J. Kylene C.

Lumusad

12-ABM-AA

Stereotypes towards other religions are not new to me, and these often lead to
discrimination. I heard a lot of bias towards people with other practices of faith when I was
young. There are tensions between other practices of faith. I won’t deny that those hurtful and
untruthful words affected how I saw people with other religions. I think it is because other
people don’t accept that not everyone is created alike. Others need to instill in their minds that
humans are different. It does not mean you have the power to judge other people because your
beliefs are not aligned with theirs. Some people may have differences that are difficult to
reconcile, which can affect people who are different. These religious conflicts often result in
violence. The way media exaggerate the depiction of these people to the extent that it is
somehow not believable. Although these circumstances affected the way I see them, I did my
best to understand people with other beliefs and be kind to them because we are created equally
in the eyes of God.

There is always a misconception about Muslim people and Islam. Worldwide, there are
1.8 billion Muslims. Islam stands next to Christianity as the second-largest religion in the world.
While there are so many Muslims, there is incomprehension of Muslims and Islam in many
countries. Furthermore, a spike in anti-Muslim discourse and the afflicted confrontation between
terrorism and Muslims. One of the most frequent discriminations and stereotypes presented I
have seen is in social media. Some people make memes that all Muslims are considered
terrorists. They make fun of them by saying that you should be aware of every Muslim you see
because they might carry a bomb with them. Also, it is a stereotype that their religion provokes
violence. Even though I am not a Muslim, it still hurts that people would make fun of them and
label them terrorists. Well, they are good people and just like us. I disagree with the stereotype
since I have friends that are Muslims, and they are kind and approachable. I don't think that they
are different from me. Lastly, they don't carry bombs with them. This stereotype is just absurd,
and it's not even humorous. These jokes are considered discrimination and should be reported on
social media. It is crucial to note that terrorist activities by extremism in the USA have been
carried out on a broad spectrum of ideological views. No religion in the United States is
responsible for terrorism. Muslims don't just face discrimination in social media but also when
they go out just like an ordinary person. The stereotype that all Muslims are terrorists and their
religion provokes violence led people to be afraid of them and even refuse to serve them at
restaurants and other places. Other companies also refuse other applicants because of their
religion. These examples I gave are called direct discrimination. While you can report these
discriminations, it is still not enough to eradicate religious bias. Moreover, I do not want that
these inappropriate behaviors of other people to continue. These misconceptions only provoke
hatred and violence.

If I were to suggest an idea on putting an end to these discriminations and stereotypes, it

would be practicing Interfaith dialogue. It unites us together by recognizing and finding
commonalities amid discrepancies in how we practice our religion and our faith. Interfaith
dialogue is complex since there is no general Christian perspective, as there exists a wide range
of opinions and views. However, I still hope that we can put an end to terms of religious
discrimination. To summarize, I believe that understanding other religions by interfaith dialogue
helps our lives easier.