Expressway: Muslim stereotypes hurt us, one and all

BY AMOGH KUMAR | Amogh Kumar is a sophomore at Syosset High School.

May 3, 2008

In today's mixing world, with interracial couples becoming commonplace and Barack Obama having a shot at the presidency, it might seem silly to say that race is a problem in the United States. Still, people are exposed to racial stereotypes every day.

"Chinese people are good at math," and "African-Americans are good athletes," are some of the few "positive" stereotypes, ones that seemingly promote the race they are generalizing about. Most stereotypes are negative.

I am not a Muslim, but I am South Asian, and often get looks from bystanders in airports.

Every year, hundreds of innocent Muslims get interrogated by security for no good reason.

Now, don't get me wrong, I understand that the attack on the World Trade Center and the London bombings were the work of radical Islamists.

I agree that if a certain crime is being committed only by members of one particular ethnic group, that group should be looked at a little more carefully.

However, these crimes are being committed by members of a specific religion. Most Americans might think that all Muslims are Middle Eastern people in turbans and burqas. In fact, there are Muslims in all regions of Africa, as well as many regions of Europe.

There are Muslims in Eastern Europe and Central Asia who could pass for white. There are Muslims in Malaysia and Indonesia, nations of various ethnicities, who would look Southeast Asian or Hispanic.

This same type of ignorance is present in other aspects of society.

Many people assume that a nation's official language is always named after the nation itself.

I have heard people ask if someone speaks Indian, Mexican, Jewish, Brazilian, etc. By this lack of understanding, they take for granted the unique society in which they live.

This is not true for me. I have never taken for granted the uniqueness of the American culture.

I love the fact that I am growing up in an ethnically diverse background.

I love the fact that during one car ride, I can pass restaurants with more than 20 types of cuisines, ranging from Korean to Afghani to Fusion menus - all of them different, but all of them undeniably American.

EXPRESS YOURSELF. Expressway is a new, weekly feature publishing readers' original, nonfiction opinion essays about daily life on Long Island or about the news of the day and how it affects their lives. All readers are invited to submit essays, and we especially welcome submissions from high school and college students. Send submissions of 300 to 600 words to oped@newsday .com, with "Expressway" in the subject line. Or mail submissions to Expressway / Opinion Dept., Newsday, 235 Pinelawn Rd., Melville, NY 11747. Please include your name and phone number.