User:Alasia Tardy/sandbox

CAIR-ing for Muslims and Transportation: America’s Oxymoron

Not all Muslims are terrorists. Not all Muslims are violent. Not all Muslims wear bombs around their bodies and speak the scary language known as Arabic. All Islamophobes, however, are the real danger. Before the 9/11 events, there had been a more subtle hatred for Islam and everything it stood for. Since the early 1700s, America had treated the Muslim community as the other- shunning them from the rest of society on the account of not only religion but race. According to the Arab American Institute, in 2017 alone there were 7,175 hate crime incidents targeting Muslims (and those who are perceived to be Arab) reported to the FBI (Baddar, 2018). Nearly 16 years later. What is interesting is that the 9/11 occasion occurred on an airplane and yet there are hundreds of incidents that occur on every other means of moving. Whether in cars, on buses, on planes, or on trains, Muslims are shown over and over that they are not safe, regardless of the mode of transportation. They are not those terrorists from 18 years ago but they are still the direct descendants and victims of some of the most heinous crimes. They fear for their lives getting into Uber and Lyft cars or try to avoid airports at all costs. Time and time again, Muslims are depicted as terrorists when the real terrorists are the people verbally and physically abusing and discriminating against them. Luckily, organizations such as CAIR (the Council on American-Islamic Relations) aim to not only comfort the Muslim community during their scary traveling episodes but they also aim to confront and exploit businesses and these hate-criminals. While this may seem like a simple and quiet resistance, Muslims and CAIR all around America are starting the most powerful and effective peaceful resistance by exposing the real terrorists and uplifting the Muslim community one meeting and tabloid at a time. Not all Muslims are terrorists or extremists and CAIR is here to peacefully prove that.