Discrimination against American Muslims
Long ago, many of our forebears made the long, dangerous journey to America from faraway lands to practice their religion without fear and to escape persecution. Those experiences helped form a core American value enshrined in the Constitution: freedom of religion. Freedom of religion means that the government cannot establish a particular religion as the national religion and cannot interfere with any individual’s free exercise of his or her religion. In America, citizens and immigrants may hold their own individual religious views, practice their own religion, whether that religion is popular or unpopular or has a few or numerous followers, whether it seems unorthodox to the vast majority or is even offensive to some. The Constitution protects individuals regardless of their religious beliefs and practices.
In spite of this fundamental Constitutional right, some oppose those who worship Allah and are Muslim. Today, in some quarters, American Muslims face discrimination or hatred, merely because they are Muslims. Some anti-Muslim individuals have killed, hurt, or threatened people who are Muslim. Three Chapel Hill, North Carolina Muslim college students were killed execution style. A Kansas City Muslim teen was run down by a vehicle on his way from the mosque. A Dallas Iraqi refugee was shot when he paused to take photographs of snow when he saw it for the first time. An individual took eighteen shots at a North Carolinian Muslim family’s home, and a former New York Congressional candidate schemed to attack an Upstate Muslim community. These horrific acts were designed to plant fear in the minds of American Muslims.
Other anti-Muslim individuals have destroyed mosques or Muslim schools. A Houston mosque was set ablaze; hate graffiti was painted on a Rhode Island Islamic school. In Tennessee, anti-Muslim individuals tried to stop a mosque from being built simply because it was a mosque. Some political candidates have suggested segregation between Muslims and non-Muslims. These actions plant fear in the minds of American Muslims.
Some Muslims have also faced discrimination because of their religion. For instance, some Muslim women have been told by their employers to remove their scarves (hijabs), which they wear for religious reasons, or else lose their jobs, a practice that federal law forbids.
American Muslims also contend that they have faced discrimination from state and federal governments. Some Texas and Oklahoma representatives have refused to see their Muslim constituents, and state legislators in Idaho, Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, South Carolina, and North Carolina have sponsored anti-Muslim legislation. Some people contend that FBI agents have used questionable methods to coerce informants and or identify suspected terrorists merely because they are Muslim.
Discrimination based on a person’s religious belief does not fly in the face of a Constitutional right and is illegal. If proved, the discriminator may face legal consequences.
If you have been discriminated against on the basis of your religion, you have legal remedies and rights. For more information or to have questions answered, contact Nashville Attorney Perry A. Craft.
Perry A. Craft has dedicated his life to helping people in need. He has tried, settled, or resolved numerous civil and criminal cases in State and Federal courts, and has represented teachers and administrators before school boards, administrative judges, and the state Board of Education. Learn more about Attorney Craft.