Sarah Doren

Dr. Dana Gregory Griffith

Understanding Religious Intolerance
12 April 2016
Intolerance in Our Midst
Due to the recent terrorist attacks in the US and across the world, fear towards Muslims
has reached an all time high. September 11, 2001 forever impacted the way that Muslims would
be viewed in America. Because the bombers were middle-eastern and claimed to be Muslim,
many Americans were instilled with a fear of any person who fits into any of those categories.
Islamophobia became a term to describe the intolerance and fear geared towards Muslims. The
Ontario Consultants state that Islamophobia, involves fear, anger, hatred, discomfort, and/or
discrimination directed against Muslims. Some target the 19 perpetrators of 9/11; some a group
of violent radicals within Islam; some against all of the world's 1.2 billion Muslims (Religious).
The statistics support the theory of Islamophobia. Studies reported by the Council on AmericanIslamic Relations (CAIR) showed that after the Paris attacks in November, the 10 days
following the attacks resulted 24 reported incidents of intimidation, threats and violence against
Muslims in the U.S., the highest spike since 9/11 (Krebs).
Unfortunately, this issue hits close to home after a religiously intolerant act was
committed against a student on the University of Cincinnati campus this past fall. Additional
intolerant actions have happened across the tri-state area as well in the past year. The events
prove that religious intolerance is definitely still an issue that Cincinnati and the United States
face. However, the incidents also shed light on the incredible community of diverse religious,

ethnic, and cultural backgrounds that have rallied together to teach and spread a dialogue of
tolerance.
On November 16, 2016 a University of Cincinnati student, Haneen Jasim, was pulled to
safety before being nearly hit by a car. However, this tragic event was not an accident. Haneen
was crossing the street at Calhoun Street and Clifton Avenue when a man began yelling
terrorist and other obscenities at her from his car window. She was wearing the hijab,
physically indicating that she was a Muslim woman. The driver even drove through a red light,
attempting to hit Haneen. Three strangers were also in the crosswalk and pulled her out of the
path of the car. Haneen has since filed a police report.
Thankfully, there is a very strong, positive light that shines through the darkness of hate
and intolerance. The bright light in this situation is the University of Cincinnati community and
the larger community of Cincinnati. The three Good Samaritans that pulled Haneen to safety
were not the only people who felt the need to help. The University of Cincinnati student, Brianne
Cain, along with UCs Muslim Student Alliance hosted a rally just weeks later and around 50
students, professors, community members and leaders of multiple faiths marched from the
Starbucks to the UC campus to condemn the recent spike in Islamophobia (Krebs). The
Cincinnati community made it very clear that Muslims, and people of all religious backgrounds,
were not only welcomed but also embraced and respected. This idea of tolerance was echoed
over and over again at the University of Cincinnati rally through the voices of a very diverse
group of religious figures. For example, Rabbi Abie Ingber spoke at the rally saying, murder is
not Islam, nor is it Christianity, nor is it Judaism, nor is it Hinduism or any other faith
community, and yet some people take the names of our religions in vain (Krebs). The same
concepts of tolerance and love were evident in many more statements made at the rally. Pope

Francis made a similar remark regarding terrorism shortly after the Paris attacks and he said, the
path of violence and hatred cannot resolve the problems of humanity, and using the name of God
to justify this path is blasphemy (Wooden).
Unfortunately, the hate crime that occurred in Clifton is not an isolated incident.
Religious intolerance is real. Hate crimes are happening, even in Cincinnati. For example, in the
parking lot of a Hyde Park Kroger a woman wearing a hijab was followed to her car and scolded
by an older couple. Her headscarf was pulled on in an attempt to get her attention. An additional
example of intolerance toward Muslims in the tri-state area occurred in Erlanger, Kentucky. The
co-owner, Mohamed Ahmed, of the Dixie International Grocery believes that he received
complaints due to the fact that his clientele is mostly Muslim and there is Arabic writing on his
front sign. The complaints claimed that there were odors and noises that came from the grocery.
The complaints were even taken to the city council. However, when the accusations were
investigated they were found to be false. A city official confirmed that, there wasn't any noise or
odor coming from the store when he visited Wednesday, Feb. 3 (Levy). A neighbor to the store,
Eddie Reeves, agreed that he had not noticed smells or noises either. The statements coincide
with the owners idea that the complaints were motivated by other things, such as religious
intolerance towards Muslims, instead of by real, true facts.
Another interesting response to religious intolerance in the Cincinnati area was the rebirth
of the Interreligious Trialogue. The group had been dormant for about five years after Robert
Harrod, the founder, retired in 2011. However, after the Paris attacks and the attack in San
Bernardino, California, Harrod reconvened the group in early January 2016. The goal of the
Interreligious Trialogue is, of countering what its members say is the socially toxic outbreak of
anti-Muslim speech and violence (Curnutte). The leaders of the group are also concerned as

tensions rise during the approaching election. Candidates are constantly being asked questions
about world relations, and terrorism is a leading topic of conversation. Specifically, Donald
Trumps anti-Muslim remarks could be seen as making it, permissible for American citizens to
verbally and even physically attack Muslims and vandalize mosques (Curnutte).
Most of the conversations occurring in the aftermath of the intolerant events contain
definitions of both old and new tolerance. For example, the Trialogue is focused on educating the
community about the truths of Islam, instead of the rumors. The Trialogue is mostly following
the idea of old tolerance: that at the very least, people must respect the religious choices of others
and refrain from malicious acts or verbal attacks. However, the formation of the Trialogue itself
is an example of new tolerance and the idea that religions are all interconnected and can work
together. The theory of new tolerance is the idea that all religions are equally true and can offer
something worthwhile to another. The Trialogue shows this by seeing the value or truth in
others and by implementing a group of people from all religious, racial, and ethnic backgrounds.
One last dimension of this issue is the idea of intersectionality. Intersectionality allows
one to look at the situations of what seems to be religious intolerance and dig deeper to see if any
other motives play a role in the violence. Islamophobia is an issue that has the potential to be
fueled by many things other than religion. An example of intersectionality is evident in the film,
Blue Collar and Buddha. The film is about violence towards Buddhist refugees in America.
However, the film dives deeper into the situation and exposes how the tension is multidimensional because there is also anger leftover from the Vietnam War. Many veterans of the
Vietnam War were enraged when the refugees were being treated with a warmer welcome than
American soldiers. The veterans were also angry and embarrassed because the war was
considered a loss for the Americans. While the violence was displayed as an act against a

Buddhist temple, there are other acts that show that religion was not the only motivation (Siegel).
Similarly, Islamophobia can be looked at in the same multi-dimensional aspect because of how
political it is. For example, violence towards Muslims is not always fueled by a hate of Islam as a
religion but more often as a hate towards foreigners. Xenophobia is a term defined by MerriamWebster Dictionary that means, fear or hatred of foreigners (xenophobia). This specific phobia
brings in more political issues such as immigration laws, refugees, and the United States Role in
foreign affairs. Therefore, all situations must be carefully analyzed for purely religious motives
because there is a good chance that the intolerant actions were multi-dimensional.
In conclusion, Haneen Jasims attempted assault was a tragic situation but it caused the
University of Cincinnati community and Greater Cincinnati community to encourage dialogue
about tolerance. Tolerance can be in many different forms but tolerance in any form is better than
the intolerance and hate that currently occurs in the world. Tolerance begins with open minds and
caring hearts, as shown by the University of Cincinnati members who rallied together in support
of Haneen and all Muslims. Specifically, in Clifton the key to a tolerant community is to
continue the dialogue about religion and use the academic environment to encourage people to
think about and come to an understanding of religious tolerance and intolerance.

Works Cited
Siegel, Taggart. Blue Collar and Buddha. Siegel Productions, 1986.
Curnutte, Mark. Group reforms for counter ant-Islam rhetoric, violence. Cincinnnati.com. The
Cincinnati Enquirer, 20 January 2016. Web. 15 March 2016.
Krebs, Natalie. Fighting Intolerance. Citybeat.com. City Beat, 9 December 2015. Web. 15
March 2016.
Levy, Angenette. Grocer fears Muslim backlash cause of complaints. Local12.com. WKRC
Cincinnati, 5 February 2016. Web. 15 March 2016.
Millward, Evan. Student: I was nearly run over for being Muslim. Wcpo.com. WCPO
Cincinnati, 23 November 2015. Web. 15 March 2016.
Religious Tolerance. ReligiousTolerance.org. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance.
Web. 15 March 2016.
Wooden, Cindy. Nothing can justify terrorist attacks, pope says. Catholicnews.com. Catholic
News Service, 16 November 2015. Web. 15 March 2016.
xenophobia. Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, 2015. Web. 10 April 2016.