A response to The Daily Beacon’s letter to the editor: ‘They’re not all like that’

‘We should not give factually inaccurate bigotry a platform and we should not endorse hatred’

Yesterday, The Daily Beacon published a letter to the editor titled “They’re not all like that” by an individual using the pseudonym Johnson Smith. In this letter, Smith illustrates what he believes to be the issue with Muslims, specifically in regards to “Muslim immigration.” The letter was filled with hate-fueled rhetoric, factual errors and poor grammar (the article has since been edited by the staff of The Daily Beacon to fix these typographical errors).

For starters, I’m a bit disturbed that my campus newspaper would publish a piece that arguably falls under the category of hate speech. This year, the University of Tennessee has seen a surge in hate acts against minority groups on campus, namely the defacement of the Pride center and anonymous threats via social media towards the Black community. Unfortunately, the response from our campus administration has not been as aggressive as we would have hoped.

With this in mind, it is absolutely frustrating to see a campus-wide, recognized news platform like The Daily Beacon publish pieces that embody this spirit of intolerance and bigotry. I am at a loss for an explanation as to why they published this piece. It supposedly does not represent the views and values of the newspaper’s staff, and it is staunchly factually inaccurate. This piece does nothing but empower those who hold the same ignorant views as “Johnson Smith” and hurt those who are both proud Muslim Americans and proud students at the University of Tennessee. We should not give factually inaccurate bigotry a platform. We should not endorse hatred.

The problem is, there are many Johnson Smiths in our country and on our campuses. People often fear what they do not understand. I would like to explain a few things to the Johnson Smiths of the world. Smith has an issue with allowing Muslim immigrants into the US because of the threat of terrorism. The threat of terrorism through the process of immigration is extremely miniscule. The vetting process for immigrants and refugees is rigorous and takes multiple months. Not only are the potential immigrants thoroughly checked, but all their familial ties are also checked (for terrorism and crime). People’s applications for immigration are denied for reasons much less serious than terrorism.

Johnson Smith claims that, “Experts estimate that between 15-25% of Muslims are prone to terrorism.” This statement is absolutely insulting to the entirety of the Muslim community and completely inaccurate. There are 1.6 billion Muslims in the world. Reports state that the people involved with “Islamic” terrorism reach a total of around 100,000. This means that currently, 0.0000625% of “Muslims” are involved in terrorism. Further, more Muslims have been the victims of these terrorist groups than non-Muslims. You cannot discuss the victims of terrorist attacks without mentioning the thousands of Muslims that have been slaughtered by these groups in Syria, Iraq and other countries.

Smith also claims that the peaceful majority of Muslims harbor and protect terrorists. He believes that all Muslims have one goal – to kill non-Muslims. He repeatedly states that the peaceful majority of Muslims are irrelevant – that is the theme of his piece. Johnson Smith is wrong. The peaceful majority of Muslims are active participants in society. Muslim Americans are doctors, teachers, engineers, athletes, lawyers, janitors, friends, neighbors and most importantly, Americans.

The peaceful majority of Muslims came together to denounce 9/11 and to raise money for the families of the victims of this vicious attack. The peaceful majority of Muslims have continued to denounce terrorist acts. The peaceful majority of Muslims do not harbor nor protect terrorists. In fact, the peaceful majority of Muslims hate these radical terrorist groups more than anyone else because they are not only stealing the lives of innocent souls, but they are also tainting the name of a peaceful religion. The peaceful majority of Muslims have had to constantly apologize for the actions of these terrorists who they have absolutely nothing to do with. The peaceful majority of Muslims make up 99% of the Muslim population, and they are NOT irrelevant.

If the Johnson Smiths of this country are so concerned with the threat of terrorism in the United States, they should look at the fact that over 90% of all terrorist attacks carried out in the US between 1980-2016 have been by non-Muslims. They should address the fact that there have been at least 170 hate crimes against Muslims in America this year alone. They should address the fact that violent acts of racism have been on the rise.

Smith concludes with this: “Anyone agreeing to allow Muslims into the USA and/or not agreeing to deport all Muslims is committing Treason.”

I can’t help but wonder about the logistics of this mass deportation. There are currently around 3.3 million Muslims in America. A large portion of this population was born in the US. Where would we be deported? I doubt that there is a single nation that is willing to take in millions of deported Muslim Americans who have no ties to that nation whatsoever. The Johnson Smiths of this country are ignorant to the fact that there are Americans who were born and raised in America that are also Muslim. These two titles are not mutually exclusive. I have had someone with the same mentality of Johnson Smith tell me to go back to where I came from…does he mean Detroit?

I am a proud American, I am a proud Tennessee Volunteer and I am a proud Muslim. If this statement does not make sense to you, I urge you to get to know someone, like me, who identifies as a Muslim American. Get to know what the real peaceful majority thinks. We cannot let fear and ignorance drive our actions when we have the opportunity to learn the truth. Johnson Smith, I urge you to search for the facts.

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