Washington- The Muslim community in America has been exceptionally exposed to unprecedented pressure and harassment since the events of October 7, 2023, as millions of American Muslims contributed strongly and effectively and came out repeatedly to express their rejection of the Joe Biden administration’s position on supporting the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.
Although Muslims were exposed to threats and pressure after the events of September 11, 2001, and renewed difficulties and harassment after former President Donald Trump imposed a ban on the entry of citizens of some Islamic countries, the position of the Biden administration and the American media’s adoption of Israeli claims regarding the war on Gaza, and the massive spread of social media Socially, this has made many American Muslims believe that what they have been exposed to since the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Flood is considered the most dangerous in the order of the major challenges they have been exposed to during the last quarter century.
The American position on the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip fueled the feeling of most American Muslims of their religious identity, and of their belonging to a religious group that includes different ethnicities but united by sympathy towards the suffering of the people of Gaza, which made them proud of their positions opposing the position of the Biden administration, and they see it as their duty to challenge and defend their rights, as Citizens, voters and taxpayers.
In contrast to previous experiences that led many Muslims to hide their race and faith, especially women who took off their hijab or young children who hid behind pseudonyms, American Muslims today stand committed to rejecting the White House’s position on the aggression against Gaza, with a pledge to take the challenge to the ballot boxes in the elections. Presidential election on November 5th.
Different feelings
Before the events of October 7, 2023, many American Muslims sought to integrate into the multi-ethnic and multi-background American society. Many of them greatly appreciated the values of American democracy, the concept of the rule of law, and respect for private and public freedoms. Millions of Muslims, like other people of other backgrounds and religions, sought to spread Seeds of belonging to America for themselves and their children in their new homeland.
But after the events of the Al-Aqsa flood and its aftermath, many American Muslims doubt the American society’s welcome towards them and the positions they represent, rejecting the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, and denouncing the unconditional American support and arming for this aggression, according to what was shown in various interviews Tel Aviv Tribune Net conducted with them.
A Muslim businessman of Pakistani origins, who lives and works in Washington, D.C. – who requested that his name not be mentioned – told Tel Aviv Tribune Net, “I no longer feel welcome here in America, even though I have been there for more than 20 years. I have begun to see the threat in the environment.” Because of the stances of me and my children who are activists against aggression, American principles have become a subject of doubt for us when President Biden violates the same American law and continues to ship weapons to Israel.”
In contrast, other American Muslims believe that the experience of the past year, and the freedom afforded by American society and the ability to participate in various activities, were factors that revived their sense of their Islamic identity.
In an interview with Tel Aviv Tribune Net, Ziad Salah, an American student of Palestinian origins at George Washington University, pointed out that participating in the demonstrations and sit-ins during last spring contributed to developing the skills of dealing with activists of all backgrounds and ethnicities. He said, “Our presence in Washington, and the presence of thousands of Muslim Americans.” In its suburbs, it made it easier to meet more Muslim students who were united by a goal that had never brought them together before.”
A Turkish Muslim woman also stated that “the aggression against Gaza served an entire generation of American Muslims, summed up the history of the conflict for them, and taught them what it means to be a proud Muslim of your religion in a society with multiple backgrounds and challenges.”
A new generation is influenced
An Egyptian-American woman spoke – to Tel Aviv Tribune Net – about how she and her children (14 and 12 years old) were affected by the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip. She said that before the Al-Aqsa flood, she was not interested in teaching her children much about the history of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, and her main concern was raising them to be American Muslims. Egyptians, who speak Arabic and know Egypt through annual visits to meet extended family in Cairo.
The woman, who works for a major American company, and preferred not to mention her name, said that her children became close to their Arab and American Muslim counterparts through participation and sympathy with everything Palestinian. She said, “My children participated in most of the demonstrations that the greater Washington area witnessed against the continuation of the Israeli aggression.” And continued American support.” She indicated that her neighbors are surprised by her preoccupation with the issue of the aggression against Gaza, considering that she is Egyptian.
The woman who lives in Montgomery County, Maryland, adjacent to Washington, stated that the beginning of her children’s awareness of the depth of the crisis, and its arrival in their normal daily lives, came when she refused to accompany them, as she always used to do, to the Starbucks cafe to buy drinks and sit for a while.
She pointed out – in her speech to Tel Aviv Tribune Net – that when she was talking to her children about Arab issues such as the occupation of Palestine or the absence of democracy in the Arab countries, they did not show interest or enthusiasm for what they heard, and they used to say, “These are your problems, not the problem of our new generation.”
But the matter changed completely after October 7, 2023, as the woman says. Her children’s interest gradually increased and their following of everything that happened through the news increased. She says, “I had to answer many questions about the history of the conflict, and how we reached this point.” .
The impact of American Muslims
The impact of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip over the past year extended to include all areas of the lives of American Muslims, and this appeared in the face of a new reality represented by the escalation of the “Islamophobia” crisis and the political choices of the Arab and Muslim community.
On the positive side, American Muslims have realized the strength of the voting bloc they represent, despite its small size. As the US presidential elections approach, the Gaza issue remains a major determining factor in the voting pattern of American Muslims, especially in the seven swing states, in which they are present in small percentages but may be greatly influential.
On the negative side, many Muslims have been subjected to widespread attacks and threats in various hate crimes, the most prominent of which was the killing of the 6-year-old Palestinian-American child, Wadih Al-Fayoumi, after he was stabbed 26 times by the owner of the property in which he lived with his family outside. City of Chicago.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) revealed in its annual civil rights report that it received 8,061 bias complaints during the year 2023, and that almost half of them came in the last three months of the year, that is, after the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa flood, an increase of 70% more than it was in 2022.
The report, titled “Fatal: The Return of Anti-Muslim Hatred,” says that 15% of complaints received by the group involved employment bias, and that 8.5% of reports of bias included schools, colleges and universities.
On the other hand, American Muslims are optimistic about the reality of the demographic structure and its future changes. According to projections from the Pew Research Center, the demographic composition of the United States, which currently has a population of 337 million, will change, such that Judaism will no longer be the largest religion after Christianity in the United States by 2050.
The center expects that the number of American Muslims in that year will be greater than the number of Jews, at a rate of up to 2.1%, that is, an increase of 1% from what it is now, when their number is approximately 4 million Muslims, partly due to the continued migration of Muslims to America.