This video focuses on Islamophobia and Islamism. The main inspiration behind the intervention is the fact that we, humans, have been targeting a major population (community) of the world, Muslims, for the actions of a very small percentage. The theory that many people have mentioned to me – “All Muslims are not terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims” is scary to the fact that it needs to be completely wiped out. This video addresses issues of hypocrisy by the world’s most power and “progressive” nation, the United States of America. It also highlights experiences of Muslims living in the US and the current generation of students who have faced circumstances that were solely shaped by the fact that they are Muslim. Islamophobia is a shame and should be ‘Ctrl+Alt+Del’ from our lives…

Link to the video

Pop culture in the US has exasperated the situation of Muslims in the US. Right from 1980s, movies like “Back to the Future” or the “Delta Force” have stereotyped Muslims and Arabs. The trend continued when in 1995 Oklahoma City Attack, the US Media passed its judgment that the criminal had middle eastern traits, without any proof, whatsoever. It was later determined that the bomber was an Irish Catholic Boy. Even though the story broke out, the Irish boy’s ethnicity was never a part of it. However, if this same situation would have occurred with the bomber being an American with Arab roots or an American Muslim, the situation would have been much harsh and adverse for the community. The video goes on to explore the views of a current NYUAD Student, Lama Ahmad, where she gives us an insight into how she felt when her views were judged with a filter only because she wore a hijab. How she was mistaken at times or looked at by surprise, only because she was Muslim. We then look at, who real American Muslims are? The data shows that they are as normal as the Christian majority of the nation is. the video ends with a clip of the current, most powerful man in the world, Donald Trump, expressing his views in Islamophobia…

Q: Why did you choose the US as an example in this video?

A: I wanted to highlight the hypocrisy that the US population and government adore, intentionally or unintentionally. The US is known to be and considers itself the world’s more progressive and powerful nation. To an extent, it is. It also considers itself to be a country of immigrants and a melting pot of various cultures, religions, ethnicities into one big happy community. It is a fact that the decisions made by the US affect many countries worldwide. The US has many allies that rely on them for their progress. And therefore, the ideology of the nation carries more weight than one could imagine. Hence, if the US walks on the track of hypocrisy, that is, saying that all religions are same, but acting otherwise, it needs to be highlighted. The best judge are the people who havefaced extreme views against the, And that’s what i want to show in my intervention.

 

Q: Why does the video end with Trump in the Presidential Debate?

A: Trump is currently the leader of the US. The decisions that he makes, are the decisions that are FINAL. I wish to highlight how Trump does call Islamophobia a “shame”, but then, endorses it in his explanation. he talks about a particular sect of a large society to report when they see something suspicious happening. Of course, he’s talking about Muslims. this raises a question. Why is it that we only expect one section of the community to report an incident. Aren’t we directly putting a religion into question by saying this? Therefore, thoughts like “Islamophobia is a shame” and the one mentioned cannot be a part of the same answer. trump also mentions but does not explain, “there is a reason for everything”. I feel that he just does not realise that Islamophobia is actually the reason for what he is saying. As he tries to behave like a neutral President candidate, he exposes his bias against the Muslim community. This needed to be highlighted.