All people were created equal. Why is it that we still cannot figure this out? Men and women of the Islamic faith are heavily discriminated against, and it is not being addressed.
I am thoroughly appalled by the lack of respect toward the Islamic community in the United States. There are more than 3.3 million muslim men and women in our nation, according to pewforum.com. As a nation we are still struggling with accepting this fact.
Leyla Aliyeva, a college credit plus student attending both Horizon Science Academy and Sinclair, moved to the U.S. in 2004 from Russia.
When asked about what struggles she has faced regarding her faith she says, “I have been yelled at and mimicked. People glaring [at me], whispering.” Aliyeva is only 16 years old.
“Not all people [of Islam] are ‘terrorists’. We don’t all want to hurt other, we just want to live life, normally,” says Aliyeva.
All we see in the news are those of the Islamic faith who push hate, but this is not the common case. According to the FBI, “94% of terrorist attacks carried out in the United States from 1980 to 2005 have been by non-Muslims.” This was reported in an article by the Huffington Post.
As a society we need help stop this hate. Young women like Aliyeva should never be yelled at or mimicked for her faith. Nobody of any faith should be discriminated against or verbally, physically and mentally attacked for their faith, not only because it’s hateful and cruel, but because it is a person’s constitutionally protected right to practice any faith of their choice.
Instead we need to recognize that we are all human and nobody deserves to be treated poorly in regards to a belief system, their race or cultural background.
Be there to support those who are facing these problems, and defend them when you see these acts of hate happening against them.
In a world that is full of hate, this is one of the only ways we can ever help end the ignorance others possess about the topic of faith and freedom. It is in our hands now.
Kelsey Fitzpatrick
Reporter