Dear Society,
Gen Z muslims have experienced islamophobia in some shape or form… being that we are in a group that has gone through it all under a short amount of time , dealing with the aftermath of several terrorist attacks, school shootings, systemic racism, climate change, and a global pandemic before going to prom.
As a 17 year old, I've experienced a lot in comparison to other generations, a pandemic at the height of my social life being one of them. But with this time and distance it has helped me reflect on my life and what I've learned so far. And as we observed this summer, our country is becoming more and more socially and politically aware. With the death of George Floyd bringing an uprising of Black Lives Matter, and the recent spotlight on xenophobia that Asian Americans experience from COVID-19. It's time we acknowledge another elephant in the room. Islamophobia within the United States, specifically how its affected Gen Z and what is different about its impact on Gen Z compared to other generations.
It was a bright sunny day and I was late to my 5th grade class in the public school I attended, and on the way I saw a little girl who wore the hijab getting harassed for not standing for the pledge of allegiance, she was called names and was about to cry. That day I learned that the hijab was something that was feared by many.
Fast forward a few years later I am now attending a private catholic middle school. It was the summer before eighth grade and my family and I travelled to Paris, France and when we came back a terrorist attack had occurred. A classmate of mine, he thought it’d be funny to publicly announce that my family and I must’ve been behind the recent attack because of the fact that I was muslim. In that school I was one of a few muslim students, who didnt wear the hijab and yet I was targeted. As an awkward preteen who wanted to “fit in,” I learned that if I wore the hijab I would get harassed, in that moment I was presented with a scenario where I wasn’t wearing the hijab and yet still was under fire for my religion. What I had learned from that experience is to hide any trace of being a muslim.
To say that this will be fixed overnight can be a stretch. But when we view it as a signal for change there's more hope. And yes this has been traumatic, but it brings the perspective for change, and how we understand that, can be helpful for the future.
-Zumee Hasan
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