Thoughts from 7th graders at the PIMS
By: Mackenzie Whittaker; Marielle Shaw
Maybe someday we will all be at peace
By Mackenzie Whittaker
Many people around the world do not tolerate Muslims very well. Muslims do no tolerate Americans very well either. They are biased because they do not know what each other’s customs are or why they have those customs.
There are certain reasons why many Americans show prejudice toward Muslims. One reason that Americans show prejudice is because of the 9-11 attacks. On September 11, 2001, Osama bin Laden carried out a plan to crash into the Twin Towers. Osama bin Laden and the other people who carried out the plan were Muslims. As a result of this, Americans do not like many Muslims. A second reason is that the other members of Al Qaeda are Muslims. Osama bin Laden was the leader of Al Qaeda. Now that Osama bin Laden is dead, people are starting to think that Al Qaeda is going to plan another attack against Americans. A third reason is that we as Americans do not fully understand why Muslims do what they do. For instance, a lot of people do not understand why Muslim women have to cover their heads. It actually depends on where they live and how strict their religion is there. Some women wear as little as a scarf on their heads. In other places where the religion is stricter wear burkas. Many Muslims in America do not wear anything on there heads. A fourth reason is that Americans do not fully understand the religion of Islam. An example of this is that Muslims do not eat pork, bacon, ham, or any kind of meat that comes from a pig. Muslims believe that the pig is a very dirty animal. They believe that it is so unclean because it lives in its own filth. Therefore, they will not eat it. A fifth reason is Americans do not do the same thing that Muslims do, and we think it is too different. There are many examples of this. One of them is the scripture. Christians in America (and around the world) read and practice the Bible. Muslims read and practice the Koran. Another example is that when Muslims pray in a mosque, the women are separated from the men. When Christians pray, men and women pray together in the same place.
There are also certain reasons why many Muslims show prejudice toward Americans. One of these reasons is that we have attacked Iraq, Iran, and other places where they live. When they attacked us, we did not like it. So I understand why that would make them show prejudice because Americans did the same as well. A second reason is that they think Americans are too rich. The people of Jihad think that the people in the United States have too much money and wealth. A third reason is that the way we dress is completely different than the way they dress. Many Americans do not dress as modestly as many Muslims do, and that may be against their religion. A fourth reason is that we have different holidays. A holiday they have is Ramadan. Ramadan lasts about a month. During Ramadan, Muslims do not eat from the time the sun comes up to the time the sun goes down. They normally get up early so they can eat. Also, they stay up later so they can have a big supper.
There are a couple ways that people can reduce bias and prejudice and help people become more tolerant of each other. A way we can do this is to start teaching about religion at a young age. If we teach this at a young age then they will not grow up to be biased against different people. It might help to raise money to build a school so we can teach people about this. We can also start to show respect toward diverse customs in the community.
Those are the reasons why many people do not tolerate Muslims very well and why Muslims do not tolerate Americans very well. That is why we all need to stop showing prejudice and be respectful of each other, so that someday we will all be at peace.
Grade 7
Presque Isle Middle School
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Tolerance needs to be taught at home
By Marielle Shaw
Many people in the United States are prejudiced against Muslims. Many Muslims feel the same way about Americans. Both Muslims and Americans are prejudiced against one another because they don’t understand each other’s customs, language, and beliefs. To be prejudiced is to form an unfavorable opinion beforehand without knowledge or reason. If a person is biased they are prejudiced in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another. I think every human being is prejudiced or biased against someone or something. It is human nature to fear what you don’t understand.
Many people in the United States are biased against Muslims for many reasons. Foremost is because of the attacks on September 11th. This attack, which killed over 3,000 Americans, was done in the name of Islam. These people think that all Muslims are bad because of the attacks, but they don’t understand that it wasn’t all Muslims that did this. It was a small group called Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda is a small group of extreme Muslims that use deadly force in the name of religion.
A second reason is because Muslims want to put a mosque near the site of the Twin Towers. Many Americans have an emotional response to this. They feel this would minimalize the deaths that happened there. A third reason for prejudice against Muslims is because there is segregation in many Islamic countries. Men and woman do not work in the same offices or hospitals. Women are inferior and do not have the same rights as men. People in America all work together, men and women side by side. Although if we look at our own history, it wasn’t that long ago that women and African Americans were treated with the same discrimination. We also don’t understand why only Muslims can go to Mecca (Islamic holy city). This is an annual pilgrimage known as Hajj. It is one of the five basic obligations of a Muslim and is to be done at least once is his lifetime. These are a few of the reasons that Americans are prejudiced against Muslims.
Muslims are also biased against Americans in many ways. Some of the ways are how we dress. Americans wear whatever they want and often show much of the human body. Muslims have a certain outfit. The women have to wear burkas to cover their faces from men that they do not know. Most Americans do not do this. Also, Muslims think that America has too much money and wealth. We are an immoral society. Another reason is because we have attacked Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. These are Muslim countries. We have attacked and killed their people.
Prejudice and discrimination needs to be eliminated from the world. We all know that it will never be completely eliminated, but it can be reduced. This can happen with education. We can begin teaching about customs and religions at a young age. Different religions can be introduced in early childhood education. Other religious communities can teach their members about tolerance and acceptance. Most importantly tolerance needs to be taught at home. Children follow in their parent’s footsteps. If parents treat others with respect, tolerance, and dignity, their children will too.
There are many reasons why people in the United States are prejudiced against Muslims and why Muslims are biased against Americans. The main reason for this is that people fear what they don’t understand. We all need to realize that we may have different religions, beliefs, values, languages and backgrounds, but we are really all the same. We are all looking for acceptance, love, and understanding.
Grade 7
Presque Isle Middle School
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