Candidly Canada: Fighting Islamophobia starts with education
When thinking about life, liberty and the the pursuit of happiness, the first country that comes to mind is America.
Americans certainly use their freedoms to the fullest extent possible. However, that doesn’t mean everyone feels welcome to practice their Constitutional rights.
When living in a country privileged enough to promote the freedoms of speech and religion, whether it be America or Canada, it’s the people’s responsibility to uphold those basic rights. Words and actions have significant power in how we perceive each other and the world as a whole.
When it comes specifically to anti-Muslim views, to encourage progress in both understanding and accepting Islam, more people must reach out to the Islamic community in solidarity and speak out against hate. While that’s a task everybody should consider acting on, educational institutions provide an appropriate platform to inform people and spread a message of tolerance for all faiths.
Campuses up north are already paving the way for emphasizing acceptance. A talk last week at Bishop’s University titled, “The Progressive Voices of the Arab-Muslim World,” presented the common elements that unite the Muslim and Quebec community. The talk also consciously addresses the myths and prejudices with regards to the Muslim community that are omnipresent in the media by challenging them with the presence of progressive voices that exist both in the Western and Arab-Muslim worlds.
A stark contrast back in the States, the Argus Leader has reported a Worldview Weekend event in Sioux Falls featuring Pastor Shahram Hadian, an Iranian-born former Muslim who’s converted to Christianity. Hadian plans to address the importance of “extreme vetting of Muslim immigrants,” due to the “clear and present threat ISIS poses to America as they have boasted of placing their terrorists among the refugees flooding into America.”
This message promotes further intolerance and portrays Islam as a religion of hate and violence. The Muslim population then responds with fear of more judgment, injustice and violence.
Mass media has received scrutiny for its portrayal of Muslims, especially with its influence on people’s simplistic views of Islam to a few radical extremists. For the majority of media consumers, coverage of Muslims and Islam is likely to shape the opinions of those who have limited or no contact with this religion and its people.
Research by sociologist Christopher Bail finds that media coverage since 9/11 has been dominated by messages of fear and anger originating in the press releases from anti-Muslim fringe organizations, changing the entire mainstream discourse.
On the systemic level, Canadians are trying to prevent Islamophobia, but one policy isn’t receiving great support. Canada’s National Post says almost ninety percent of Canadians have little faith that a new motion condemning anti-Muslim sentiment and to strike a committee to study systemic racism will accomplish anything, although they’re split as to whether it’s worth passing even symbolically.
Although the proposed policy wouldn’t likely infringe upon any freedoms, its vagueness leads people to wonder how to best combat Islamophobia.
Educational curricula should take a stand on Islamophobia. If a general education includes mentions of Judaism and Christianity, it only seems appropriate to include Islam. One TIME magazine article says the virtues of learning about religion, especially as the world becomes increasingly interconnected, are priceless.
Education is a platform to foster understanding and empathy for others across religious and ethnic lines. Teaching, learning about and welcoming Islam — the most misunderstood religious system of current times — is a solemn obligation.
The media, especially when exploiting radical violence, can’t serve as the only channel of awareness. Regardless of country of origin or citizenship, young people especially have the potential to answer discrimination with tolerance, prejudice with wisdom.
To do so, however, awareness is a necessity. When democratized countries fall back on their roots of freedom for all, followers of Islam shouldn’t be discluded.
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