Final Draft Project 1 Ibrahim Ismail.pdf - Muslim Through...

Muslim
Through the vast networks of politics, media, and academia that play into American
Cultural Studies, the word “Muslim” has been described as fitting into one of two monoliths. The
first monolith illustrates the phrase “Muslim” with terror and terrorism which signifies a people
that are barbaric and backward. While the second monolith was developed later, illustrating the
term as pacifistic and portraying the Muslim as someone who hates religion, seeing it as
oppressive. Both of these phases were heavily influenced by a political sphere and a media
sphere, which undoubtedly spread into American Cultural Studies. However, both of these
aspects led to the creation of the aforementioned monoliths and confusion in defining what a
Muslim is. However, this is a significant simplification of the term. One that has been
transformed and developed over centuries to a simple phrase to justify superficial narratives
undermines the complexity and diversity of the term “Muslim”.
On September 11, 2001, the simple word “Muslim” would be shifted on a political scale.
The basis of terror would fuel the understanding of the term. The terrorist attacks on 9/11 along
with many others fueled the political basis that war was justifiable and that the phrase “Muslim”
denoted terrorism. Sayings from officials such as then-President George Bush who infamously
claimed “you are either with us or against us” (Mohamed). While then-Vice President Dick
Cheney justified the Iraq War using the implication that the term “Muslim” and “terrorist” were
one and the same (Liu). It is these public officials' sayings and understanding of the expression
“Muslim” which spread to the military during the war on terror, causing damage to Muslims
themselves.
An example is Abu Ghraib, where torture was committed en masse mainly among people
who were “common criminals” stopped at military checkpoints (Michaels 23). Furthermore, the

method by which the United States government set up military commissions to investigate if
certain individuals deserved to be tried for terrorism charges and sent to Guantanamo Bay
Detention Camp led to a landmark case that ended in the US having to admit the Geneva
Conventions applied (Supreme Court of the United States 1). It was these events that made the
term “Muslim” simplified from its complex definition to a definition reliant on the word
terrorism. It was these events and sayings from the political sphere that turned the word Muslim
into a monolith, one reflected by the media.
The media as well significantly contributed to the hatred and villainization of the word
“Muslim”. In a Pew Research graph, hatred against Muslims through violent means peaked both
in 2001 and 2017 (Kishi). During that period as well, shows like Homeland (Zaheer) and 24
(Emami) gave hatred to Muslims and the term as they were perceived as TV villains and
terrorists. Radio and TV show hosts as well, such as Tucker Carlson (Peltz) and Rush Limbaugh
(Sontag) commented on Iraq and Afghanistan perpetrating hate in the media. The evidence
clearly indicated how the media forced the phrase “Muslim” into a monolith depicting terror
disregarding the complex nature of the term. As time progressed the media also pushed a
different monolith of the word “Muslim”.