While you’re still horrified by the mosque shooting, I’m going to share something very personal. Because that feeling you have right now, where even a small, kindhearted country like New Zealand isn’t safe, won’t last. That fear is how many Muslims feel every time we set foot in a mosque.
Islamophobia isn’t as isolated as many want to believe. Violence against religious minorities happens everywhere — just look at the shootings at the Oak Creek, Wisconsin, Sikh temple and the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh — and it’s getting worse. And while Jews and Muslims combined only account for 3 percent of the American population, 79 percent of all religiously motivated hate crimes are perpetrated against Jews and Muslims. It’s happening not just in rural areas, but in big cities where people assume diversity means everyone is safe. It’s not safe — and I’ve actually had as many terrifying experiences in a large city as I have in the rural South.
I used to attend a mosque in a big city in California. It was a beautiful place where I felt completely at peace. Outside this place of worship, I experienced hate: I was spat on, shoved out of line at a grocery store, called a “towelhead,” and was even run off the road. But when I was in the mosque, I was safe. I took my young niece every week — she couldn’t wait to wear her hijab for Friday services, community, and a meal many of us would share together.
[For more on this story by Vianna Goodwin, go to https://www.vox.com/first-pers...hristchurch-shooting]
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