Do you know what I find downright frustrating about this election? (Outside of the fact that the GOP nominee belongs on an episode of Jerry Springer or Dr. Phil, not in the White House). The lack of media coverage, reporting, statistical data and editorial articles about Muslim-American’s voting in this election.
Lets briefly go over some statistical data that I was able to find, shall we? According to the Pew Research Center, there is an estimated 1.6 billion Muslims, world wide (23% of the worlds population). Of that 1.6 billion, CNN estimates that there is 20,000-31,500, Isis fighters (.0020% of the world wide Muslim population). The Pew Research Center estimates that there are 3.3 million Muslims in The United States, (including children). Of that number, nearly one million people in that population are registered to vote in this election, and the numbers are rapidly climbing.
Any other data found on the internet about the number of radical Islamist's, world wide, is purely based off of estimating percentages of the population who are ‘subject’ to being influenced by the very small radical population. Populations who are “subject” to being influenced by the Radical’s are far different from the actual population directly involved. I am often made subject to road rage, but it doesn’t mean that I do it.
Many Non-Muslim Americans assume that the Islamic Culture, as a whole, is focused on suppressing women. Have you actually researched information on world-wide Muslim communities? Have you actually researched information about the Muslim communities in our own country? Do you consider any Muslim to not be an ‘extremist?’ I would like you to think about your own personal feelings when you see a woman in a hijab. Are you predisposed to believing that she is suppressed, or even a threat? Do you have that same feeling when you see a Catholic nun in her habit? Or a white man in a trench-coat?
Many Muslim Communities, Shia and Sunni alike, participate in community out-reach, just like your own Christian Church — feeding the poor, Muslim Medical Doctors offering free medical care to patient’s with no health insurance, etc. Much like the rest of American Media’s focus, you will never hear about the overwhelmingly positive culture exhibited within the Islamic Communities. Why would we? That might make us like each other, right? God Forbid! (I bet you asked whose god I am referring to, huh? STOP!)
Now, going back to a predisposition in the belief that the entire Islamic culture is focused on suppressing women, have you realized that an over-whelming number of the one million, and climbing, registered Muslim-American voters, are voting for… wait for it… A WOMAN! Yes, hard to believe, right? That Islam-America would trust their fate to stand in the hands of a woman!
No! It isn’t hard to believe! Many Muslims want their daughters to be as educated as you want your daughters to be. The vast majority of Muslims have come to this country because of the First Amendment (the right to religious freedom). They have come to this country for the many opportunities that exist, and for the diversity it has to offer. That is what makes America beautiful, even if we have forgotten it over the past election season.
When you see a woman in a hijab, you should realize that not all Muslim Women practice the tradition of wearing a hijab, and not all Muslim Women wear them the same. In the Muslim culture the hijab is meant as a means of modesty and privacy. It is no different from a Catholic nun wearing a habit; which represents “poverty, chastity, and obedience.” So why is the Muslim woman judged and thought to be suppressed, while the Catholic Nun is not? Do you understand the hypocrisy that underlies in our many prejudices? How do we get past the hypocrisies? How do we teach each other? We have to be open to learning more than just what you know, in order for us to even begin.
Donald, please hear me when I say, America is already great. Your hateful tone has only brought a dark cloud over a country that has been great for centuries. Clouds, even the dark ones, subside and often illuminate beauty. Muslim-Americans, along with the millions of other ethnic and religious minorities in this country, will make sure that the proper person is moving into the White House in January; my daughters and I are counting on it.
