Belief: by Melody Moezzi.
(CNN) – I wasn’t surprised by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s recent statement about a “problem within Islam.”
It’s not as though I’ve never heard anything like it before. I hear it all the time.
Still, his words – in response to a recent attack in London that left a British soldier dead – made me wonder: How might the public have reacted in a different context, had Blair replaced the word “Islam” with “Christianity” or “Judaism”?
I’m guessing not well.
But Muslims are used to having their faith openly denigrated by public officials.
We’re used to people failing to distinguish between “Islam” and “a few Muslims.” And we’re used to being called terrorists despite the fact that the vast majority of terrorist acts on American and European soil have been carried out by non-Muslims.
But being accustomed to abuse doesn’t mean we bruise less. If anything, being beaten repeatedly in the same spot makes each successive blow all the more painful.
I’ve written many reasoned commentaries in defense of Islam, Muslims and Muslim women in particular. This isn’t one.
Categories: Americas, Discrimination, Extremism, Islam in the press, Islamophobia, Religious persecution