Perspective: America is guilty of fostering hate of Islam | Qasim Rashid

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Evidence of the rising Islamophobia is demonstrated by the increasing number of anti-sharia laws enacted or debated around the country.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Pal-Item
By Qasim Rashid | February 19, 2015

Three college students killed last week in Chapel Hill, N.C., were proud Muslims and proud Americans. Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, and his wife, Yusor Abu-Salha, 21, were dedicated to serving humanity. Her sister, Razan Abu-Salha, 19, was a gifted artist and design student.

In my mind, it's hard to believe that these Muslim students were not in some way targeted and killed because of their faith.

A neighbor, Craig Hicks, has been charged with first-degree murder in the students' deaths. While Chapel Hill Police Chief Chris Blue has suggested that Hicks' motive was based on a "dispute over parking," he also acknowledged "concerns about the possibility that this was hate-motivated."

Let's face it, if Hicks were Muslim and the victims were white, we would be hard pressed to find a headline without the word "terrorist." Hicks described himself as an "anti-theist" and praised atheist author Richard Dawkins. But don't expect anti-theists to take responsibility for Hicks' alleged actions. Killers are regularly called Islamic terrorists merely because they claim to practice Islam, but that doesn't apply to anti-theist killers.

The alleged gunman is from a state that has passed a nonsensical "anti-sharia law." Such a law, aside from being unconstitutional, promotes hatred of Muslims and intolerance of Islam. Most recently, Duke University was forced to cancel its planned Muslim call to prayer after receiving "security threats." But don't expect any public recognition that North Carolina is fostering anti-Muslim bigotry.

Evidence of the rising Islamophobia is demonstrated by the increasing number of anti-sharia laws enacted or debated around the country. The Justice Department has investigated more than 800 cases of violence against Americans of Muslim, Arab or South Asian background since 9/11. Muslim job-seekers are being advised to remove anything that indicates their faith on job applications. Indeed, The New York Times reports that data from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission show that at 2 percent of the population, Muslim Americans account for nearly 25 percent of religious discrimination claims filed last year.

I'm reminded of the comforting words of his holiness the Khalifa of Islam after the horrific Peshawar school attack in Pakistan last December, in which more than 140 people were killed: "May Allah the exalted cover all of the victims and those left bereaved with his mantle of mercy and love."

As that attack was a watershed moment for Pakistanis, the Chapel Hill attack should be a watershed moment for Americans. Americans must condemn this attack and all anti-Muslim bigotry and violence. Enough is enough. After these senseless killings, the only question Americans should be asking is, "How can we stop this from happening again?"


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Qasim Rashid is an attorney and spokesperson for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA.


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