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“Looking” like a Muslim in America

Here is a series of links to stories in the news recently. Americans are afraid of people who "look" like Muslims and even more afraid of "looking" like a Muslim.

Obama avoids visiting Sikh Temple in India for fear of looking like a Muslim.

Juan Williams gets fired by NPR for saying, "people in Muslim garb on airplanes make him 'nervous'." 

Two views of the Williams firing – for and against.

A pictorial guide of what a Muslim may or may not be seen wearing.

PS: Am attaching a photo of a Sikh man with a sense of humor after 9 / 11.

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16 responses to ““Looking” like a Muslim in America”

  1. kochuthresiamma p j

    interesting. but find it difficult to comment.

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  2. Sujatha

    I’m not sure that just ‘looking South Asian’ isn’t enough to get one in trouble, especially if of the male gender. There were several of the 9-11 hijackers who looked as though they might have just walked out of an IT office in B’lore. As for the ladies, whether they look Asian, African or even Caucasian, just a hijab or scarf in any form is enough to brand them. Perhaps they all ought to adopt wimples and baseball caps.

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  3. Ruchira

    Exactly, Sujatha. None of the known terrorists that struck outside Afghanistan / Pakistan, wore “Muslim Garb” to my knowledge. A similar mindset prevailed in India (as also to some extent in Europe and Canada) in the 1980s regarding turbaned / bearded Sikhs. Yet, many of the Sikh separatists operating out of Canada were clean shaven and short haired.
    Also, funny that you mention baseball caps. The governing board of the Golden Temple has offered Obama that option. Most non-Sikh men just tie a handerkerchief knotted in the back. There is no fuss.

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  4. Sujatha

    Obama should have gone with the backwards baseball cap, then the Teaparty crowd, Fox et al could have accused him of being a gansta-rappa in secret, as they have always suspected. Though some think that it could have been security concerns regarding the narrowness of the approach to Harmandir Sahib that was another major area.
    Who knows, if it is anything like the brouhaha over his visiting the Wailing Wall in yarmulke, and his prayer note, maybe he might be wise enough to just walk in without advertising his presence. And in a turban and fake beard.

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  5. Ruchira

    The security concerns about the narrow approach road to the temple came later – after the “may look like a Muslim” concern of his handlers.
    And in a turban and fake beard.
    Brilliant :-)

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  6. narayan

    My preferred mode of casual dress is kurta pajama; that plus my beard tips off paanwalas in India that I am Muslim – but not if the pajamas are chuḑidar. My winter headgear is Muslim too which gets me salaam aleikums on the streets of Basavangudi, New York and DC. I have one famous uncle who looks so Muslim that he couldn’t possibly be taken for a Hindu, and another well known uncle who was suspect because he only read Urdu novels while traveling. I was once on a train from Delhi to Bangalore where the mother and daughter sitting behind me gossiped and complained in Tamil about the Punjabi in the seat in front of them. Three unshaven priests at the Rock Temple in Trichnopoly got frighteningly aggressive trying to evict me from the premises for my beard and dress. Later the same day a priest at Srirangam, a few miles away, gave me the royal treatment when he learnt of my gotra. Later still, temple priests in Nanjangud didn’t seem to give a damn who we were.
    People in Rio regularly stopped me to ask for directions. Traveling by train through Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Finland I saw no preponderance of blondes, but more than my share of drunks.
    What I wouldn’t give for that Teutonic look so people would just ignore me! And the culturally ignorant Juan Williams thinks he knows Muslims by their garb alone? He deserves to be canned for stupidity alone.

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  7. Sujatha

    Narayan, you should have adopted a Bharathiyar style turban and ‘pottu’ whenever you visited the temples – would have saved you tons of trouble.
    Though at Guruvayur or the Padmanabhaswamy temple, all bets would have been off unless you were willing to sacrifice your kurta-pajama for a dhoti, beard or no beard.

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  8. Ruchira

    My husband with his Punjabi looks and professorial beard, not only looks “Muslim,” he looks middle eastern. Yet, during our travels the few times that we have been searched it has been me, with my almost east Asian visage. What gives? Do they take me to be a terrorist’s moll? Or a Bangladeshi / Malaysian / Indonesian female terrorist?

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  9. Sujatha

    I hope it’s not that A.B. is entered in some database and flagging your name as a ‘person of interest’!

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  10. Ruchira

    I don’t think that A.B. is that notorious :-) It hasn’t happened very often.

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  11. narayan

    To add to my previous comment, this memorable encounter. Several years ago while waiting for a flight to Denver I noticed an elderly gentleman whom I instantly recognized as an Indian Muslim – the obligatory white beard, a khadi kurta, pajamas, and chappals – with a thaili slung over his shoulder. We happened to be seated in adjoining seats so it was appropriate to strike up a conversation. He was American, not Indian, but had worked in India as a scientific attache with the US Embassy. We exchanged memories of Delhi for a while before I thought to introduce myself. He introduced himself as Baez, and as an afterthought, smiled and said “Yes, that one.” After that the conversation moved to Boston where I lived at the time, and to Belmont where he lived in the 60s when his daughter was becoming famous.

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  12. Frye boots sale

    narayan: it’s a very compelling story, and this entire thread has inspired me to become better educated about the significance of various forms of eastern asian dress.
    Unfortunately this ignorant J. Williams in simply and crudely voicing the sentiments held by the masses who live almost completely in the shadow of mainstream media mis-education. forget the dress, when people on the train become nervous as soon as they hear arabic being spoken, its a sign that the void left by ignorance has been filled by fear. Given how little people change in a lifetime, i am sorry to think that the problem in america will take at least a generation to solve. look where we are with so-called ‘black’ people after almost 200 years?
    education education education… we should value it as much as we do money

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  13. Allison

    ahahhahaha that t-shirt is just great ! :)) “100% randomly searched….” priceless !

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  14. Donna

    yeah, i had a good laugh at that t-shirt lol..

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  15. Denisse

    Man you really have to have some level of humor to look like him and wear that t-shirt ! DEATH TO AMERICA ! :))

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  16. Mikaella

    wow…I’m not sure about what the other participants are thinking but you sure do have some valid points there. For example, I totally agree with what you’re saying in the third paragraph. It’s pleasant to actually find good contributors in this field. Keep it up! :)

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