Earlier this month, a vicious assault was carried out by a white supremacist on Sikh worshippers in Wisconsin, leaving six dead and three wounded. An attack like this is not new as Sikhs are sometimes misidentified as Muslims by the misinformed popularition due to their traditional turbans and beards.
Racism and religious intolerance are blatantly obvious here but what is more disturbing is how the media chooses to cover the news. The media seems to emphasise that ‘Sikhs are not Muslims’, giving an impression that if the attack was carried out against a group of Muslims, it somehow becomes slightly more understandable and tolerable. I agree that the media is just informing people the reason behind the killings but the emphasis seems to approve that some religious groups are more deserving of hate than others.
As an article from Deseret News puts it, the killing was ‘an attack on believers everywhere.’ It went on about how the killing was an ‘assault’ to the Constitution’s First Amendment that guaranteed the freedom of religious exercise. The First Amendment has become one of the core values of American society but sadly does not seem to be applied to the religious minorities.
Anti-Muslim sentiments have become ‘mainstream’ in America but who is to blame? The politicians? The media?
Muhammad Babur from PostBulletin.com argued that ‘recent political campaigns not only have revealed a heightened level of polarization but also have given one party a new tool to attract votes and massive load of cash.’ According to the article, during a 2010 congressional campaign, 85 Republican members used the pet line, ‘sharia law’ to disparage Islam and gain financial support for their campaign.
The attack on Sikh worshippers is a tragedy and it reminds us the sad reality that ignorance and fear-mongering only generate more hate and results in violence.
colourace 