Arizona Muslims say, the Muslims in the United States have been burdened with a label of terrorism that colors others’ perceptions of Islam.
The East Valley Tribune reported, Johnny Martin, 23, a Mesa resident who converted to the faith two years ago, said that, “You can’t put Islam in a box.”
Adherents say, Muslims in Arizona and across the nation are much like everyone else. Brothers and sisters. The people who are in line at the grocery store and by the voting booth. Political conservatives and liberals, gay and straight, lifelong adherents to their religion and recent converts.
According to the information, Arizona has seen its share of controversy over terrorism that has marked the world. Phoenix residents Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi traveled to Garland, Texas, with the intention of attacking an art exhibit featuring images of the Prophet Muhammad in May 2015. They were killed by a SWAT team before carrying out their plan. Another man from Tucson is on trial, accused of attempting to plan a terrorist attack.
“They certainly have the window dressing of Islam,” said Phoenix resident Sumayyah Dawud. “But their acts are absolutely un-Islamic.”
Hani Rahal, a leader in the Shia Muslim Al-Mahdi Benevolent Foundation, said that, “Many Americans are afraid of the unknown, they don’t know what Islam is.” It is a Tempe-based Islamic religious and educational center.
“No one decides what Islam is and who the real Muslims are other than Allah,” Martin said.
Martin, who is bisexual, became public about his sexual identity after the Orlando, Florida, nightclub shooting. Many gay and Latino people, 49 in all, were shot to death.
“I mostly came out publicly just to be in solidarity with other folks within the LGBTQ community,” Martin said. “But also to bring an awareness to people who inhabit intersectional identities, because that is often forgotten, and people want to put everyone in a box.”
“Islamophobia comes from lack of knowledge,”I mran Siddiqi, head of the Arizona branch of the Council on American Islamic Relations said. “It’s easy to hate a Muslim when you’ve never met one before.”
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