Professional Perspective: Daniel Brewster

Daniel is a sociology professor at West Virginia University. Social Problems of Contemporary America is just one of the courses that he teaches. Daniel thinks the stigma associated with Islam "is growing on our campus, community, state and society because of the socio-political culture that we are currently living, working, and schooling within. I think that the problem and rhetoric will amp up as we move forward."

Please explain a time you have seen discrimination against a Muslim student here on campus.

I have only witnessed three examples but I have heard of countless other examples of racist or discriminatory behavior. As a student, I was in a lecture once after 9/11 when some students began discussing the "towel-heads" and the instructor allowed it to continue for almost 2 minutes before finally stepping in and stopping it.

From a sociological perspective, why do you think people discriminate against Muslims?

From a sociological point of view, we would suggest that people are socialized to see difference, and thus potentially engage in racist, discriminatory, or prejudicial behavior. This type of socialization could come potentially from family, education, church, peers, co-workers, military, or other social institutions. From our symbolic interactionist perspective, we would suggest that there are labels that are applied to this group including "terrorist" that regardless of their suitability are automatically assigned to these individuals merely because of their nation of origin or religion.