a framework of long-term stable care and concern. Telephone interview by author. My Pakistani-English roommate at university in Great Britain, a bright, curious, fun-loving fellow who was studying medicine, had the damndest time self-identifying as an Englishman even though he was born and raised in England, had no real knowledge of Pakistan, couldnt read the Koran in Arabic, and really had no idea of what it meant when he read it in English. With particular regard to the Muslim identity, they did choose to identify themselves on the spectrum, however, in a way that Dr. Iqbal would not have been much too pleased with. Islamophobia Studies Journal,Volume 4, Issue 1, Spring 2017, Presented at: Fourth International Islamophobia Conference, Paris, France: Contending Epistemologies: Euro-Centrism, Knowledge Production, and Islamophobia. The racialization of the Muslim identity, coupled with the pressures mentioned above, has led young Muslims to a place of trying to hyper-counter the hampering assumptions made of them within their societies and Muslim communities. Points of friction were downplayed, common bonds were played up. It kind of made him seem more like the hardcore guys we see on TV. This girl forthrightly admitted that her association of the Prophet (peace be upon him) with extremists was due to her own media consumption. doi:10.1007/978-3-662-37819-9_7. However, even before persecution exposes their new faith, many initial . The Labour party, which controls Rotherham, and is more sensitive to, partly because it is more successful with, the Asian vote, ought to do some brutal soul-searching. Reuel Marc Gerecht, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, is a contributing editor to The Weekly Standard. Muslims . Like the last three British prime ministers, Barack Obama has had a philosophy and plan to win the hearts and minds of Muslims, both overseas and at home. This crisis of identity of both Hindus and Muslims has been mirrored in some major texts on partition fictions in English and in English translation. Even when the faith is attenuated or gone, most often by the unrelenting secularization that comes with Westernization, the collective identity can remain. Disclaimer: The views, opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed in these papers and articles are strictly those of the authors. During the 1971' Liberation War in East Pakistan, many Bengali-blooded Muslims supported the Punjabi regime and raised armed militias to crush the struggle for the political liberation of Bangladesh. Our sense of belonging to the Ummah may at times come to the forefront of consciousness. Image rights belong to the respective owners. But at the same time, when I have to pray around my non-Muslim friends, I find myself not wanting to because I dont want to remind them that Im different.. Report. European cultures are heavy and often unforgiving, and the Western progressive ethic keeps liberating new corners of the human soul that many more traditional peoples find troubling, if not revolting. He couldnt recall what it was and said that he remembered thinking it wasnt a big deal, but his sister felt like the imam was a misogynist. In modern times, in the hands of poorly educated young men, in the West and in the Middle East, it can aid unspeakable crimes. These 23 included 17 girls and only 6 boys. Western governments prop up the most brutal dictators of the Muslim world, but it is Muslims who are the threat to freedom and democracy. It is this very relationship with our Creator which defines, establishes and maintains our identity. The effects of internalized oppression on the Black community, p. 96. doi:10.1017/cbo9780511562280.006. At school, they often feel as though they betray the Islamic part of themselves by engaging in things they know are displeasing to God. Rashid is an attorney, national spokesperson for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA and author of Talk to Me. Outreach programs shouldnt be chucked. The therapeutic alliance is considered to be one of the most important aspects of successful psychotherapy and has been found to be a consistent predictor of treatment outcomes in over 30 years of research.26, Non-Muslim counselors may be influenced by media projections of Islam and then falsely portray those notions on vulnerable youth. This project greatly benefited from the support and expertise of Sarah Sultan, Dalia Mogahed, and Nameera Akhtar. In J. C. Norcross,Psychotherapy relationships that work: Therapist contributions and responsiveness to patients(pp. Colonized mindsets and internalized racism are often subconscious, their messages primarily subliminal. When we met, I was in a point of discovery and of reconciliation between my Third-Worldness and my Indigenous, Latinx and Muslim . Grotesque sexual predation now seems to be common in the Westmore common than in Islamic lands, where sex with minors who are not wives is a deadly risk since family structure, even among the poor, remains fairly solid and male honor is tightly bound to female virtue. doi:10.1017/cbo9780511779381.003. Go to Muslim r/Muslim . Some might say that Great Britain is chock full of non-Muslim rapists, pimps, and sex offenders, which is undoubtedly true. 27Laird, L. D. (2007). Gallup, 2009. Outreach programs shouldnt be chucked. Just as young children are less aware of variations in skin color and the levels of prejudice associated with them, Muslim children pay very little attention to the different ways religious symbols are used. By Dinah Spritzer February 27, 2009 . But the predators of Rotherham, like the hundreds of young European Muslims whove gone to join Islamic radical groups in Syria and Iraq, ought to signal that there is a serious illness within that needs to be more aggressively treated. ),Mental health and segregation(pp. These 23 included 17 girls and only 6 boys. It will require a revolutionary Muslim introspection to reclaim Islam for future generations. Over the past decade, the rise in people identifying primarily as Muslim was not all or even mostly due to expanding Islamist aspirations. But the predators of Rotherham, like the hundreds of young European Muslims whove gone to join Islamic radical groups in Syria and Iraq, ought to signal that there is a serious illness within that needs to be more aggressively treated. False Attack Claims Reveal Muslim Youth Identity Crisis. Support/Advice. Pakistan's identity crisis, going back to the debates since its creation, remains unresolved. Anti-Muslim hate crime and the far right. Middlesbrough Centre for Fascist, Anti-Fascist and Post-Fascist Studies. Allah tells us in the Quran, And truly this Ummah of yours is a single community, and I am your Lord and Cherisher: therefore keep your duty to Me., The parableof the believers in their affection, mercy, and compassion for each other is that of a body. We define ourselves in terms of the anti-Muslim ideas that surround us desperate to prove that we do not conform to the negative stereotypes. Southeast Asia. Saying that a dismal number of Muslims engage in terrorism does little to change the enduring damage inflicted on Islam and Muslims everywhere. I've been facing identity crisis for the past few months and nothing is really helping. 23 March 2018 01:20 am - 2 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}} A A A. 25Youssef Chouhoud. Coping with Islamophobia: The effects of religious stigma on Muslim minorities identity formation. Secular Britons may no longer see the crosses of Europes most beautiful flag; Muslims do. Does Islam Permit Sex-Reassignment Surgery? Without a sense of belonging, Muslim American youth lack this framework, which results in a sense of anxiety and isolation. But very few of these studies measure the psychological effects of Islamophobia on Muslim minorities. 28Youssef Chouhoud. Someone with an abusive parent, or coming from a culture that appears regressive in certain areas, is likely to feel that some of the concerns raised about Islam are true. It is not just the great achievements of our past which too many of us are unaware of. The British might be wise to review this analysis. This brings me to my own analysis and reasons for choosing my subset. Islam conveys a powerful sense of group identity. Politicians now acknowledge it is a country of immigration, with a large and permanent Turkish and Muslim . Dr. Workplace discrimination and chronic daily hassles, including insults, can increase risk of common mental disorders.14Parental stress may therefore exacerbate the effects of similar experiences Muslim children face in the school setting, such as the increased verbal and physical harassment post9/11.15, As the 2012 study on coping with Islamophobia stated, mental health experts stated, many Muslims not only experience religious discrimination in their daily lives, but are fully aware of their devalued position in society.16 They found that perceived Islamophobia has a distinct effect on Muslim minorities health and identification.17, These encounters often go unreported, and not deemed criminal offenses. Muslim Brotherhood Statement on the Arrest of Acting Chairman Dr. Mahmoud Ezzat . Traditionally, persecution from family, community, or the secret police is thought to leave these women with newfound faith. How many Muslims have heard of Omarska? This way, we know their real personality and we dont get fooled. When I asked her why she felt that way, she said I couldnt get over why men in themasjidare so cruel. The inquiry and subsequent British press reporting reveal that local officials covered up this entire affair in part because they were concerned about being accused of racism. But there need to be standards that dont slip, especially about women. The report shies away from talking much about ethnicity and racethe preferred words for alluding to the Muslim origins of the boys and men who were methodically raping, and often impregnating, overwhelmingly non-Muslim British girls. In Cairo in 2009, he even said that it was part of my responsibility as president of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear. He suggested that Americans would not interfere in how Muslims (that is, Muslim rulers) ran their own affairs. Doubt, then, can come about through a desire to alleviate mental anguish: [Those that] have dated [][that] have been sexually active [] its not in their benefit to make Islam out to be the truth. Internalized racism is acceptance of negative messages and intrinsic worth by the stigmatized races. It manifests itself as a false sense of identity, self-devaluation, for example, refusal of ancestral culture, resignation, helplessness, and hopelessness (Jones, 2000 ). According to Gallup, the American public is largely unconvinced most Muslims believe in gender equality81% of respondents disagree that most Muslims around the world think both sexes should have equal rights and 16% agree.22, This is of course largely augmented by degrading media portrayals of Muslim women in the United States. The author concluded that 1 in 3 children did not want to tell others that they were Muslim, 1 in 2 children did not know whether they could be both Muslim and American, and 1 in 6 children would sometimes pretend not to be Muslim.8, This study has shown that identity confusion is present in young American Muslim children; however, the confusion becomes compounded as these children progress into young adulthood. A Warner Bros. The researchers studied the stigmatizing effects of religious meta-stereotypes, religious discrimination, and negative representations of Muslims in media. There is a lot to be said for multicultural Britain. Slurs, stereotypes, and student interventions: Examining the dynamics, impact and prevention of harassment in middle and high school. Deliver talks with ease using authentic, well-researched, pre-prepared lectures relevant to Muslims today. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. It ought to be obviousand it ought to be a major subject of conversation and heated debatethat there is a moral distemper within the Muslim communities of the West, as there is in the Muslim lands of the Greater Middle East. The inquiry and subsequent British press reporting reveal that local officials covered up this entire affair in part because they were concerned about being accused of racism. Muslim should also be intellectually equipped with how to deal with the onslaught-of-doubting-inducing claims leveled against Islam routinely in the climate of identity crisis. A Muslim Identity Crisis Reuel Marc Gerecht Senior Fellow The massive sexual abuse case in Rotherham, England, has revealed again how awkward and self-defeating the Western response often is to matters that touch on religious identity. And its not incidental to the faith. 21Dalia Mogahed. Whether conservatism is judged solely based on the donning of a black abaya, rebelliousness by the amount of makeup worn, or coolness by the careful attention paid to how many hairs are left exposed, young Muslim American women become even further entrapped in the vortex of adolescent identity development. Theyat least the British and the French, the two former great imperial powershave done better in transforming Muslim immigrants into citizens than most Europeans de souche believe. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. The West, already rife with anti-Islamic and Islamophobic biases, is not prepared for Islam's positive image. 9 of the youth I interviewed were involved in youth groups and regular charitable activities. Islam in most Muslim countries is increasingly defined in rigid term, writes Cawo Abdi, Confusion, shame and victimhood might define the future memories of Muslim children. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use |Store Terms | Copyright The Muslim Vibe 2021. Women reported being taunted with comparisons to terrorists, and reported that it was their veil that seemed to spark the ire of their aggressors who shouted things like, Take that f***ing thing off, and Yuck. One woman was called Mrs. Facebook; Twitter; email; Print; Community activists in Paris speak with French Jewish leaders in October about ways to improve intercultural ties in such areas as the 19th . They have an identity crisis, and a sense of 'our way' being the inferior way. As they get older, Muslim teenagers who choose to wearhijabfind themselves in the complex world of modern Islamic fashion. Beyond withdrawing from the Muslim Middle East, he stressed his reverence for Islam and Islamic civilization, and the (mostly illusory) bonds between Americans and Muslims around the world. Muslim adolescents living as minorities have to deal with a dangerously high level of cognitive dissonance when attempting to formulate a cohesive identity. It ought to be obviousand it ought to be a major subject of conversation and heated debatethat there is a moral distemper within the Muslim communities of the West, as there is in the Muslim lands of the Greater Middle East. The views expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. But even in the best of circumstances, there remained a moral division between Muslim and non-Muslim, superior versus inferior. The Labour party, which controls Rotherham, and is more sensitive to, partly because it is more successful with, the Asian vote, ought to do some brutal soul-searching. But there need to be standards that dont slip, especially about women. Reality has been turned upside down to the extent that a. found that most university students even think that it was the Palestinians who invaded Israel, and not the Israelis who drove the Palestinians out of their homes! 25-69). "I'm a Muslim but I'm also a loyal law-abiding citizen". My sense of whirling like a dervish in making sense of the schizophrenic identity crisis of Muslims everywhere at this beginning of the 21st century is due to the current condition of the Muslim world. This often leads some Muslim youth to adopt one personality outside of school, college or university, which complements Western values and pleases the court of public opinion. The feeling is that the pursuit of greatness comes through breaking the shackles of Islam and the Muslim identity rather than embracing it. This brutal minority has become the de facto defining feature of the Islamic world, not only driving European and American political and military interventions in the Muslim world, but also anchoring the rhetoric of dictatorial leaders in all Muslim-majority countries. It kind of made him seem more like the hardcore guys we see on TV. This girl forthrightly admitted that her association of the Prophet (peace be upon him) with extremists was due to her own media consumption. It shares a with India, Bangladesh, T hailand, Laos and china. Its a bit of a mind-bender to imagine David Cameron making an appealing argument in favor of a clearer British culture, but that is surely the direction that he and others ought to go. Second generation young Muslims often have a hard time discerning which elements of their upbringing are rooted in culture, religion, or personal idiosyncrasies. The more they act in opposition to their values, the deeper the struggle becomes. Because Muslims are often cast as being predominantly Arab, or at least non-white, young Muslims are viewed through a racialized lens in a way that members of other faith communities are not.9In addition to routinely feeling the need to justify their practice of faith, which is often deemed insufficient in Muslim spaces, they have to consistently prove theyre not foreign. Though the groups executing these atrocities represent an extreme in their readings of Islam, a less brutal but still potent literal interpretation of Islam is also spreading around the world. of this. All 9 of them answered in the negative when asked if they felt hindered by their religion and religious identity. When we look back at the great struggles for justice, equality, and human rights throughout history we can see that consciousness of a positive identity, anchored in a strong collective narrative, has played a pivotal role. As one scholar who gave an in-depth lecture on this topic put it, The Islam came to abolish slavery response is simply insufficient.25. Muslims have been one of the accepted representations of expendable evil in American films going back as far as the silent film era. Classical Islamic legal scholars, whod fortunately advanced beyond the Arab tribal practices that viewed the killing of foreigners as more a question of etiquette than moral deliberation, resolutely defended the sanctity of non-Muslim life and property within Muslim realms. The terms LGBT and Islam mentioned together in a sentence rarely evoke positive connotations. They dig deep into Jennahs own personal journey and they speak about Halima Aden and her experience in the modeling industry, the struggle of wearing the hijab as Muslim . The study was criticized for its binary categorization of race, but the main finding was replicated in subsequent studies using broadened ranges and categories to test the same hypothesis. Islam is an example of an extended identity crisis and a values-based identity. Yasmine, 17, shared a similar experience even though she goes to an Islamic school. Beyond withdrawing from the Muslim Middle East, he stressed his reverence for Islam and Islamic civilization, and the (mostly illusory) bonds between Americans and Muslims around the world. Kanye Wests antisemitic ramble reveals failure of Holocaust education, Reporters Notebook: The future of Manchins permitting plan, Reporters Notebook: Biden refuses to visit the Southern border. Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation. The study was helpful in that it proposed a model of the key variables involved in the intersections of religious and national identities and how they might be impacted by Islamophobia. I believe understanding and being proud of our identity is vital whilst living as a Muslim in the West. When it comes to criminality like that in Rotherham, however, its not that difficult: The predators need to be locked up, and all those who looked away, who feared the animadversions of the politically correct or thought less of good English girls who talked about sexual encounters with Pakis, should be fired. This trend translates to the demise of varying contextualized flavors of a dynamic Islam that accommodated differences in culture and history. Similarly, the issue of slavery in Islam has become a recurring topic of concern, particularly as younger American Muslims are now more sensitive to the issues of social injustice around them. Grotesque sexual predation now seems to be common in the Westmore common than in Islamic lands, where sex with minors who are not wives is a deadly risk since family structure, even among the poor, remains fairly solid and male honor is tightly bound to female virtue. Muslim patients and health disparities in the UK and the US. Many young Muslims are first exposed to controversial texts either packaged by extremists or Islamophobes in imagery difficult to erase even with an intellectually satisfying answer. Its like we have to face pressure from everybody., . False claims of anti-Muslim attacks potentially shed skepticism on any report made by Muslims . All of them live in the United States. Modern Pathways to Doubt in Islam. October 20, 2016. November 27, 2016. If Muslim immigrants to Western lands refuse to adopt the standards that Westerners consider fundamental to their identity, both cultural and political, then Westerners should rise in high dudgeon. And the oppositehaving them invalidated or underminedis also powerful. 1. This shared identity has a greater pull on men: Islam is a profoundly fraternal religion. Exploring the impact of Islamophobia on visible Muslim women victims: A British case study. Classical Islamic legal scholars, whod fortunately advanced beyond the Arab tribal practices that viewed the killing of foreigners as more a question of etiquette than moral deliberation, resolutely defended the sanctity of non-Muslim life and property within Muslim realms. These girls existed outside of their moral universe where the predators wives, sisters, and daughters live. Sexual predation of the type seen in Rotherham surely must have as much Western inspiration as Islamic. Europe struggles with Muslim identity crisis Muslim-Jewish ties: Trying to talk, not fight, in one Paris neighborhood. The report strongly suggests that all of the rapists and sex traffickers were men who, if you asked them to self-identify, would probably describe themselves as Muslim. Often, people then ask how I communicate with my Moroccan-born parents and I surprise them further. My father and his three brothers were Koranic teachers in central Somalia, traveling from hamlet to hamlet, teaching children, mostly boys, to memorize the Koran, and often returning with goats that were given them as payment for their labor. Suite 120237, Irving, TX 75063, Modern Pathways to Doubt in Islam, by Youssef Chouhoud. A Muslim identity in Europe has become similar to identity politics among Christians in Northern Ireland: It has next to nothing to do with worship and religious ritual and everything to do with the social and cultural milieu in which one is raised. Until very recently, I jolted every time I heard the word Islamic and terrorism lumped so intimately. The young men also seemed to find issue with the treatment of women in many mosques, as well as perceived harshness. The study concluded, in addition to bumping up against doctrinal tenets, social norms can also render certain episodes in Islamic history problematic in the minds of American Muslims. Racial/ethnic discrimination and common mental disorders among workers: Findings from the EMPIRIC Study of ethnic minority groups in the United Kingdom. We define ourselves in terms of the anti-Muslim ideas that surround us - desperate to prove that we do not conform to the negative stereotypes. Europe is in the midst of an identity crisis one that is coming to a head thanks to a rising fear of the "other," namely Muslim immigrants and a flood of Syrian refugees. Family and communal spaces serve as natural reinforcements or refutations of Islamophobic messaging that can devastate the core of an adolescent. Theyat least the British and the French, the two former great imperial powershave done better in transforming Muslim immigrants into citizens than most Europeans de souche believe. lies its inability to define its identity. 26Horvath, A. O., & Bedi, R. P. (2002). Even when the faith is attenuated or gone, most often by the unrelenting secularization that comes with Westernization, the collective identity can remain. It is no longer solely about Islamophobia, no longer solely about Palestine, no longer solely about Syria, Kashmir, Myanmar, Yemen, Uzbekistan, this is about all of us. To wit: A multicultural Great Britain offered a welcoming home to Muslims. The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. . When, for instance, Gaza is attacked, Muslims are outraged about the murder of their brothers and sisters. We all know about Auswitz and the genocide against Jews committed more than 60 years ago and its right that we should however, how can so many of us have learned about the concentration camps that European Muslims were herded into just two decades ago? Answer: It often shocks people to learn that as someone who won't stop speaking about Arab history and politics, I speak very little Modern Standard Arabic and I can barely read Arabic at all. Points of friction were downplayed, common bonds were played up. Muslims may never agree with each other on the details of Islamic fiqh, but every true Muslim can surely agree on opposing the murder, dispossession, and oppression of our brothers and sisters as well as the demonisation of Islam. I already feel like that outside. American Journal of Public Health,95(3), 496501. While there is little evidence on which an inherent incompatibility can be claimed, persecution of LGBT people across the globe is routinely carried out in the name of Islam. 2013. Of the 30, 21 either attended, or are currently attending, public or private schools that did not identify as Islamic schools. They just are really mean. (2005). The report shies away from talking much about ethnicity and racethe preferred words for alluding to the Muslim origins of the boys and men who were methodically raping, and often impregnating, overwhelmingly non-Muslim British girls. When I questioned my interviewees on how they viewed elements of their faith deemed restrictive or regressive, many hesitated to openly discuss their issues. This doesnt preclude a generous spirit toward the travails that these immigrants, and the children of these immigrants, face. Insecurity often begets idleness. Likes; Followers; Linkedin; Saturday, August 27, 2022; What is the missing Muslim narrative? These were essentially just an extension and amplification of a philosophy that had gained broad currency on both the British left and right. The ages of the interviewees ranged from 16-20. Relation between working alliance and outcome in psychotherapy: A meta-analysis. Improving Schools,7(3), 301-302. doi:10.1177/1365480204049714. As the pioneering black doll study of Kenneth and Mamie Clark in 1947 demonstrated, black children were found to overwhelmingly associate beauty and positive themes with white dolls.4The study was criticized for its binary categorization of race, but the main finding was replicated in subsequent studies using broadened ranges and categories to test the same hypothesis. Im a Muslim woman but Im not oppressed. Im a Muslim but I condemn terrorism. Our very humanity is called into question when we accept that we cannot expect others to assume that we do not support the mass murder of innocent men, women,and children unless we actually march down the street with a placard that says Not In My Name! All European identitieseven the Albanian and Bosnian Muslim oneshave been forged through a Christian experience. My mothers work in a meat market in central Somalia required extremely long hours, with prayer rituals a luxury that she and many of her female co-workers could never afford. My sense of whirling like a dervish in making sense of the schizophrenic identity crisis of Muslims everywhere at this beginning of the 21st century is due to the current condition of the. A good first step might be to say unequivocally that there is a serious problem within the House of Islam. He went to the prom and actually made up a story about his parents threatening him which impressed his date. 18Allen, C. (2014). London is an incomparably more exciting place now than it was when it was more English, aristocratic, and pub-and-club-ridden. November 27, 2016. It is no wonder that they have therefore failed to demand their rights and those of their fellow Muslims. Without a sense of belonging, Muslim American youth lack this framework, which results in a sense of anxiety and isolation. People who felt that the British part of themselves was incompatible with their identity were more prone to anti-Western sentiment, which generally manifests in isolation, whereas those who felt compelled to abandon the Islamic part of themselves were more prone to consistent assimilation measures. Reuel Marc Gerecht, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, is a contributing editor to The Weekly Standard. She said it made her feel appreciated and gave her the courage to combat the scrutiny she would receive for wearinghijab. In other words, how these young Muslims start to view their faith and religious identity is largely unstudied. Muslims are left feeling apologetic about their identity. These new moral codes, fed by the dark sides of both Western and Islamic civilizations, are a cancer that non-Muslim Westerners, Western Muslims, and Muslims in the Middle East are poorly combating. September 28, 2016 11:57 AM EDT. An evolving nightmare for the world in general and Muslims in particular, from Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan, to Al Shabaab in Somalia, Boko Haram in Nigeria, and the newest extremist group of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) now dictate our lens towards Muslims and Islam. Oh, and my parents made us all finish the Quran recitation . The ages of the interviewees ranged from 16-20. This separation can allow for considerable hubris and abuse. I asked my 30 interviewees if they were bothered by the marriage of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to Aisha. Life in Somalia, until my teens in the 1980s, defied this dichotomy, with Muslim identity being part and parcel of being a Somali, regardless of adherence to any particular ritual. Notably, those who were involved in charity efforts and volunteerism through Islamic organizations felt empowered by their religion and identity to do good. Europe struggles with Muslim identity crisis Politics and power: The Muslim factor in European politics. Islam has a centuries-long tradition of inspiring its adherents to contribute to humanity based on conviction in its tenets. Whatever part we play in that, we are part of the same struggle. When asked if they felt welcomed in themasjid, only 3 of them said yes. From the Greeks and the Romans to the sudden emergence of the European Renaissance, there is a one thousand year gap in the history of civilization;the so-called Dark Ages. In one study, Alia, a student who was harassed by a fellow student claiming she was intimidating because of herhijab, said, It makes you think about integratingyou just put your boundaries up.11The pressure and aggregated fear of an Islamophobic encounter that young Muslims living in the west have is overwhelmingly high with a severe lack of outlets to cope with the harsh climate. This can be highlighted as a landmark decision in ascertaining the threat to secularist identity of India. regularly. 29Dalia Mogahed. Identity Crisis: Standing Between Two Identities of Women Believers from Muslim Backgrounds in Jordan Kindle Edition by Sarah Yoon (Author), Terry Muck (Foreword) Format: Kindle Edition 2 ratings See all formats and editions Kindle $9.99 Read with Our Free App Paperback $22.55 6 Used from $17.33 15 New from $18.78 (2006). Solutions for misguided counseling and the lack of competent youth directors must also be studied and implemented. One of the interviewees, an 18-year-old girl who goes to public school, said that she was embarrassed to bring her non-Muslim friends to the mosque because she felt like it would reinforce their stereotypes about Islam. appreciated. There is a small, but loud, group of Westerners who target Muslim women. but never really put any pressure on the men. Over two decades later, I feel fortunate to be able to hang on to those memories, but saddened that my American-born children will come of age with an Islam that is tangled with terrorism. The most severe disorderthe jihadism of groups like the Islamic State and al Qaeda and the creed of Wahhabism, based in Saudi Arabia but exported everywhereafflicts a small percentage of Muslims, but those numbers are sufficiently frightening, especially in an age of technology and global travel. Nine Human Rights Organizations Condemn Death Sentences in "Kerdasa Case" . The Centre for Decrees and Doctrines (Dr al-Ift wal Aqid). When asked if they felt hindered by their religion and religious identity in pursuing their dreams, 16 of the youth answered yes. There are many different ways that we as individuals can contribute to the cause of justice, not only for the Ummah but ultimately for humanity as a whole. The marriage of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to Aisha is a case in point. People can feel distant from or even traumatized in their relationships with God if they have been hurt by those closest to them. and see how girls are treated, I start believing that we really are as backwards as they say we are., in addition to bumping up against doctrinal tenets, social norms can also render certain episodes in Islamic history problematic in the minds of American Muslims. Since the July 7, 2005, suicide-bombings in London, the British government under Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, and now David Cameron has deployed fairly aggressive outreach programs to British Muslims. Im a Muslim but Im also a loyal law-abiding citizen. I'm questioning everything that makes me and I have to constantly fight my mind about it overthinking that things I might be that I am not. 12 of them answered yes, while 18 answered no. In M. M Grossack (Ed. 5Quoted in Pinkney, C (2012). Within this dominant narrative, Muslims can never be victims. Exploring the impact of Islamophobia on visible Muslim women victims: A British case study. When we examine our situation from a wider perspective it is no surprise that the vacuum left by the missing Muslim narrative has a cancerous effect on our community, ultimately ensuring that Muslims remain as passive victims. At worst, some Muslims turn on their own community or simply distance themselves by saying, Well, yes I am a Muslim, but Im a moderate Muslim/a progressive Muslim. This may all be true, but it is beside the point. Islamophobes regularly use videos from extremist groups as scare tactics to substantiate their ghastly claims about the religion. There have been many convergences and divergences between the West and Islam since the dawn of Islam. Critics of using religion as a common denominator of these rapists and child molesters might argue that there is nothing in the Islamic faith that condones this behavior, and these rapists, if they were even practicing Muslims, were obviously failing to uphold the mores of nearly all Muslims in the United Kingdom, who are surely repulsed by what has happened in Rotherham. Sign up now to get the Washington Examiners breaking news and timely commentary delivered right to your inbox. When they are deemed simply Pakistani Muslims or hijabis, they feel compelled to construct, and frequently renegotiate, their identities in ways that allow them to appear unique, even when these choices are not in line with their value systems. Muslim women are disproportionately the victims of violent hate crime, but it is the clothes they choose to wear that are the violation of women's rights. The crisis of Muslim identity is a historical phenomenon. Make deeply intellectual, guided group discussions on challenging faith topics a routine. Younger children were less likely to notice such variances. . Berlin: Springer. Identity crisis is a result of exploitation and a disregard for respect, rights, and freedom, which is what most Muslim minorities feel in secular and oppressive states. Similarly, the issue of slavery in Islam has become a recurring topic of concern, particularly as younger American Muslims are now more sensitive to the issues of social injustice around them. Its not that we dont think Islam is true, its that we want to get a break sometimes and do normal teenage things. Dalia Mogahed relayed a story of an encounter she had with a 16-year-old Muslim woman when she was a youth counselor in 2002: This young woman said, To get to know someone before marriage, we have to live with them before marriage. When I asked them if they thought Islam was a restrictive religion, 18 of them said yes with 16 of them having said that their parents werent as loving as those of their non-Muslim friends. Muslim women are disproportionately the victims of violent hate crime, but it is the clothes they choose to wear that are the violation of womens rights. Instead, it resulted mainly from declining. We must instil a huge sense of pride in being Muslim and this starts with a good wholesome Islamic education. No story of our Ummah means lack of unity behind a common overarching cause. One thing that consistently stood out with all of my respondents was that their need to prove their Americanness was an exhausting endeavor. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. 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