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Walking While Muslim: Discrimination Against Muslim Women in Contemporary American Society: A Qualitative Study

Angela Chavez

University of La Verne

A senior thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of La Verne in the Sociology Department in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Bachelor of Science in Sociology

Fall 2011

Advisor: Dr. Glenn A. Goodwin

Discrimination Against Muslim Women in Contemporary American Society

Abstract

Since September 11th the manifestation of discrimination and intolerance toward Muslims has increased dramatically. Resurgence, especially after September 11, 2001, of racist tendencies challenge the exercise of fundamental human rights and freedoms of Muslims in the United States today (Orhun 2009). This qualitative study seeks to answer the primary research questions: (A) Are Muslim women discriminated against in contemporary American society? This question prompts the secondary research questions:(1) How do Muslim women respond to discrimination? (2) What role does the mass media play in the discrimination against Muslim Women? (3) What are the misconceptions of Islam and Muslims? (4) Do misconceptions portrayed in the mass media play a role in discrimination against Islam and Muslims? In this study two research methods were used. The first was a field experiment utilizing participant observation. The researcher wore an abaya and a hijab in a variety of public settings. When out in public, the researcher was accompanied by another person who independently observed and recorded data. The second research method consisted of field interviews that elicited information about Muslim females in America. They were conducted with twenty Muslim women at local Mosques in Southern California. Non random convenient and Snowball sampling was used. Participants ranged in age from 18-44 with a majority falling between 20-30 years of age. The ethnicities of participants included Malaysian, African American, Indian, Iraqi, Pakastani, Lebanese, Syrian, Saudi, and Latino. A majority of the participants have some college, and are currently students who are unemployed. Findings indicated that 95% of participants have experienced various forms of discrimination including verbal harassment (90%), physical assault (10%), denial of service (15%) and disapproving looks (95%).

Introduction

Over the past century, world population has grown exponentially and the earth is getting stretched to the limit. Our obsession with materialism has clearly affected our behaviorsome may believe that as individuals we are merely adapting to our environment. The United States faced a barrage of socio-cultural forces in the 1960s such as the civil rights and feminist movements. The myriad of minorities, women, and civil rights activists fought for equality, while others resisted these countercultural movements. I suggest the idea, that as a society we are constantly being divided by racial markers and minorities are consistently being marginalized. However, found deep beneath the color of ones skin is the individuals ability to function in society equally without the collective oppression of groups. The brutality faced by minorities and civil rights activists in the 1960s and the 1970s has left scars on the untold history of many individuals. From Freedom Riders to Freedom Summer, there were individuals who devoted their lives to help perpetuate equality among Americans in our land of the free. As foreigners aspired to live within the United States, to find opportunity, and move away from oppression, many were nave to the history that was taking place.

American society has had a history of discrimination and injustices that have yet to fade in contemporary society. Essentially, humans must be capable of anticipating the response of and to others. However, our failed response to articulate the truth about the Islamic faith and Muslims after September 11, 2001 has left the latter an easy target for discrimination. Subsequently, the portrayal of Muslims in America often reflects a misunderstanding of Islam and its followers. The aftermath of September 11, 2001 has brought a great deal of attention to the Islamic faith and particularly to Muslim women in the United States.

Women are typically identified as Muslim by their religious garments, and because their appearance is easily distinguishable they have become an informal target to be victimized as scapegoats. American society continues to synthesize the complexity of true Islam, leading them with erroneous beliefs about the nature and customs of Islam and Muslim Americans. The purpose of this paper is to attempt to understand the discrimination Muslim women endure in contemporary American society because such acts have become all too familiar in our daily lives.

Accordingly, this paper highlights the ethnic, religious and gender discrimination that has permeated American history and which has helped to simultaneously perpetuate modern day injustices. I do so by examining the discrimination Muslim women endure in contemporary American society, and finally, I conclude with a discussion of the misconceptions of the Islamic faith and Muslim Americans, while addressing a critically important first step toward a proper understanding of the principles of Islam and its followers in a broader perspective.

Ethnic Discrimination in Contemporary American Society

Flown proudly outside the houses of many citizens in the United States is an American flag that holds not only value but also represents sacrifice. The American flag is a representation of the trials and tribulations America has undergone to become the nation we are today. However, living in the United States has not always been easy for some Americans, and at times even dangerous. There have been groups who have been oppressed and discriminated against based on their race, religion, and ethnicity. As a nation that prides itself on the terms United we stand, we have been anything but united. Before we hang our flag proudly, it is helpful to remind us of various groups who have traveled through the times of sacrifice in America.

These groups have endured times of suffering, discrimination, and hatred. I first discuss the suffering of Native Americans, and the injustices faced by the Mexican American community. In addition, I then highlight the discrimination African Americans endured and are continuing to endure. In order to truly understand the discriminatory acts these groups experienced, we must first conceptualize what it was like to be an American through their eyes.

Discrimination Against Native Americans

Native Americans, known to be a group consisting of nomadic tribes, used their wisdom in agriculture to cultivate their richly soiled land. As a collectivity, many embraced the life style of hunter-gathers. While men pursued conquests for food by hunting and traveling, women tended to the needs of their children and community. The land the Native Americans settled was perceived as something very sacred; the crops fed the people, the herbs healed the wounded, and the water quenched their thirst. As a culture enriched with knowledge and wisdom, Native Americans had a systematic way of living. Unfortunately, the misunderstanding of Native Americans has helped perpetuate discrimination toward this indigenous culture. Having been labeled as foreign savages, Native Americans have fallen victim to various forms of political, social, and economic discrimination.

One of the most dehumanizing events in the history of Native Americans was displacing their tribes to relocation centers. These relocation centers, which advocated a cultural cleansing, stripped many Native American tribes of their systematic way of life. Tribal members were no longer allowed to speak in their native language. In essence, their sense of identitylanguage, customs, traditions, values were denounced and attacked, thus losing a viable piece of their culture (Marshal 2007). The United States leaders reasoned that whole ethnic groups were inferior to their own and committed atrocities of genocide and mass cultural murder.

The Dawes Act created boundaries for Native Americans to live within, and the freedom to move past them was prohibited. The Dawes act made it permissible for the United States to survey the land of the Native Americans (Marshall 2007). They were no longer allowed to take part in any activity equated to their culture. Essentially, Native Americans were stripped of their rights and forced to assimilate to behavior in accordance with expectations of the white mans society, which deteriorated that of human civilization.

Discrimination Against Mexican Americans

Among some of the earliest settlers in the United States, the Mexican American population has grown substantially. Unfortunately, many have fallen victim to various forms of discrimination. Long-held stereotypes have acted as contributors in adding to the perception and classification of Mexican Americans, i.e, labeling them as wet backs and taco benders (Massy and Denton 2003). Such negative connotations have promoted acts of discrimination against this ethnic minority group. Mexican immigrants who fail to assimilate into the dominant societys identity are deemed alien, subhuman, and even inferior. However, for Mexican Americans, their language and culture are major elements of their heritage. Through acts of assimilation, they had to abandon their culture, and language. Regrettably, Mexican Americans faced severe overt discrimination through actions such as segregated housing practices, segregated schools, and subordinate labor positions.

Owning a house for many meant the ability to build equity and live comfortably. However, banks and realtors made the ability to