May 3, 2011 seemed like an ordinary day at school. I was walking to class with my friend when a student yelled across the hall, “Hey man, I’m sorry for your loss.” I was confused; he hadn’t mentioned anything about anyone in his family passing way. I looked at him and he was shaking his head. Suddenly I wasn’t confused anymore; I knew exactly what he was referring to. May 2, 2011, the night before, Osama Bin Laden was located and killed, and the student made this remark because he knew my friend was Muslim. At first I was angry; how could someone be so ignorant? Then I was sad; no one should have to be tormented for their faith. Finally I felt grateful; I was and still am grateful that I don’t have a closed mind about people who are different than I am.

I am a white, Catholic, American girl, and I believe with my whole heart that Islamophobia is something that needs to be discussed. Islam is the fastest-growing religion in America currently, yet misconceptions about the religion are very prominent in our country. One of the largest problems that I have noticed is that those who may not personally know any people of the Muslim faith, only know what they see in the news about terrorists who act in the name of Islam, quoting the Quran. Growing up it was Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, and now there is ISIS. When Westboro Baptist Church protests at fallen soldiers' funerals, quoting the Bible and paraphrasing it to get the message they want across, many are quick to say “oh they’re just a bunch of crazy extremists,” yet when ISIS does horrible acts in the name of Islam and quotes the Quran, many are quick to categorize all Muslims as terrorists, or at least as bad people who should be feared.

Common misconceptions range anywhere from thinking that women are deprived of equal rights and are forced into modesty, to thinking that Muslims all hate those of religions that are not Islam. I personally know Muslim women who are doctors, teachers, excelling and thriving college students, and many other notable things. Muslim women value education just as much as women of other faiths. Modesty is often something that is noticed when it comes to women of the Muslim faith; however, the modesty of women is something that is suggested in the Bible as well. It is up to each woman regardless of the religion she choses to follow on how modestly she wants to present herself. Whether she choses to wear a hijab or not is up to her. In addition to women's rights and choices being misunderstood the beliefs of Islam regarding those of other religions are also commonly misconstrued. It says in the Quran, "Indeed, those who believed and those who were Jews or Christians or Sabeans [before Prophet Muhammad] - those [among them] who believed in Allah and the Last Day and did righteousness - will have their reward with their Lord, and no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve" (Al-Baqarah 2:62).

By no means am I saying that after reading this, all of your views on Islam and those who identify themselves as Muslim should go away, and that you must accept them with open arms, but what I am saying is that we must educate ourselves. Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” It is not wrong to fear these terrorist groups, and it is not only Americans that fear them. Malala Yousafzai, a young, Pakistani, Muslim girl was targeted by the Taliban because she believed she deserved an education, but the Taliban believed otherwise. On her way home from school she was shot in the head by the Taliban and survived. She is now an activist and has received the Nobel Peace Prize. Malala refused to let the Taliban control her life, she refused to be limited by others, and she has shown that it is not only Americans who are targeted by these terrorist groups.

We must educate ourselves on the religion of Islam because without knowledge we are left in ignorance, and when we live in ignorance we begin to make incorrect and even offensive assumptions about someone. By educating ourselves or even walking in another person’s shoes for a day, we can only grow as people, and as a country. No one deserves to be defined by incorrect misconceptions created by those who lack knowledge about what it really means to who be who they are. These changes cannot be made overnight, but when even one person makes an effort to understand another person and their way of life, we are all taking a step in the right direction.