PHOTO (C) AUSTIN PEACE ACADEMY
EDUCATION
A GOOD PLACE TO START INTRODUCING ISLAM TO MAINSTREAM AMERICA AND DISPELLING STEREOTYPES IS THE CLASSROOM, FOR THAT IS WHERE MANY YOUNG PEOPLE FIRST LEARN ABOUT THE RELIGION.
Hate is Beatable
Both Islamic and public school students need to be taught how to correct the stereotypes that plague their classrooms and communities BY MONA ABDALA
T
he horrific hate crimes in Charlottesville remind one of “Good deeds are not equal to evil ones. Repel others’ evil deeds with your good deeds, and you will see that your enemy will become as if he were your close friend” (Q. 41:34). Muslims in America are now being tested in an entirely new way, as the last presidential election cycle has emboldened racists. “Half of Muslim Americans say it has become harder to be Muslim in the U.S. in recent years. And 48% say they have experienced at least one incident of discrimination in the past 12 months.” These statements come from the Pew Research Center’s “Muslims and Islam: Key findings
42 ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018
in the U.S. and around the world,” a compilation of answers to some key questions drawn from several of their recent reports and published on Aug. 9, 2017. Hate is spreading against minorities in this country, especially against Muslims, and the communal steadfastness that they have to show to combat it has materialized into action. These days, both Muslims and non-Muslims are tackling Islamophobia head-on. Islamic outreach groups such as chapters of Islamic Networks Groups (ING; https://ing.org), which trains speakers how to present Islam to the general public, are growing rapidly due to the imperative to counter the increasing amount of misinformation. Founder Maha Elgenaidi started this