{"id":3111,"date":"2015-04-27T18:53:47","date_gmt":"2015-04-27T18:53:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theaccent.org\/?p=3111"},"modified":"2015-04-27T18:53:47","modified_gmt":"2015-04-27T18:53:47","slug":"new-perspectives-shed-light-on-old-stereotypes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/new-perspectives-shed-light-on-old-stereotypes\/","title":{"rendered":"New Perspectives Shed Light on Old Stereotypes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Story by Kyle August, Reporter<\/p>\n

Increased scrutiny of Islam and Muslim culture have caused unease for both Muslims and non Muslims in America as many struggle with issues of identity and acceptance<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Many American Muslims are frustrated.<\/p>\n

The events of 9\/11 and the actions of extremist groups have brought Islam and Muslim culture under fire.<\/p>\n

Stereotypes abound, and some non Muslims seem to question whether a person can be both Muslim and a patriotic American.<\/p>\n

During Texas Capitol Muslim Day on Jan. 29, protesters yelled insults at Muslims participating in the rally. House Rep. Molly White, left an Israeli flag on her desk and instructed her staff to ask representatives from the Muslim community to renounce Islamic terrorist groups and proclaim allegiance to America.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is absolutely no conflict between being an American and a Muslim,\u201d Fahim Idais, an Arabic and Math professor at ACC, said. \u201cBeing an American is a nationality, and I\u2019m proud of that. Being a Muslim is a religion, and I\u2019m proud of that. America is about freedom of religion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Idais said that he is disappointed with the extremes portrayed in the media and the perceptions of Muslims that result.<\/p>\n

Psychology major Jeremy Winters said he often thinks of 9\/11 before cultural tradition when he sees a woman wearing a hijab (the traditional head covering worn by Muslim women). Although cultural tradition comes to mind, Winters said he knows very little about what the hijab symbolizes.<\/p>\n

While she has never experienced blatant discrimination, ACC Journalism major Manal El Haj said that people are often reluctant to approach her.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like they don\u2019t know how to act around me. Maybe they think I don\u2019t speak English.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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El Haj recently started wearing a hijab in public. She said that negative views of women who wear the hijab are based on misconception.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re looked upon like they\u2019re oppressed, when really it\u2019s 100% their choice,\u201d El Haj said.<\/p>\n

She pointed out that Muslim women are not the only women to wear head coverings. Women of many religions and cultures have at one time covered their heads – the Virgin Mary included.<\/p>\n

\u201cProtecting my modesty makes me feel more like a woman. I am not an object,\u201d El Haj said.<\/p>\n

Perception is often a matter of per- spective. Maria Moreno, an early childhood education major, said that after living in Morocco for four-and- a-half years, her view of Muslims is not dictated by what she sees in the media.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I didn\u2019t go to Morocco I would be prejudice,\u201d Moreno said. \u201cI know that wherever I go, I will find extremists, and not just Muslims. They can be Christians, Catholics — it doesn\u2019t matter what religion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Explosions and violence tend to capture the media\u2019s attention more than peaceful coexistence. The actions of groups like ISIS give the impression that Islam is a violent religion and often color public opinion.<\/p>\n

\u201cISIS is a terrorist group, and honestly, I don\u2019t even know what they represent. They do not represent Islam and they definitely do not represent me as a Muslim.\u201d El Haj said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a proud American, and I\u2019m a hell of a lot bigger Texan than a lot of people here\u201d, El Haj said. \u201cThe beautiful thing about America is that we\u2019re a melting pot. That\u2019s the beauty of living here.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Story by Kyle August, Reporter Increased scrutiny of Islam and Muslim culture have caused unease for both Muslims and non Muslims in America as many struggle with issues of identity and acceptance Many American Muslims are frustrated. The events of 9\/11 and the actions of extremist groups have brought Islam and Muslim culture under fire. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4015,"featured_media":3216,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[54,100,363,490,599],"class_list":["post-3111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-accent-reporter","tag-austin-community-college","tag-kye-august","tag-read-accent","tag-the-accent-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4015"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3111\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}