When I was 9, I remember standing in front of my living room TV and CNN was turned on. Repeated clips of politicians and journalists, including our future president, calling for a Muslim ban, rung through my head. As a Muslin, I was surprised because I was taught that Islam is a religion of peace.
I have spent most of my life in the United States and consider myself an American. So, I wondered why my Muslim identity was under attack and why can’t I be both an American and Muslim? By no means was I an extremist; the most extreme thing I had tried doing as a kid was annoyingly getting my friends to like Minecraft.
Since the outbreak of the Iran war, Islamophobia has seen a resurgence, with U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) denouncing pluralism and stating that Muslims do not belong in American society. Even before the war, PragerU co-founder Dennis Prager claimed that Keith Ellison’s usage of the Quran during his inauguration undermined American civilization. Charlie Kirk claimed that “Islam is the sword the left is using to slit the throat of America.”
This xenophobia and hatred towards new ideas and different people isn’t new in the US. In the 1920s, Ozawa v. The United States affirmed that people of Asian heritage weren’t permitted to become citizens. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 paused Chinese immigration to the United States. The Native American Party, colloquially known as the Know Nothing Party, notably called for the purification of American politics from Irish and Catholic influences.
But even if history has shown us that those different from us haven’t always been treated as American, being different is what makes us American. The Declaration of Independence itself proclaims that all men are created equal. Thomas Jefferson championed the idea of religious freedom as necessary for a functioning democratic society.
American history, and even elements of mainstream American culture, demonstrate the importance of our differences. America is the oldest constitutional democracy in the world. During an age where it was common for kings, sultans and nawabs to reign, America, whose first leader willingly relinquished his power after eight years, chose to be different.
Even if not always agreed upon collectively, our differences have shaped our American identity, even if these differences were perceived as radical. Take abolitionism as an example. According to historian Manisha Sinha, abolitionists were deemed as “unthinking, single-minded fanatics who caused a ‘needless war’.” This radical movement fought for the ever-important idea found in the Declaration of Independence that all are endowed by their Creator to the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Similarly, during the civil rights movement, activist Martin Luther King Jr. was considered a radical, with 63% of Americans disapproving of him. It is universally agreed upon that Martin Luther King’s efforts brought about a positive impact on society, and we rarely think of him as a radical. Just like abolition, his idea forever shaped American life.
Clearly, American identity and history is defined by difference. Each advancement in civil rights and liberty has been a step towards an ultimate ideal; one echoed by the idea that all men are created equal.” Yet some refuse to acknowledge such.
From Andy Ogles to Dennis Prager to Charlie Kirk, hatred towards other people – including Muslims – contradicts the true American spirit reflected by our diverse cultural mosaic that makes America American. Hate is a direct contradiction to the ideals we have fought for 250 years.
Today a Bengali Muslim like me, can eat Japanese sushi and French Fries with my Hindu, Dominican and Chinese friends. I can listen to music in English, Spanish, French, Urdu, Hindi and Bengali. I can freely express and practice my Bengali culture and Muslim faith, without feeling like a lone exception. Seeing the diversity in my environment inspires me to truly say, God bless America.
Sardar Rahman can be reached at [email protected].
