In the United States of America, people suffer discrimination not only base on their skin pigment but also their religious affiliation. According to a Pew Research Center survey, Muslims in the US suffers huge discrimination compared to the Jews or the Evangelicals.
Of the American adults that participated in the survey, 82 percent said Muslims are subject to at least some discrimination in the US. The percentage also included another 56 percent that said Muslims are discriminated against a lot in that country.
At different point in the history of the US, various religious groups have faced discrimination, but that being faced by the Muslims today is not farfetched. The United States have been in the vanguard in the fight against terrorism and also struggle for influence in the politics of the Middle-East. The fatal campaign of those opposed to the influence of the US in the Middle-East has led to various attacks on US’s interest across the world. In fact, it was part of the reasons the late leader of Al Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden masterminded terror attack on September 11, 2001 in the US.
The 9/11 attack and others are some of the factors that may have fanned the flame of discrimination against Muslims in the country. In January, the US through a drone strike killed General Qasem Soleimani, a member of the Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the commander of the Quds Force, which the US designated as a terrorist organization. He was seen as a threat to the interest of the US.
According to the research, US Muslims said they have experienced specific instances of discrimination, “including being treated with suspicion, singled out by airport security or called offensive names.”
In the US political circle, the survey revealed that there are huge partisan gaps in views of discrimination against religious groups. The survey reports that Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say Muslims face at least some discrimination in the US.
A similar research by the centre revealed that in spite the discrimination, American Muslims are optimistic and positive about living in the country. They believe that hard work generally brings success in the US. Nine in 10 American Muslims are proud to be American, according to the report.
