Dear President of the United States,

Hello from Brooklyn International High School. This letter will be about Islamophobia. The reason why I chose to talk about this issue is because I am Muslim. I came to the United States because I heard you find peace and equality here. However, day by day I realized that this is really not the case. I see a lot of Muslim lives affected differently and somehow when another Muslim is affected I also feel affected. Before researching about Islamophobia I heard from people I know that Muslims are treated differently in the US, but I never knew how bad it was. I see how people treat Muslim students on the street, in school, and at work. Some people don’t let girls wear hijabs in peace. Also, in this country, as we know a lot of people are against Muslims and there are only a few people who actually support Muslims. This is an issue that needs to be addressed immediately because people everywhere are thinking this country is not about peace and equality anymore. In this country, there are a lot of Muslim people that give back and do a lot for the country. If they don’t find peace and equality in this country it leaves our country with a big issue.

We need to see all Muslims be treated equally and not looked down on. They all shouldn’t be looked as terrorists. I would also like to request the next president to help everyone understand that not all Muslims are terrorists. They shouldn’t look at people who wear clothing that is connected to Islam as a problem or as possible terrorists.

In the Chicago Tribune, Manya Brachear Pashman writes, “When you wear the hijab, everyone knows you’re a Muslim”. She adds, “They’re going to pay more attention to you because you stand out and you’re different. I want to stand out and I want to be different. If they think Islam is horrible, I want them to come up to me and ask me about it. I want everyone to know that Islam isn’t terrorists.” This important evidence shows how females wearing hijabs get treated by others.They get targeted and treated unfairly because of their hijab. 

In a story adapted by Newsela staff, it says, “The recent arrest of a 14-year-old Muslim boy whose teacher mistook his homemade clock for a bomb led to widespread ridicule of school officials and accusations that Islamophobia may have played a part.” This important evidence shows that in our country people easily mistake and think that Muslims are up to something like they are about to do something bad or some sort of terrorism. This student’s name was Ahmed Mohamed and he made a brilliant invention that was mistaken for a possible bomb. This is because of the Islamophobia that has been created in our country today. 

In another story adapted by Newsela staff, it says, “Rayouf wants to make the headscarf emoji for Muslim women. Other people could use it too, though. Some women in other religions wear headscarves. The emoji can also stand for religious feelings, Rayouf says.” This important evidence shows it’s a good idea to make a headscarf emoji because a lot of people may look into why Muslim women wear headscarves. There’s a lot of people who don’t like Muslims wearing a headscarf. That’s why women who wear headscarves don’t really think they are in safe. In another story on Newsela, it says, “Many Muslim American students have said they are treated unfairly at school. They are bullied by other students because of their religion. Muslims practice Islam. It is a religion, like Judaism or Christianity.” This evidence from the Newsela website says in the United States a lot of students who go to school get bullied by others because of their religion. In our country we shouldn’t judge other people by looking at them we want everyone to be treated equal, respect other people and other religions.

If we do not see Muslims as the same as any other citizen or resident in the United States then we lose the peace and equality that our nation has worked on for generations. We need to stop media from allowing all Muslims to be looked at as terrorists. They need to constantly repeat that not all Muslims are terrorists and not all terrorists are Muslims. We also need to stop the different leaders such as future presidents, governors, senators, or representatives from speaking about Muslims and their connection to terrorism as something that is true for every Muslim which is definitely not the case. We need to teach in schools and at homes that in this world there are good and bad people in every religion and there are people who use religion as an excuse to do bad things. This is the only thing that separates us, the good from the bad, not by belief or faith. 

I would like to request the next president to help everyone understand that not all Muslims are not terrorists. They shouldn’t look at people who wear clothing that is connected to Islam as a problem or as possible terrorists. This is a big problem that you should address because it is affecting all the Muslims around the world who are innocent. It is clear that not all terrorists are Muslim or not all Muslims are terrorists because if that was the case then every Muslim would be doing something bad to the world and there so many Muslims around the world.

Sincerely

Mohammad Iqbal Hussain

References:

Adapted, C. T., Newsela staff. (2016, February 29). Chicago area's Muslim youth fight stereotypes, suspicion. Retrieved October 27, 2016, from https://newsela.com/articles/chicago-muslimyouth/id/14918/

A., Newsela staff. (15, November 21). Police release Muslim teen after his clock is mistaken for a bomb. Retrieved October 28, 2016, from https://newsela.com/articles/student-clock/id/12019/

W., Newsela staff. (16, November 14). Officials seek information on treatment of America's Muslim students. Retrieved October 28, 2016, from https://newsela.com/articles/discrimination-muslim-students/id/21555/