The biggest issues in a country are often the ones that go unnoticed. In present day United States, there are, and always have been, countless issues to be dealt with.

However, amidst the somewhat trivial matters that our leaders have been discussing hides one of the fastest growing problems of our time– islamophobia. Throughout the course of our own history, prejudice and fear have reduced our country to it’s most regrettable actions, and it is the job of the people to ensure that they do not repeat themselves.   Although it is now prevalent among Americans, Islamophobia is a worldwide issue that poses a threat to everybody.

Unaddressed, this misinformed fear of Islam could continue with minimal protest from the everyday American.

If one were to watch the news right now on any station, numerous reports frequently mention the Middle East. Whether it is a conflict, a civil war, an immigration crisis, or terrorism event, the Middle East has been a very unpredictable area. This is logical to say, because the Middle East has been facing conflict from every angle as of recently.

However, the turmoil of the Middle East is no different from what any part of the world experiences at any given time – especially in terms of terrorism. Radical terrorism that has motivations other than Islam occurs in the U.S and countries with unfortunate frequency.

However, news reports take these common problems regarding the Middle East (immigration or terrorism) and magnify them disproportionately, causing unneeded fears and perhaps even hysteria. By perpetuating common fears, TV channels are able to attract viewers and sell advertising time. But this is at the expense of a whole group of people.

The consequences of the media exploitation of the Middle East has had unsolicited effects. Negative portrayals of Middle Easterners as a whole have grown into a prejudice that now seems to extend to every Muslim around the world.

The causes of this can be listed at great lengths, but, if one were to boil the problem of Islamophobia down to its core, a fear of the unknown would likely be at the heart. Americans, among other groups of people, seem to have a lack of exposure to a culture that surrounds them, and as a result of this lack exposure, their most accessible means of obtaining information about the Middle East or Islam typically comes from politicians, news sources, and other people, which can be untrustworthy.

This ignorance of other cultures and religions that surround the average American is what seems to be causing an epidemic of fright.

From fear-mongering politicians to the irrational statements spread by news reports, Islamophobia has become a trend among people, which has arguably spiraled out of control into a full-on era of fear. These are the reasons why I decided to turn to a peer of mine, Kareem Majid, for a different viewpoint on this topic.

Kareem, a Muslim sophomore at Harriton High School believes that Islamophobia is increasing.

“I think that it is because people do not know us,” Kareem said. “But right now, especially after Paris, there is a clear trend in the increase [of islamophobia]. They do not know what we believe, and at the end of the day, people are really scared because they do not know. Most people have no idea that 1 in 25 Americans are Muslim.”

Kareem argues that people simply “do not know what Muslims believe in.”

People have misconstrued the faith of Islam, when in actuality, its views and morals are as sound as those of any other religion which exists in our country. Kareem also agrees that Islamophobia seems to stem from a fear of the unknown.

While considering consequences, one might want to cite the ones which are already occurring. In a recent Spokesman-Review article, the writer alludes to Japanese internment while talking about Muslim fear.

In another article from NBC, writer Corky Siemaszko lists 40 hate crimes committed against Muslims in the previous month.

In response to what he thinks the risks of Islamophobia could become, Kareem said, “Muslims make up 2.5% of the population; however, people do not consider us normal. We receive treatment like foreigners. When discrimination and hatred are allowed on the scale that we see it in, I think our society risks becoming greatly polarized as a whole.”

In more recent news, not only have people protested against Muslims in the U.S or Muslim immigration into the U.S, but hate crimes seem to be increasing. In recent news, a Muslim storeowner was targeted by a New York man “On a mission to kill Muslims.”

The man proceeded to beat the store owner and stories similar to this have alarmingly started to pop up everywhere, and can even include events such as mosque protesting or bombing.

Locally, in Philadelphia, a severed pig’s head was even thrown at the front door of a city mosque.

The confusion about Islam and the misconceptions of the Middle East is plaguing our nation, and it is the job of the American public, as well as others who are able, to ensure that the voice of America’s Muslims and Muslim allies are heard.

The threat posed to America from the Muslim population is as nonexistent as the threat posed from any other minority group in our country, and in order to stop this irrational fear, we must stop the ignorance.

As Kareem added, “People fear because they do not know what to expect. They know little about Muslims and then jump to conclusions. They see people dying on TV and because of their ignorance, assume that we [Muslims] are like that too. I think that Americans would truly understand if they actually read about what we believe – unbiased, non-media based content. Knowing what we believe in and what we stand for is the first step. I think that if you do know someone who is a Muslim, talk to them, because it is vital in this day and age that we as Americans try to face the global issues that are only now looming over the horizon.”

Educating the public and making these issues heard is the most important thing that can be done to prevent the tragedy of Islamophobia from continuing in the United States.