Here's What It's Like to Be Muslim in the Bible Belt in 2017

[babylonsister]

Here's What It's Like to Be Muslim in the Bible Belt in 2017
"They are American kids, and they will come at a very young age and say, 'Why do they hate us?'"

Becca Andrews
Feb. 27, 2017 6:00 AM

snip//

Ossama Bahoul, the former imam at the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, said there is a big difference between what the Muslim community in Middle Tennessee went through when the mosque was being built and what is happening now. Back then, the government was on their side—it defended his people's right to worship and promised to take swift action against anyone who threatened them. Now, he hears the Islamophobia that used to come from the mouths of protesters coming from the government. "It is really disturbing for me to be talking about this," Bahloul said. "The people who are supposed to protect us are singling our community out. That's tough."

Bahloul and Saleh Sbenaty tell Mother Jones about women who had been threatened for wearing the hijab and sometimes, Bahloul said, people have tried to assault them. Schoolchildren have come home crying because other children asked if their headscarves are hiding a bomb. Other Muslims have told him they have heard mutterings of "it's about time to clean up America" and "go back home" when they pass by.
"They are American kids, and they will come at a very young age and say, 'Why do they hate us?'"

Recently, when another student at school referred to one of the children in his congregation as "Bin Laden," Bahloul found himself at a loss. &quot Our) kids were born in America—they don't speak any language but English," he said. "They are American kids, and they will come at a very young age and say, 'Why do they hate us?'"

The effects of Trump's comments about Muslims is not restricted to the random acts of violence directed at Muslims in the United States. The executive order he signed banning refugees and immigrants from seven predominantly-Muslim countries—including Syria—mean the Sbenatys and other families fear they'll be separated from family members for quite some time. Saleh hasn't seen his mother, who is 83, in 11 years. He wants to bring her to America, but the recent events make that seem unlikely. His siblings got married after he left Syria, and he has nieces and nephews he has never met. Minutes after the Ninth Circuit Court filed a preliminary injunction against Trump's immigration order, effectively putting it on hold, Trump tweeted, in all caps: "See you in court, the security of our nation is at stake!"

"Now there is no option for me to go and visit or for them to come over here," Saleh told Mother Jones before the court ruling. "It's something you cannot explain in words."

Dima Sbenaty, Saleh's daughter, is a 27-year-old clinical coordinator for the stroke unit at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. The week after Trump's "Muslim ban" took effect, she spoke at a vigil in support of Muslim Americans. Thousands showed up. "Islam taught me to give back...As a Muslim, it is my obligation to you to be strong, to uphold justice, and to protect your rights," she told the crowd that night. "That is how America raised me."

more...

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/02/mosque-tennessee-syrian-refugees

[Fred Sanders]

1. When the hate speech of Trump and The Deplorables targets the next vulnerable minority group in

America other than Muslims will America pay attention then?

Or will it be target after target that is attacked under the umbrella of unrestricted freedom of speech until the next target is YOU?

[babylonsister]

2. Exactly. Seems Jewish people are the next in line. Deplorable! nt

[smirkymonkey]

3. K&R