Imagine getting dirty looks everywhere you go, or not feeling safe in any country, city, or town. This is what some or even most Muslims feel. Muslims are stereotyped around the world and especially the U.S. People assume they are all terrorists. The dislike or prejudice towards Islam and Muslims is called Islamophobia.  People need to stop stereotyping them because they are humans too, just like everyone else. Muslims don’t deserve to be treated worse than any other people and they shouldn’t have to live their lives in fear that people will hurt them. The stereotyping of Muslims, must be stopped because more and more of them begin to feel unsafe and are hurt every year.

Innocent Muslim passengers are sometimes removed from airplanes because people think they are a danger or threat to them. They can’t even go on vacations without being interrupted. Khairuldeen Makhzoomi was a twenty six year old student from the University of California, Berkeley who took a flight out on Southwest airlines. When he boarded the plane, he decided to call his uncle in Baghdad. He talked to his uncle in Arabic while waiting for takeoff. Makhzoomi said to his uncle, “ ‘insha’ Allah insha’ Allah”, which meant, “ I will call you when I arrive”, and a woman next to him gave him a look. The lady got up and left, and two minutes later, police arrived and told Makhzoomi to get off the plane. He did not do anything wrong or hurt anyone, but he was forced to leave anyway. Makhzoomi was extremely upset. All he did was talk on the phone in the language he was taught and he got punished, and that is not fair at all. If a person was talking Spanish on the phone, would they get kicked off a plane? Probably not. He said to CNN, “ All I want is an apology today. We as people of Iraqi, American, Iranian, we share one thing in common, and that is our dignity. If someone tries to take that away from us, we should fight but not with aggression, with knowledge and education. One must stand for his principle.” The man who escorted Makhzoomi off the plane asked him why he was speaking arabic and the man even said it was dangerous to the environment. Dogs even sniffed his bags. The airline gave him a refund and he booked a flight home on delta. Makhzoomi said “ he was so shaken he took to his bed and slept for days.”Makhzoomi and all other Muslims should not be afraid to be themselves and they should not be judged for it. Americans are allowed to speak English without getting punished, so muslims should be able to speak Arabic. Makhzoomi’s trip was ruined because of the incident.

Statistics have shown that Muslim hate crimes have spiked in recent years. According to CNN, “ In one year, anti-Muslim hate crimes in the United States have risen 67%, from 154 incidents in 2014 to 257 in 2015.” People protest against Muslims, and are afraid of them for no reason. They think that because most members of ISIS are Muslims, then most Muslims must be terrorists, which is not true. Recent surveys have actually shown that most people with Muslim populations have an unfavorable view on ISIS. Almost all people in Lebanon, and 94% of people in Jordan are unfavorable of ISIS. According to Pew research’s 2017 survey of U.S Muslims, “Muslims in the United States perceive a lot of discrimination against their religious group.” 75% of people say that there is a lot of discrimination towards them, 23% say no, and 2% say they don’t know. Also, 48% of Muslim Americans say that they have experienced at least one incident of discrimination within the last twelve months.” They shouldn’t be discriminated by any people. Muslim citizens of the United States are citizens, which means they are just like all the other citizens, and they should be treated just like everyone else. There have been so many incidents where Muslims are beat up or yelled at because of their religion. It needs to stop happening because there is no need for people to hate them.

If people are afraid of Muslims, then they should also be afraid of white people too.  According to statistics from CNN, “9 people have been killed a year, on average by Muslim extremists in the U.S since 9/11, 12,843 people are killed a year, on average, by guns in the U.S, and 37,000 people die every year on average, in traffic incidents in the U.S.” This proves that more people die from shootings and traffic accidents, than they do from Muslim extremist attacks. CNN also states that “ According to data compiled by Mother Jones magazine, which looked at mass shootings in the United States since 1982, white people -- almost exclusively white men -- have committed some 64% of the shootings.” Statista also shows that between 1982 and 2017, 51 out of 90 mass shootings were initiated by white shooters. There have been extreme shootings like the most recent one in Las Vegas, Nevada, where 58 people died, and more than 500 were injured. These show that white people actually commit most of the mass shootings in the country. Muslims are not the only terrorists. All other races have terrorists too. Another example of an infamous shooting by a White male, was the Sandy Hook shooting where 20 children and 6 teachers died. This massacre left people devastated and  in shock. Muslims are not the only terrorists and killers in the world, there are people from all races that are terrorists or criminals also, and if people are going to discriminate only muslims that is not right.

Muslims are stereotyped too much in the United States and even throughout the world. They can’t feel safe anywhere they go and it it isn’t fair to them at all. They are disrupted from vacations and trips because they have a fear of getting removed from planes. They can’t do anything without being looked at with concern. They also get beat up and protested against because of their religion, and statistics have shown that the hate against them has increased over the years. People that are Muslim do commit crimes, but so do people of all races. One single person can’t stop the stereotyping of Muslims, but large groups of people can step up and try. To stop it, people can speak up and stand up for those Muslims who get beat or looked at weirdly, and they can get educated about the Muslim culture and learn that they aren't  bad people. By standing up for them, others will learn to stand up too, and it can help Muslims feel safer in the country.