In continuing its efforts to strive “For the Gator Good,” UF announced earlier this year that it would be among the first universities in the southeastern U.S. to open a Center for Islamic Studies.
This step toward tolerance and making all groups feel more welcomed on our campus should have been welcomed by all. Unfortunately, that was not the case.
Recently, an organization called the Coalition of Concerned Citizens Group distributed propaganda that protested the commemoration of UF’s new Islamic Studies center. The group attacked keynote speaker John Esposito and likened him to Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, the leader of the terrorist group ISIS. The group called Esposito a “terrorist supporter” and spewed baseless claims about his personal character and history.
Our campus and and our nation are still feeling the lingering effects of Sept. 11. One of the unfortunate but often forgotten remnants of this tragedy is the discrimination Muslims and dark-skinned Americans face on a regular basis.
The fear of terrorism — a fear fueled and fed by our nation’s political leaders — has led some people to believe that all followers of Islam are enemies of Western ideals and threats to America’s way of life. In the view of these individuals, a supporter of Islam is a supporter of terrorism — there is no difference, they say.
American Islamophobia has led to general discrimination of people with brown skin, even if they are not Muslim.
In a misguided attempt to guard its religion and way of life against an exaggerated and invented threat, the Coalition of Concerned Citizen Groups is attempting to infringe upon the rights of countless brown people in this nation. They seek to deny hundreds of thousands of Americans the right to practice their religion and to live their lives the way they see fit.
Outbursts of hatred and discrimination toward Muslims have sprung up on college campuses across the country. Soon after 9/11, Khalid Latif, Muslim chaplain at NYU, held a roundtable to discuss the adverse effects that the discriminated Muslims faced in the 9/11 aftermath were having on the student population.
Notable issues were the perceived inability “to worship freely at mosques” and the “deterred organization around Muslim civil rights issues.”
The problem with discrimination against Muslims and brown people extends beyond college campuses into all aspects of American life. In 2012, a Wisconsin Sikh temple was attacked by a gunman who was an Army veteran with ties to white supremacist groups.
Racial profiling, hate speech and violent attacks are a common thread in the dark history of the treatment of American minorities. Americans have a tendency to react with outrage and indignation against acts of terrorism and violence, while simultaneously oppressing and terrorizing members of minority groups.
The Coalition of Concerned Citizen Groups should substitute the word “Concerned” in its title with the word “Fearful.” The driving force behind acts of hate is the fear of those who are different or unfamiliar.
The Coalition’s attempt to derail the conference supporting the launch of UF’s Center for Global Islamic Studies is proof that, even in Gainesville, there are people afraid of seeing Muslims gain equal footing with other American religious groups.
UF’s goal of providing diverse cultures with a free, welcoming and accepting environment is congruent with its goal to become recognized as a top 10 university. The vitriol and hate of groups like the Coalition are a major obstacle toward that goal.
TehQuin Forbes is a UF sociology junior. His columns appear on Mondays.
