Osama Mor is a fourth year Pre-Med major at UGA. Mor shares his experiences of being a member of the Muslim community in America.

Mor considers himself both a Muslim in America and a Muslim of America. He points out the destruction that American foreign policies have brought to Muslim countries around the world. He mentions how it is hard for him to disassociate himself from the struggles and the experiences of other Muslims around the world.

“At the same time that Muslims around the world are suffering from U.S. foreign policies, I cannot ignore that also at home, the Muslim community here is also facing struggles due to islamophobia, due to anti-Muslim policies, due to the United States government that marginalizes us.”

Mor elaborates on how being a minority can pose as a disadvantage in the United States.

“If you are a minority, that comes with a whole list of struggles. Simply not having the privilege of being a majority is almost sometimes in and of itself alienating.”

Mor goes on to speak on how the United States has a long history of exploiting its minorities, of making them feel unwelcome, alienating them, oppressing them – not just for Muslims but for black people, brown people, the LGBTQ community, many of the indigenous American communities, and the Latinx community. He shines light on how, in that context, there are only disadvantages to being a minority in America.

Since the Trump administration, Muslim communities throughout the United States have evidently been more fearful for their lives.

“It is without a doubt that anti-Muslims, bigots, racists, islamaphobs, white supremacists, feel like they have a platform now, an opening and a freedom to express those bigoted beliefs. They are not unwilling to use violence. They are not unwilling to harass. They are not unwilling to really disturb Muslims now.”

Mor goes on to mention the intersectionality amongst all minority groups in America.

“What happens to Muslims in this country, the oppression faced by Muslims in the United States, cannot be disassociated from the oppression faced by black people and Latinx people, the LGBTQ community, and the indigenous peoples of this country. Of course, each struggle is unique in its own way – it has its own experiences – but the fact that they are all linked is important to mention to highlight the great importance of solidarity between our communities.”