Why are some Americans so ignorant and blinkered when it comes to the wider world and especially Islam/Arabs/M

Question

I am not saying ALL Americans are this way.
But how do you come to your conclusions? Peers/Media/Opinions?

I;m just trying to state that you can not class a race only on a few bad apples.....if that's the case that is either xenophobia or some might say racism.

I am not Judging you in anyway...Americans are brill, it's just a couple who I have encountered feel this way and I'm just trying to gain a rhetoric of why? No harm in that

and before you pipe up about suicide bombers get your facts right...the first one in the Palestinian conflict was actually a Japanese man - You don't go around disliking Japanese people do you?
After all they were "Suicide Bombers" in WW2

I only want to find out how you come to these conclusions - In no way am I slating America or its people

Its a general query

And what was Hitler? A Christian
Mussolini? A Catholic
Pol Pot? A Buddhist
Stalin? Catholic
Pinochet? A Christian
Milosevic? A Christian

It's not only Muslims!!!! Please keep that in mind before judgement is passed

I AM NOT A MUSLIM

KRIS - B:

You state that women in some Muslim countries are treated unfairly...good point
But was it not a mere 40 years ago that Blacks in the U.S were persecuted simply for the colour of their skin?
You are not so innocent yourself!!!

Answer 1

Unfortunately, the media has portrayed Muslims in such a bad light that most non-Muslims are not trusting of them and think they are all out to kill Americans, hate Christians and want to blow themselves up.

I know that a lot of Muslims are not like this, but I can't say I haven't been a little anxious around them lately. It just seems like they think that Christians and Americans are devils and should be destroyed according to Allah. And that pisses me off because I haven't done wrong to anyone. And I get pissed at our government just like they do.

Answer 2

Americans are never told the truth, so they cannot know the truth.
Very few Americans (less than 20%) ever go abroad, so they never get any first hand knowledge of other countries.
American culture provides an unhealthy diet, which doesn't help people to think straight. American TV shows are so inane that they stunt the mind.

With respect to Islam and Muslims, then there is a protracted effort on the part of the Zionist owned American TV and newspapers to paint Muslims in a very bad light, and because most Americans are now like sheep, they think this information is true.
What the world needs is for American citizens to wake up so that they stop voting in such jokers as presidents.

Answer 3

Islams/Arabs/Muslims what have you are just as, if not more ignorant than Americans. I don't see how a group who treats women that way has a right to call Americans ignorant! Why don't you do the world a favor and set yourself on fire in protest of us.

Seriously dude, my people live in North Dakota. Our town just got its first black guy and he's my bowling partner. We didn't have blacks in this area so you can't exactly blame us for what went on pre-MLK, nor can you blame us for slavery since we didn't arrive here until the early 1900s. Also we left Germany before Hitler so we cannot be called Nazis, though we were treated VERY badly during the 1940s because we had German accents. My family has been victimized more than it has made victims of others. I do not appreciate you lumping me in with the racists that used to control this country because I am immune. My ancestors weren't even here when most of that nonsense went down.

Answer 4

Bias is truly want warrants these thoughts. Some people whether they be American, Muslim, French, North Korean, Arab, etc. see the actions of one person, or a group of people and begin to perceive the entire group in that way. Right now, Americans believe that the Muslim religion tells them to hate and kill Americans. Any American that feels this way I would encourage to read the Koran. It is how some Muslims interpret the Koran that leads them to hate Americans. Not all Muslims interpret the Koran this way. Or, think about how many interpretations there are of the bible.

Sadly, bias is easily reached and can lead to racism. I don't know if I would go as far as xenophobia, as they do not fear all strangers, but I would agree that there are some people who have connected the tragedy that happened on 9/11 with an entire religious group. This is nothing new to the world and something we deal with everyday.

As far as the why goes, I think people do not recognize bias. They feel there is justification for their feelings of hatred to an entire group. Just as some Arabs hate Americans.

Answer 5

I would call it xenophobia. Aren't Jewish and Arabs all part of the same race? I guess the word racism is used now to describe any kind of ethnic prejudice.
They are xenophobic for a few reasons. First, most Americans have had very little close exposure to Arabs, and it's possible the cultural gap is so large that they are afraid to get to know the ones they meet. For example, a head scarf may be seen here as a symbol of subjugation of women, raather than as a sign of respect. We rarely see head scarves here on non-Muslims, except on grandmothers, hippies and people working in their gardens. Personally, I don't care at all about this, but a lot of Western women could see it as a threat to their freedom. A burka would symbolize total slavery. It sounds like a very superficial observation, but I am pretty sure that people who feel that way would also feel very uncomfortable around some orthodox Jews who observe certain dress codes.
Next, as you know, we were attacked on 9/11 and the media has blown it up into a full-fledged culture of fear. Fear makes people do strange things. It's easy for some people to be led by the nose, and I'm sure the government has wholeheartedly supported the likes of Fox News - who report little news. Mostly they are in the business of spreading hate and malicious gossip. Try to find unbiased news here. The best you can do is the BBC. I used to be able to get Canadian news, but Al Gore bought News World International and turned it into Google TV, which I can't stand.
Anyway, all the worst people from all sides grab the headlines, because sensationalism (not truth) sells newspapers and TV advertising. People are sick of the Iraq War, but not ready yet to do something about it. Decent, law-abiding Muslims in this country and elsewhere rarely get in the spotlight. There are terrorists from Israel and from the US too, but somehow, amny of us have come to brand all Muslims as terrorists. Israelis are seen as "defending their land", when in fact that land belonged to others who are supposed to lay down like doormats and accept it. It's not honest.
I agree with you that a few bad people does not make all the people bad - in any group.

Answer 6

They ar so different from us. I don't hate Arabs or a particular race or religion. What kind of Christian would I be then? I am saddened that we can't seem to get a long. Some people want to see all the Christians dead though. We are the infedels to some....The problem is determining who is peaceful and who is not since people who claim to be Christians hate......The things hate are hatred, murder, and the shed of innocent blood. I don't believe in their religion but I don't have to hate them just b/c they are a different religion.

Answer 7

Yes you are are slanting Americans, if not, your subject header would not read the way it does...

To start with your examples...

1. Hitler: Not a Christian, used christianity early in his political rise, then wated it eliminated.
2. Mussolini: A Facsist. He had the headquarters of the catholic faith in his country, he had to make good with the pope for political gain as well.
3. Pol Pot: Not a Buddhist, he was a communist
4. Stalin: Not a Catholic, communists rid themselves of the church.
5. Pinochet: A Christian-
6. Milosevic: A Christian- neither one a fervant believer in the faith.

But what you fail to realize in your feeble lumping all of these examples together is: There are 3 reasons why your examples are not equivalent to ISLAMIC FASCISTS like Bin Laden and Zaqawi..
1. They did not even attempt to justify their actions by reference to Christian Sculpture or tradition.
2. They Were Not acting on mainstream Christian Teachings.
3. There are not large Christian groups around the world dedicated to implementing the same teachings.

The difference between Osama Bin laden and all the above is the difference between aberrant acts and aberrant teachings. Any human being with a belief system can do horrible things. But abominable acts are more likely to come in greater numbers and frequency when they are encourages and perpetrated by religious texts and those that teach from them.

Americans are "blinkered" as you put it, because we have grown tired of your violence.
What would happen if even 50% of the Moslems enjoying the freedoms of more tolerant nations engaged in a fervent letter writing campaign to their countries of origin? What if Islamic clergy were to preach tolerance regularly? What if Moslems by the thousands protested and demonstrated outside the embassies of any Islamic country that dared to try a person of non-Islamic faith for blasphemy or converting from Islam? Such pressure would bring at least a modicum of change, maybe more. Such pressure, applied by fellow Moslems, would surely be accepted more readily than the protests of infidels. Such pressure, applied by Moslems, would do much to silence those who think all Moslems are extremist. But that will never happen because as Ibn Warraq, executive director of the Institute for the Secularization of Islamic Society says "There may be moderate Muslims, but Islam itself is not moderate. There is no difference between Islam and Islamic fundamentalism. At most there is a difference of degree but not of kind."

So here are a few suggestions. If Muslims don't want Islam to be perceived as encouraging violence, they should:
1. Stop committing violent acts.
2. Stop justifying those violent acts by reference to the Qur'an and Sunnah.
3. Stop saying violent or hateful things in private when you think no non-Muslims are around.
4. Begin comprehensive international programs in mosques all over the world to teach against the ideas of violent jihad and Islamic supremacism.
5. Actively work with Western law enforcement officials to identify and apprehend jihadists within Western Muslim communities.

Do these five things, and you'll find, voila, that perceptions of Islam will begin miraculously to improve.

Answer 8

Probably the same reason many Islamics, Muslims, and Arabs are ignorant about Americans....they make their judgments based on minimal information. If you are to decide that we are all like George Bush, obviously you're going to think we're all idiots...well, we see Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein...therefore many Americans think all Arabs are power hungry homicidal maniacs.

I myself do not believe this...I feel terribly sorry for all of the innocent people caught in the midst of this war. I believe that all people have the right to pray to the God of their choice, and practice the cultural values they believe in. Not every country in world needs to be like America, but when we see some one in crisis, is it not our responsibility as HUMAN BEINGS to help that person(s)?
Hopefully this will give you another view about how Americans view the Arab nations. Please do not dismiss us all as ignorant and arrogant.

Answer 9

You are right. Alot do not really believe that muslim domination of the world at any cost is the stated goal, and that killing you, your family, and your freaking dog, is a happy past time for the muslims of the world.,

Religion of peace = death cult

Answer 10

Isn't that exactly what you are doing to Americans??? Judging all of us on the basis of a few? What makes you such an authority on Americans?? Just keep your own back yard clean, and let me worry about mine!