Behind the beard

As mentioned in Mariama’s post, Muslim women are stereotyped as being oppressed, weak, victims of abuse, etc. Muslim men, on the other hand, are represented as being the exact opposite. Instead they are portrayed as being the oppressors, violent, brutish, controlling, abusive and by in large, angry. Both stereotypes of Muslim men and women only complement each other in providing a complete yet distorted picture of Muslims globally, a people that only consist of submissive women and manipulating men. Although stereotypes of Muslim women are often noted and pointed out, it is stereotypes of Muslim men that go unmentioned necessitating this discussion.

A lot of stereotypes of Muslim men revolve around their relationships towards their families. They are frequently shown as abusers and dictators. Recently, headlines such as “honour killings in Canada” have sparked much interest and debate. But it’s interesting to note the number of times in which the perpetuators and victims are Muslim, the act is suddenly dubbed “Islamic honour killing”. The act is pointed towards Islam, although religion has nothing to do with it. The obvious question here is to ask whether or not there is such a thing as “honour killing” in Islam. Often times the dividing line between cultural traditions and Islam become heavily blurred, where one is often associated or even mistaken for the other. In one particular case of an “honour killing”, Muslim teenager, Aqsa Parvez, is strangled by her brother and father because of her rebellious acts towards both cultural and religious values. Aqsas murder had less to do with her lack of religious obligations but rather more to do with defending family honour. “In an interview with police, Aqsa's mother, Anwar Jan Parvez, said her husband told her he killed his youngest child because "this is my insult. My community will say, 'You have not been able to control your daughter.' This is my insult. She is making me naked." Her father was scared that she would disgrace him in front of his community indicating his deep concern for his reputation rather than religion. Putting such a harsh light on the fact that the crime was committed by a Muslim man, particularly towards a Muslim female relative, only re-enforces the stereotypes of Muslim men mentioned above. I question whether or not this article or others like it would be given such importance (it received headlines for almost the entire day) if it was committed by men of other religions. I am in no way undermining what has happened to Asqa as it is tragic, but in reality such acts of this nature and even worse are committed every single day but are only briefly mentioned in the news.

Television frequently depicts Muslim men as either a member of Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, etc or an independent terrorist. If he is neither of these, he is then, at the least connected or related to ones who are. The typical picture of a Muslim man consists of men with beards, stern looking and unclean, usually holding monstrous guns. The most problematic attribute to a stereotypical terrorist is the beard. The problem arises from the fact that all Muslim men are required to grow the beard. If the majority of men sporting beards in the media are “alleged terrorists “or a “radical Muslim”, it gives the allusion that the average bearded Muslim man is a terrorist. This is dangerous especially since the beard is now used, even systematically, to spot terrorists making most Muslim men now victims to open hostility.

With all the efforts the media puts into depicting both Muslim males and females in such a manner, I no longer question the apprehensive, pitied, or even plain disgusted looks I get in public.

How do you think such stereotypes effect Muslim man or hinder them from being accepted by the society?

What do you think is the purpose of creating such bigotry, through stereotypes, against Muslim men in the media?