After radical Islamic terrorist attacks such as 9/11 in the United States, attacks like 9/11 have shaped the public view of Muslims across the country. The fear of Islamic terrorist has created a new fear of typical Muslims known as Islamophobia. Islamophobia can be defined as the fear and prejudice towards Muslims. Although there is a valid reason to be afraid of Islamic terrorism, it is not necessary to fear Islam itself. Sadly, people stereotype Muslims not as followers of a religion, but as terror threats. Most Americans are not knowledgeable of Islam, and its beliefs, but take into account what is televised or stated by the government. These stereotypes lead to an increase of irrational actions on a societal and even political level towards Muslims. The increase of irrational actions through Islamophobia comes the consequence of discrimination which harms the daily lives of average people. Some agree that discrimination should be implemented when there is a threat, but discrimination would cause a bigger divide, and more harm on those being discriminated. The media and government have played off Islamophobia, when releasing information and laws to inform the American public on Islamic terrorism. United States of America, may be addressing the issue of Islamic terrorism, but addressing the issue through Islamophobia creates terror towards the Muslim community.  

The United States of America, recently has had an interesting election cycle with two candidates, that had a different view of how to treat radical Islamic terrorism. One perspective of the Presidential candidate, and now President Donald trump was a radical approach to handling Islamic terrorism. Throughout   President Trump's campaign, President Trump's policies towards Islamic terrorism, were based off Islamophobic ideals. During President Trump's campaign trail President Trump's campaign stated “Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.” (Johnson). President Trump's policies such as the temporary ban on Muslims resonated with voters. President Trump's radical plan, seemed sensible and safe for the American people, and his policies may have helped with his victory over Clinton. Since President Trump has taken office, he has banned Muslim entry from certain countries into the United States through an executive order. President Trump's executive order that has banned Muslim entry into the United States is better known as Executive Order 13769. Executive Order 13769, bans entry into the from the following countries: Iran, Libya Syria, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen and addresses the reasons for why each country is denied entry into the United States. Section 1.  Policy and Purpose.  (a)  It is the policy of the United States to protect its citizens from terrorist attacks, including those committed by foreign nationals.  The screening and vetting protocols and procedures associated with the visa-issuance process and the United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) play a crucial role in detecting foreign nationals who may commit, aid, or support acts of terrorism and in preventing those individuals from entering the United States (The White House).  President Trump's order states, "detecting foreign nationals who may commit, aid, or support acts of terrorism," which uses a strong word may. The use of the word may obviously demonstrate that all of the foreign nationals are not terrorist, but how all be banned when some may cause attacks.  This legal action justifies that if some people can be terrorist, The United States has the right to ban them, which justifies discrimination. The ban also lists countries with large Muslim populations, but what the executive order does not notice, is that Americans can commit acts of terror. A common American can be radicalized through the internet or other sources that could lead to different acts of terror no matter the religion or ethnicity. Islamophobia has swept over American politics, shaping the lives of Muslims in America and those who want to be law abiding residents in the country. Although the government makes measures to keep the American people safe, banning a specific group of people will not solve the issue of terrorism, especially when it can be an internal issue. The discrimination of Muslims through politics even happens at the state level of government. The state of Oklahoma has created a law known as the Save our State Law which bans Sharia law in the state of Oklahoma, while there was no threat of Sharia law being established in Oklahoma. The real reason this law was passed was to discriminate towards Muslims legally in the state of Oklahoma (Yaser). Yaser further explains that the law makes Muslims "second-class citizens"(Yaser). The law actually makes it harder for a Muslim to achieve citizenship, which justifies legal justification of discrimination. The use of legal discrimination towards Muslims denies Muslims their basic American right of freedom. Discrimination towards Muslims in a way denies their first amendment right to freedom of religion, because Muslims are afraid to freely practice their religion while they face opposition and hostility.

Muslims face stereotypes, just as any other race or ethnicity. Muslims experience a stereotype that people actually believe, which is that Muslims are a terror threats. In reality most, Muslims are law abiding residents or citizens in America or across the globe. Stereotypes toward Muslims are used by law enforcement, TSA agents, and even the common citizen. Most Americans that do not want to stereotype, stereotype Muslims. A psychological study was done by Amanda Smith and Susan Mason, the study consisted of 270 participants. The 270 participants came from different racial/ ethnic backgrounds and ages. The participants were shown pictures of criminals on the FBI's most wanted list. Each member was told to identify if the criminal was a terror threat or not. The criminals were of all racial backgrounds, but the empahsis was on Muslim discrimination. Results of the study was that the participants labeled almost all Muslims as a terror threats rather than selecting other ethnicites as terror threats. Older participants were more likely to discriminate on Muslims, but they were also more likely to recognize white terrorist that the younger participans did not recognize. Although the younger participant stated before the study that they do not want to stereotype, but the results showed that the young participants used sterotypes while predicting terror threats. This study proves that citizens that do not want to discriminate, stereotype Muslims without thinking about it.  Innocent Muslims have even experienced an increase of hate crimes, especially after 9/11. Even though 9/11 was a horrific that impacted America, and hurt numerous families, there is no reason to harm the lives of followers of Islam. Americans felt as if these hate crimes were justified by protecting themselves or getting payback on those who committed those horrible crimes. This use of the stereotype that all Muslims are terrorists increases unnecessary terror in the lives of normal non-radicalized Muslims. Stereotypes lead to discrimination on a societal level that psychologically scar those being discriminated. Young Muslims experience discrimination and stereotypes, by their peers and teachers in school. In Towards an Understanding of Muslim American Adolescent High School Experiences, an article written by Derek Seward and Shaza Khan, they summarize the experiences of Muslims in high school. The article powerfully shows the scale and impact of racism and prejudice towards Muslim Americans. An adolescent in this study told the authors about an experience on the bus stating, "I was on the school bus and this… random guy… he was like “Go back to your country you f-ing Afghan"(Khan & Seward). This experience is a prime example of the discrimination displayed toward average teens that happen to follow the religion of Islam. Schools are institutions of education, in which by law teens must attend, to receive an education and equal opportunity to learn, and not let discrimination take away from their educational experience. The following examples prove that Muslims are treated as if they are second class citizens on a social level. The American ignorance towards Muslims creates a stereotype, making Muslims a target for discrimination and hostility.  

One Issue of Islamophobia is the lack of knowledge the American public has on Islam and Muslims. Americans lack the knowledge of Islamic beliefs and the majority of Muslims views towards radical Islamic terrorism. Islam like any other religion has principles, values, and morals that they live by. Islam may be a completely different religion than Christianity and Judaism, but Islam shares a lot in common with these two religions. Islam is a lot younger than Christianity and Judaism, but its morals and principals have stayed not changed over time. Islam live their faith through The Five Pillars which are Shahada, Salat, Zakat, Sawmn, and Hajj. The Five Pillars is like the ten commandments in Christianity. The first pillar Shahada, is faith in Allah (God), where Muslims submit to Allah as their one and only god. The second pillar Salat is prayer, and the five times Muslims must pray a day. The Third Pillar Zakat is charity in which Muslims are required to pay 2.5 percent of their wealth to a religious official. The Fourth Pillar is Swamn which is a time of fasting referring to the month of Ramadan. The Fifth Pillar is the Hajj which is the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime. These Pillars all contain methods of good will and faith. Islam preaches charity, prayer, fasting, and belief, all factors that strengthen morals and the good will of a person. If the Five Pillars promote morals  and stregthen a good will of a person, how can Islam be seen a religion of bad will. While Muslim promotes strength and good will through its principles, A majority of Muslims disagree with radical Islamic terrorism. 100 percent of Muslims in Lebanon Disagree with the motives of ISIS and their terror (Pew Research Center). Even Muslims in Muslim countries almost all disagree with radical Islamic Terrorism, imagine that number in the United States, when families came to the United States to be free from radical Islamic terrorism. This clearly shows that Muslims here are more likely to be against radical Islamic terrorism more in the United States than anywhere else. Muslim Americans, have the same view as Americans on Islamic terrorism, but are still blamed for sharing the same faith as those who terrorize on others. When Muslims agree and dissapprove of radical Islamic terrorism, why do American's discriminate and show hostility toward a group that shares their view. Terrorism in the United States is also done by whites, blacks and all other races, but they are not stereotyped for their look or religion if they are Muslim, If  people had more knowledege on Islam Americans would see Muslims as followers of Islam and not terrorists.  

The United States of America, preaches freedom and equality for all. The United States core beliefs are built on freedom and equality. Although Americans support this, most Americans do not exactly follow these core beliefs when there is fear. With the rise of Islamophobia, the United States has made irrational decisions, which has led to a mistreatment of Muslims. The discrimination towards Muslims needs to stop, and the United States needs to unify with the Muslim population to fight against all terrorism, rather than labeling one religious group as a threat. If they United States Government changes its Islamophobic policies, and works with the Muslim people rather than discriminating against them, the United States could better fight terrorism. If the United States targets Muslisms as suspicious rather than suspicious people, it will be harder for the United States to find the true terror threats. If the country unites and uses facts, and not fear to determine a threat, there will be less hate and terror in general and towards the Muslim population in the United States. The discrimination Muslims face from Americans, especially persuasive young adults could increase the chance of a young adult to be radicalized. Discrimination worsens the problem more than it fixes it. The more Muslims are discriminated upon the more resentment and lack of trust they will have in America. Radical Islamic terrorism, is an issue that needs to be handled, but by using Islamophobia politically and socially, exhibits that the United States does not think with reason, but with fear. Throughout American history, when America thought with fear the United States, took away unalienable rights to harmless groups of people. The idea and principal of Islamophobia is an Anti-American ideal that conflicts with what American's pledge, "with liberty and justice for all." Islamophobia can devalue true liberty for Muslims in America, and deny justice for Muslims as they are discriminated from laws established from fear. No Human being should be seterotyped as a threat based on race or religion, but rather determined as a threat until an idividual poses a threat. Islamophobia is hurting the United States of America more than it is helping solve the issue of dealing with terrorism. Islamophobia is continuing to grow, but with its growth, grows irrational predjudice that fights an idea that promotes faith and devotion. 
