My Take on the "Non-ban" and How it Has Impacted the View on Muslims

            American society is currently going through a time of divide – an “us vs. them” scenario.  I am referring to those of Arab descent, as well as those who identify as Muslim.  Ever since the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, a negative stigma has been assigned to Muslims - the generalized belief of a radicalized Arab people, and the idea that they are against America and its citizens. Now, every time a person of this descent steps on to an airplane, all eyes, intentionally or not, are drawn to that individual, and imaginative motives are assigned to them.  This phenomenon, us vs them, has drastically increased in the days since Trump announced his vie for the presidency of the United States.  A large portion of his campaign was stating his concerns for the safety of America, specifically that in order to ensure this safety, we need to keep terrorists out of our country, which means halting refugees from passing American borders to guarantee that no terrorists “sneak in.”  This idea came to fruition on January 27^th, when the President enacted a “travel ban” which prevented those from Muslim majority countries to enter the U.S. (a tactic that both he and his cabinet will insist is not an actual ban).  Thankfully, this “non-ban” was halted and subsequently terminated by leading judges.  But despite it’s the outcome, the non-ban, and the motions leading up to it, reinforced adverse ideas surrounding Muslims.

            In the text Borderlands by Gloria Anazandula, she discusses how an us vs. them way of thinking establishes safe and unsafe territories.  Presently, many Americans believe that their country is safe, and that allowing refugees, and possible terrorist, to slip pass the borders, will bring about the “unsafe” aspects seen in other nations.  This way of thinking, however, fails to acknowledge that many of the horrendous acts that take place in America are by those who are, in fact, American.  Furthermore, when considering the non-ban specifically, the seven countries that were listed have not been faulted with an attack on American soil in the past several decades.  As a result, no increase in “safety” would have actually resulted should this non-ban had remained in place. Instead, all that occurred was the furtherance of depicting Muslims, Arabs, etc. as those who had harmful intentions for America, when this in fact is not the case for the majority.  They are being painted in a way that makes society fear them, and creates a separation.

            One of the biggest ways to abolish this us vs them way of thinking is simply doing research.  Sure, there have been terrorist attacks in the U.S., but is important to separate radical Muslims, from those who are just practicing their faith, in the same way that it is important to separate the KKK from Christians.  The actual change of thinking may take an extensive amount of time, and in all honesty, may never actually be abolished, in the same way that racism will always exist.  Nonetheless, it is dire, especially now, that we try to move away from the current thinking surrounding Muslims.