This article has also been published on the Express Tribune website at the following link: http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/13135/islamophobia-and-huma-abedin/
Islamophobia is mounting in the developed world, with a big contributing factor being ignorance. Instead of looking at the millions of Muslims who are practicing the actual religion, the western media has focused on a fraction of so called 'Muslims' who are misunderstood extremists and believe in the believe in killing innocents all in the name of Jihad. While Jihad is a part of Islam, it is widely misunderstood and killings of innocents is not allowed.
The case of Islamophobia is becoming more pronounced particularly in the USA. A survey by the Pew Research Center shows that only 30% of Americans had a favorable opinion of Islam in 2010, and that number has been declining over the past years. This is not surprising since most leaders of America itself make sweeping attacks on Muslims. A stark example would be how five prominent members of the Republican Party and congress recently sent a letter to the Deputy Inspector General of the State Department, accusing Hilary Clinton's aide Huma Abedin of ties with the Muslim Brotherhood.
Huma Abedin is a Muslim woman, who is deputy chief of staff to Hilary Clinton. From the members of the Republican party who signed this letter, the most prominent is Michele Bachmann, who was being considered by the Republicans as a presidential candidate. The Muslim Brotherhood is a political Islamic organization which was founded in 1928, particularly very active in the Arab world and has been accused of an 'international plot to overthrow governments of Arab countries' by many, including the Dubai police.
According to the letter sent, Abedins three family members specifically her late father, mother and brother were directly connected to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. The inclination given is that Abedin has influenced the softening of policy in the White House towards the Muslim Brotherhood which can produce hazardous for the US since the Muslim Brotherhood intends to destroy western civilization from within.
However, according to Global Post, the US government does not view the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, given that it had not carried out a violent activity for the past fifty years. That said, the US government is very thorough when conducting research on potential employees of the White House, so obviously Abedian was not viewed as a threat. On being asked about Huma Abedin, the Muslim Brotherhood responded with a confused 'Who?'
Not all Republicans have attacked Abedins reputation, with Senator John McCain amongst others rising to her defense. It does seem a bit preposterous that Abedin would be connected to the Muslim Brotherhood, or have an extremist Islamic agenda. The woman dress sense isn't very modest according to Islamic standards as seen by her photoshoot in Vogue Magazine in 2007, where she wore a daring low cut red dress (picture above). She is also married to a Jewish man and has a baby with him. Jon Stewart does a hilarious refute to this accusation by Bachmann on Abedin which can be viewed here.
That said, the issue is deeper than just one person. The letter actually accused quite a few people indirectly, and the reason why Abedin was brought to the limelight is that her name was specifically mentioned. There is an underlying fear that Islam poses a threat to the western style of life without realizing Muslims have been living peacefully in the west for hundreds of years. This is due to ignorance and it is this ignorance about the true meaning of Islam which is in dire need of being addressed in order to avoid such fear and misunderstandings in the future.
Islamophobia is mounting in the developed world, with a big contributing factor being ignorance. Instead of looking at the millions of Muslims who are practicing the actual religion, the western media has focused on a fraction of so called 'Muslims' who are misunderstood extremists and believe in the believe in killing innocents all in the name of Jihad. While Jihad is a part of Islam, it is widely misunderstood and killings of innocents is not allowed.
The case of Islamophobia is becoming more pronounced particularly in the USA. A survey by the Pew Research Center shows that only 30% of Americans had a favorable opinion of Islam in 2010, and that number has been declining over the past years. This is not surprising since most leaders of America itself make sweeping attacks on Muslims. A stark example would be how five prominent members of the Republican Party and congress recently sent a letter to the Deputy Inspector General of the State Department, accusing Hilary Clinton's aide Huma Abedin of ties with the Muslim Brotherhood.
Huma Abedin is a Muslim woman, who is deputy chief of staff to Hilary Clinton. From the members of the Republican party who signed this letter, the most prominent is Michele Bachmann, who was being considered by the Republicans as a presidential candidate. The Muslim Brotherhood is a political Islamic organization which was founded in 1928, particularly very active in the Arab world and has been accused of an 'international plot to overthrow governments of Arab countries' by many, including the Dubai police.
According to the letter sent, Abedins three family members specifically her late father, mother and brother were directly connected to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. The inclination given is that Abedin has influenced the softening of policy in the White House towards the Muslim Brotherhood which can produce hazardous for the US since the Muslim Brotherhood intends to destroy western civilization from within.
However, according to Global Post, the US government does not view the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, given that it had not carried out a violent activity for the past fifty years. That said, the US government is very thorough when conducting research on potential employees of the White House, so obviously Abedian was not viewed as a threat. On being asked about Huma Abedin, the Muslim Brotherhood responded with a confused 'Who?'
Not all Republicans have attacked Abedins reputation, with Senator John McCain amongst others rising to her defense. It does seem a bit preposterous that Abedin would be connected to the Muslim Brotherhood, or have an extremist Islamic agenda. The woman dress sense isn't very modest according to Islamic standards as seen by her photoshoot in Vogue Magazine in 2007, where she wore a daring low cut red dress (picture above). She is also married to a Jewish man and has a baby with him. Jon Stewart does a hilarious refute to this accusation by Bachmann on Abedin which can be viewed here.
That said, the issue is deeper than just one person. The letter actually accused quite a few people indirectly, and the reason why Abedin was brought to the limelight is that her name was specifically mentioned. There is an underlying fear that Islam poses a threat to the western style of life without realizing Muslims have been living peacefully in the west for hundreds of years. This is due to ignorance and it is this ignorance about the true meaning of Islam which is in dire need of being addressed in order to avoid such fear and misunderstandings in the future.
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