Title: Islamophobia: Muslim OU Students Speak Out

Lead: Muslim OU students speak out against islamophobia amidst political controversy.

Intro: Concerns about islamophobia are arising as politicians lash out against the Muslim community.

Donald Trump proposed a database that would require Muslim-Americans to register and carry
identification cards.

According to CNN, an NBC reporter asked, Is there a difference between requiring Muslims to register
and Jews in Nazi Germany?

Trump said, You tell me.

Ted Cruz is looking to introduce a surveillance system that would make it lawful to patrol Muslim
neighborhoods.

Conversations have sparked at the University of Oklahoma due to these proposals.

March 24 the College of International Studies, the Religious Studies Program and the Center for Middle
East Studies presented a student-run discussion panel, in Gaylord Hall, highlighting the perspectives of Amana
Fatima and Emad Ramadan.

The panel is a part of a series called The Muslim Experience which focuses on the lives of Muslims in
America.

Marjan Seirafi-Pour, the events organizer, said, I think Americans have a very negative view about
Muslims in America.

Seirafi-Pour believes that the media portrays negative images about the Muslim community and tilts the
viewpoints of Americans.

Fatima, who is majoring in microbiology pre-med, said, In many cases when people hear about Muslims
its often because something blew up somewhere in the world.

Fatima mentioned that the actions of peaceful Muslims are ignored by the media. This leaves a negative
image of the Muslim community for the public to judge.

Ramadan, chemical engineering major, said, Just looking at the news, and what Donald Trump has been
saying, some people are actually getting to believe him somehow.

That whole Muslim ID thing, what is this? That made me really upset, Fatima said, I know some
people are often really quick to say that you shouldn't make comparisons to Nazi Germany or the Holocaust, and
what not, but if you think about it from a historical perspective, what led up to the Holocaust?

Even though political controversy is leading to more hostility, it is also creating room for more discussion
about Islam and islamophobia.

Ramadan mentioned that negativity can influence people to read and seek information rather than believing
the media. Regardless, some may be led astray by reading misinformation.

Due to misinformation, the future of Americas relationship with the Muslim community is uncertain.

I cannot predict the future. What Im hoping for is that the November elections comes and goes as fast as
possible, Seirafi-Pour said.

Fatima said, Im hopeful that more people will come to realize were just regular Americans and we just
go about our days, live with our families, and theres really not much separating us.