Is it just me, or does there seem to be a lot of hatefulness floating around in the national media? On Sunday, a United States presidential candidate appeared on national television and said, "I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that." He then openly stated that Islam is not consistent with the Constitution.
Meet presidential candidate Ben Carson, the “nice” guy in this election. Carson is a Harvard-educated neurosurgeon and has always been thought of as an outsider. However, his comments on NBC’s “Meet the Press” continued down a bigoted rabbit hole. When asked whether a candidate’s religion should be a factor in a voter’s decisions, Carson said, "I guess it depends on what that faith is… If it's inconsistent with the values and principles of America, then of course it should matter. But if it fits within the realm of America and consistent with the Constitution, no problem."
But Mr. Carson, what does it mean for a religion to be consistent with the Constitution? Article VI of the Constitution clearly states, “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” I feel silly even giving a real Constitutionally-based response to his absurd statement. When Carson says, “I guess it depends on what that faith is” he is really saying “nothing other than Christianity.”
Ben Carson’s uninformed proclamation about Islam comes on the heels of Donald Trump’s latest anti-Muslim incident. In a town-hall meeting last Thursday, a Trump supporter said, "We have a problem in this country. It's called Muslims." If that’s not bad enough, the anonymous man went on to say, "You know our current president is one. You know he's not even an American.”
Both of these incidents made national headlines and were met with disgust and bewilderment from political leaders, especially Democrats who were eager to throw in their shots. I find it deeply alarming, though, that our society has come to a place where comments of such ignorance and hate are part of the daily ebb and flow of the news. Sure, Hillary Clinton or the White House Secretary might have a biting tweet or an edgy quip, but I think it’s time for a greater discussion about how we treat Muslim Americans.
Hateful comments like Mr. Carson’s are met with eye-rolling and are even treated as entertainment. But the reality is that comments like this build hate and prejudice into our national dialogue.
Just recently, 14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed from suburban Dallas was arrested for bringing in a digital clock he built at home. His English teacher thought that it looked like a bomb, and he was then interrogated by police, handcuffed and taken to a juvenile prison.
Seem like a gross overreaction? That’s because it is. Massive public outcry came in response and the hashtag #IStandwithAhmed flooded social media with many citing Islamaphobia as the reason for the school’s dramatic and unnecessary treatment.
Not everyone is convinced that Islamaphobia was at play in Ahmed’s case. A Wall Street Journal column challenged the fact that Ahmed’s religion had anything to do with his arrest and instead pointed to the large number of juveniles who have been accused of being dangerous for relatively minor infractions under the “zero-tolerance” standard adopted by many schools after 9/11. The column points to some great examples of children from all backgrounds being suspended for menial, harmless things like playing with paper guns.
I agree that Ahmed’s arrest is a reflection of a broken school safety system that is quick to overreact and has unfairly punished plenty of kids from all backgrounds. But it would be foolish to think that Ahmed’s racial or religious background had absolutely no influence on the way he was treated, especially in the case of a simple clock being mistaken for a bomb.
Why? Because no matter what, we cannot deny that there is a prevalent anti-Muslim sentiment in this country that is suspicious of the Islamic faith and its followers. Just look at the way that presidential candidates and their followers talk about Muslim Americas. The language is violent, de-humanizing and deeply accusatory. This is the language that lays the foundation for a prejudiced system to put a 14-year-old child in hand-cuffs as a reward for his ingenuity and passion.
It’s not good enough to have Ahmed invited to the White House or Facebook or MIT. It’s time for us, as Americans and human beings, to recognize that the constant, relentless flow of anti-Muslim dialogue in our politics, media and communities is unacceptable.
I am not Muslim. But I am an American and a human being, and I believe that when we stay quiet in the face of such narrow-mindedness and discrimination, we chip away at our individual humanity.
Shruti Rao is a Trinity sophomore. Her column runs on alternate Tuesdays.
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