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”You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view.”

— Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird

That quote is as relevant today as in 1930s Alabama, where the story was set. People throughout the world face xenophobic and racist problems. It makes it that much harder when governments endorse these bigoted views. Everything from building a wall to how the pandemic is tackled in different communities shows that prejudice and bias are alive and well in American society. Tweets by a delusional President don’t help.

Trump has promoted Islamophobia on several occasions and reinforced the idea that Islam is a threat to America. He uses rhetoric like "Islam hates us" and once tweeted, “The United Kingdom is trying hard to disguise their massive Muslim problem.” The words Muslim and Islam can easily be changed to Black, Hispanic, or Jewish. Imagine!

But, America is not the only country to have a leader who sways to the right on political matters. Since Islamophobia became a force — it was at its worst during the fall of the Twin Towers — Muslims have been harassed in many countries. So, imagine the dilemma of being a Muslim woman and wearing a face veil. It’s a double whammy.

In Europe, the debate among politicians about female equality, religious freedom and secular traditions rages on. Europe struggles to embrace multiculturalism, and greater efforts still need to be made to assimilate ethnic and religious minorities.

Muslim women are soft targets, and it is not uncommon to have insults hurled at you while riding the bus or tube in England. In Parramatta, Australia, a pregnant Muslim woman was assaulted in a restaurant, verbally and physically, in an alleged racially motivated incident. Studies show that hate crimes are also on the increase in the U.S due to the Trump Effect.

Governments pandering to the bigots’ desires have banned the face veil (or niqab, as Muslims refer to the piece of cloth) and the burka, a loose-fitting garment covering the entire body from head to feet. They are currently banned either entirely or to a certain extent in Denmark, Norway, Germany, France, Italy, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Canada, Chad and Cameroon.

Even the burkini, the full-body swimwear, has faced opposition in France and was banned on the Riviera until France's top administrative court overturned the law.

But stigmatizing a religion because of the actions of a few terrorists who claim to follow it is as ridiculous as building a wall to keep Americans safe from immigrants. These extreme measures are taken to assuage the fears of ignorant and ignoble people.

Trump's xenophobic, anti-Muslim bigotry and racist rants led to policies such as the Muslim ban, giving Trump the authority to suspend entry to people from Muslim-majority countries, and his executive order, giving state officials the power to block refugee resettlement, are widely regarded as undemocratic. How long before Trump asks for a ban on the niqab?

A Gallup study shows that American Muslims are twice as likely to experience racial and religious discrimination compared to U.S. Catholics, Jews and Protestants. Progressive transformation is, however, possible with women from all ethnicities coming together demanding inclusion and justice.

America needs politicians like Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, who made history as the first Muslim congresswomen. Omar came to America as a Somali refugee, while Tlaib is the daughter of Palestinian immigrants. These two women, Ayanna Pressley and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, known as “The Squad,” lead the pack demanding racial, generational and ideological change that will benefit all Americans, but specifically minorities.

Muslim women breathed a collective sigh when two Muslim women were elected to Congress. But is that enough? Being Muslim, a woman and wearing the garments of one’s faith is difficult in the land of the free, home of the brave.

Fathima S Meer

Writing since February 2022 · 1 story contributed