Every time there is a major shooting or attack in the U.S., Muslims hold their breath until the name of the attacker is released. We’re all thinking, “Please don’t let this guy be a Muslim.”
Last night, a man opened fire when entering the Pentagon. If the man had been a Muslim, people would have been throwing around words like “terrorist” and “jihad” and looking for all sorts of political ties. Bedell may be a radical right-wing, anti-government extremist, but the media is quick to clarify that he's an individual, working alone. Matt Yyglesias from Think Progress writes: “It’s striking how differently the country behaves when you a non-Muslim individual attempt or succeed at killing some people based on quasi-political motivations versus when it’s a Muslim who does it.”
Take the IRS building attack as an example. The guy targeted a group of federal employees, and crashed a plane into the building. But it wasn’t classified as terrorism. These days, it’s rare to see anyone labeled a terrorist who is not a Muslim. This just goes to show how distorted the connotation of Islam has become and how it is instantly linked to terrorism. It's devastating. Violent extremists continue to enforce it, media continues to play along with it, and the public continues to believe it.
