Link to Overview: Overview.
🔥 SUMMARY & CONCLUSION + BONUS REFLECTION🔥
Through my research and the data provided by google trends, a direct relationship between hate speech towards muslims and major terrorist attacks came to light. During most September months, a spike in hate speech was noticed. This is to be expected given the annual anniversaries for the September 11 attacks. However, most significant throughout each search term was the San Bernardino shooting. A dramatic spike was evident on each graph for November of 2015.
Alarmingly violent search terms such as “kill muslims” and “deport muslims” had a much larger search response than I originally would have thought. I never realised that there were real life statistics that show the amount of animosity towards muslims. I had always felt that it was simply something that was known among the general public. It is also important to note that it is not just hatred against muslims that is extremely high today. It’s that it’s exceptional compared with prejudice against every other group in the United States.
The increasingly Islamophobic environment that inhibits America today is a result of many factors, most obvious being the war on terror. It is my own belief that the September 11 attacks drastically changed the attitude muslims. Since then, Muslims have been seen and portrayed in the media mostly as terrorists, with Islam painted as a radical religion that seeks to kill Americans.
It is unfortunate that an entire religious group is being discriminated against because of the actions of a few. I think most of this discrimination stems from ignorance. Most Americans are not aware of what Islam actually entails and what muslims really believe. Any practicing muslim would know that a person who commits an act of terror or violence is not a proper muslim.
This is a topic that I can spend hours upon end discussing about. I find it extremely fascinating trying to understand the inner workings behind the minds of the American public. The anti-Muslim attitude present in America has a long and complicated history that I am sure I do not know the entirety of.
I am quite interested to see how levels of Islamophobia will progress in the upcoming years. It is always so interesting to think that we are living in history. How cool that I am living in such a time and am the person that I am! Wack.
Alrighty, that’s enough existential reflection for now… save the rest for a later time. Looks like we have reached the end! What a whirlwind it has been.
Link to Overview: Overview.
Link to Homepage: Malika's Homepage.