We spoke to an Iraqi-American about being a Muslim in America

Islamophobia is on the rise, and it’s something affecting millions of people’s lives daily. So what is it like for Muslims in America during this time of increasing prejudice of Muslim Americans?

Ahmed Alshamary, a rising sophomore at Georgetown University, is a Muslim, Iraqi-American from Wichita, Kansas. His parents immigrated to the US in the 1990s from Southern Iraq. We asked what it’s like being an Iraqi-American today:

What do you think fuels Islamophobia? What can be done to change the mindset of Americans who are Islamophobic?

I think Islamophobia is one specific type of public behavior that we have seen quite often in the US. New Americans, over the years, have experienced discrimination.

This has happened to other populations of Americans, but the advantage of mass media and easy accessibility to information as well as lessons from the past can enable them to overcome this faster than they have in the past.

As for how to reach out to Islamophobic Americans, I think that contact with Muslim Americans is the best way. There’s research that shows if people know someone from a different social or ethnic group, they are more likely to be open and accepting towards other members of that group.

The best way is for Muslim Americans to be proactive in reaching out to members of their community and widening their networks, although I understand that it might seem unfair for Muslim-Americans to have to carry the weight of solving this problem.

Do you feel stereotyped? When do you feel most uncomfortable?

I am not the most Muslim-looking guy so I don’t feel stereotyped. Sure there are situations where when people learn of my name they might treat me differently, but those things are minor.

I want to instead to point out that Hijabis, Muslim females who choose to wear hijab, for example, like my sisters, get stereotyped far more often.

They quite often get the middle finger pointed at them and in some cases I have heard what I thought were open and progressive people saying that don’t understand how such educated people can wear such a “repressive” thing like a hijab.

Do you believe that you faced different struggles than other non-Muslim children? If so what are they?

I think that the biggest struggle I faced when I was a child was the problem of an uncertain identity. I was an Arab among Americans and an American among Arabs. It was a frustrating experience as a child and a young teen but it gave me perspective that now I appreciate.

Other than that I don’t believe that I faced different struggles than other children. I can’t speak for everyone as my sisters faced a much harder time since that were so easily singled out for being Muslim.

What does Islam, as a religion/mindset do for you? How have you benefited from Islam?

Islam, for me, is a guideline I use in supplement to my moral compass and rationality to guide my life. I feel strongly that I have benefited my faith just as those who have had faith in other religions.

What would you say to Islamophobes?

It is hard for people to accept that they are wrong in anything, therefore trying to outright argue against those who don’t believe that Muslims are like other people and not some war-mongering terrorists is a mountain of a task.

So I instead recommend to anyone who is Islamophobic to interact with what some people call their “token” Muslim friend and just understand that 99.99 percent of the billion and half Muslim population is probably like your Muslim friend.