American Islamophobia: A Look Into the World of Hate (On Hold)

My little experiment...

Hello again, my friends!

I know I haven't been as religiously invested in my Wattpad as I should have but there is a reason for that. I have been writing and traveling extensively which has only added more stories to my repertoire.

With this newfound wave of Islamophobia, bigotry, and racism the South has had a paradigm shift. I didn't realize this until one of my friends pointed this out to me. Muslims in the South have changed. I can't say much about the North because I wasn't raised up there, but this slight change in Muslim in the South is something you wouldn't notice unless you were raised here.

My friend first pointed it this change out while we were having lunch at a halal restaurant. A delivery guy walked in and greeted the man behind the counter. 

"Assalam alaikum. I'm here to pick up the order," was what the young man said. 

The gentleman behind the counter smiled and headed to the back to get the order from the kitchen. 

"You notice that?" My friend asked me. I shook my head. What was I supposed to notice? 

"He didn't reply back to his greeting, Helen. Most people don't do it anymore," my friend shook his head. The delivery guy thanked the man behind the counter and said a final Islamic greeting but again he received no response. 

     After my friend had pointed that out, I began to notice that in areas where I was new or visiting, I rarely received a "walaikum assalam" if I greeted someone Islamically. It may be because a lot of Muslims are cautious about who they interact with due to the rise of hate crimes in America. 

     This entire situation was strange to me because I remember walking into predominately Muslim stores, greeting cashiers with "assalamu alaikum," and receiving a "walaikum assalam Sister!" in reply. It didn't matter what store it was or whom it was owned by, if it was predominately Muslim, there was usually a response.

"It's because we no longer trust each other," my friend had pointed out. "We see everyone with a suspicion that didn't exist a few years back."

As I traveled, I noticed that my friend had been right. If my friends or family greeted someone they didn't know Islamically (that were Muslim), more often than not, the greeting would be ignored. I'm not saying the people on the receiving end were rude, but they wouldn't reply Islamically because they didn't know us.

This had me thinking and I developed a mini experiment. This summer I decided to go around the Southern states and greet as many people as I could in "Muslim settings," Islamically. Then I'd see who would reply back. 

Here are my results:

Situation 1:

 I enter a known Muslim-owned gas station with a brother I had seen at the mosque routinely. I grab a drink and some chips and head to the brother to pay.

"Assalam Alaikum." 

"Uh, walaikum assalam, Sister. Just these?"

"Yes, Brother. Thank you."

Verdict: Success! Brother was very kind and his tone seemed quite kind after I greeted him.

Situation 2: 

I head out to a small Muslim conference where many Muslim owned small businesses are showcasing their products.

Vendor 1: "Assalam alikum, Sister! Can I interest you in (product)?"

"Walaikum assalam! Sure!"

Verdict: They beat me to it. Each vendor was oh so happy to greet all of us and have us see their products. There was no hesitance on anyone's part. 

Situation 3:

I had now decided to greet Muslims in non-Muslim settings to see how they'd respond. Went to Wal-Mart and saw a sister in a hijab at the cash register.

Me: "Assalam alaikum"

Her (with a smile): "Hey, how's it going?"

Verdict: Darn. No response. Let's try it again.

Situation 4:

Spotted a Muslim brother in a prayer cap working at the local auto shop while I got my car checked. 

Him: "Welcome to (Company Name). Anything I can get you?

Me: "Assalam alaikum, brother. Just the check up and brake pads."

Him: "Okay. Your total is (my total)."

Verdict: Another failure. 

Situation 5:

Went to my local H-Mart to buy halal Korean food. The cashier was a sister in hijab.

Me: "Assalam alaikum, how're you?"

Her: *Frowns with a blink*

Me: *Nods with a smile looking at her hopefully for a response*

Her: *Still frowning and begins to scan my items* "Uh, walaikum assalam."

Verdict: That was the most awkward greeting I have ever encountered. I don't think she was very comfortable greeting me Islamically but she did after a very obvious deliberation.

My experiment is still ongoing but for the most part I have seen that most hijabi sisters more than brothers are a bit hesitant to reply Islamically when greeted in like. Brothers are hesitant but not to the same degree. Is this because of the recent rise in Islamophobia? Could be, but I'll need to conduct my experiment for a longer period before reaching a conclusion.

If you'd like to join me in the experiment, feel free to message me your results!