The Comparison Group

Having grown up in an Islamic household, I'm in a position to analyse the idea of the Muslim stereotypes from a unique perspective. I can claim belonging to the Islamic religion because my father is a Muslim and so is my mother once she married into the family. I haven't learnt enough to call myself a genuine practicing Muslim, but I know what I need to know to understand the beliefs and rituals associated with Islam. In other words, I feel a strong enough connection to be insulted by the stereotypes, but I am separated enough to acknowledge why people and the media say and do particular things.

I think people always need a comparison. They need to be able to look at themselves, look to another and find what is good about themselves and bad about the others. The others can be anyone: neighbours, colleagues, and even other ethnic groups. Muslims, for many types of people in the West, are this comparison group. And this is simply because of the media storm and how the media communicates a particular type of image of Muslims. The "bad" that people see in themselves is immediately swamped by the "bad" in the comparison group. A person's "good" qualities can easily shine through if the comparison group's "bad" outweighs one's own "bad" qualities. The media, and even politicians will pounce on this. People are united under the idea that they all have the same comparison group. It can subsequently be used as a weapon.

What is the only comparison we need to make?

Stereotypes are the propaganda of this comparison war. We use them everyday for inane things (quickly classifying foods as healthy or unhealthy) and we use them when we shouldn't. The easiest example of this is using stereotypes to define which type of person you will interact with. This is what maintains the comparison group until it becomes an enduring ideology that is extremely difficult to dislodge. 


Picture: http://pixabay.com/en/girl-train-travel-thoughtful-107163/