Crucible vs Post-9-11 Muslim Treatment - Essay Example

Crucible vs. Post-9/11 Muslim Treatment Fear usually presents itself as a force that may drive a whole society into insanity, or so to say in the case of Salem. It is fear, and it alone that turned the Puritan society into a state of utter confusion and hysteria, in the name of hunting witches. This led to the deaths of very many people; mainly victims of accusations that did not have any grounds. It is this event that occurred in history in the 1690s that the play by Arthur Miller, ‘Crucible’ is based. The book fictitiously depicts the Which Trial of Salem. Very many innocent people are executed, upon the accusation, by hanging in case they do not plead guilty to the charge. Quite funny is the fact that those who pleaded guilty had their lives spared, and only sent to prison for a while. In the book, which hunt is depicted as merely a political campaign initiated under the pretense of investigating the various activities considered dissident to what is moral by the state. There are five major rudiments that come out in each and every hunt for a witch; the struggle to keep moral order, an outbreak of panic and hysteria, a subversive group or character, a scapegoat being used and some hidden motive which helps in justifying the actions exhibited by various people (Auther 12). Panic results directly from fear. The witch frenzy in Salem that led to the deaths of not less than twenty persons; with a total of nineteen resulting from hanging and others by other means, began in January 1692. Eighty year old man called Giles died as a result of being pressed under torture before being proven guilty in court after accusation. Four other people; Ann Foster, Roger Toothaker, Lynda Dustin and Sara Osborne died whilst awaiting trial in prison. It began when some two girls who were staying with reverend by the name Samuel Paris started to have strange fits. A doctor was called who did not manage to explain the cause of the fits. The mayhem spread, and later other more girls fell victims of the same. However, each time a girl had the fits, a person was accused. What became unusual was the massive scale under which this took place. Abigail Williams, a seventeen year old stands out the initiator of a hunt for witches. The book outlines her actions as purely for the sake of getting the desires she wishes resulting from infatuation of adolescence. She feigns illness and behavior of bewitchery as though she had been bewitched. She keeps on pushing blames cast on her to others. Mysteriously, the accused victims were set free in case they pleaded guilty; however, in case they denied the charges, they were hanged. The very first victims were Sara Osborne, Tituba, and Sarah Good, who were merely accused because of the low esteem they held in the society. Only Tituba accepted the accusation, making her be spared and only imprisoned for a while. Unfortunately, history repeats itself; just as though not much was learnt from the mistakes committed during the hunt for witches. The experience by the Muslims after the September 11, 2001, Muslims in America is very closely related with the Crucible. So many Muslim Americans have undergone too much suffering as a result of the ideologies and opinions put on them. It had never mattered to the US how many Muslims resided in the country until the 9/11attack took place (Rick 3). After the attack, the state of confusion arose as to what the Americans could think of or do with the Muslim Americans. The question that should ring into each and every person’s mind is whether the whole plot was the making of an entire society or just a few individuals. What the Muslims are leaving in America experienced after the 9/11 have been very painful, and are more or less the same as the case of the persons accused of witchery in the Crucible (Muedini 42). Inasmuch as there may have been mixed reactions towards the reactions that the Americans had towards the Muslims living amongst them, several underwent very painful treatments. Americans discriminated and committed very massive crimes against the Muslims as a way of expressing hate. In the first ten days following the attack, more than 542 cases of harassment of Muslims were reported (Allen and Nielsen 12). For instance, a preacher from Florida planned to burn the Qur’an on the tenth anniversary of the incidence; a symbol of hatred for the religion. The treatment that the Muslims have far gone beyond humanity, in fact, there has been more or less the same treatment as seen in the Crucible. Just like in the case of the African Slave, called Tituba; who was accused based on her low profile in the society, being a slave and a non-native, the Muslims have faced the same. It is argued that the discrimination of the Muslim Americans dates back to even before the time of the attack. However, the incidence worsened the situation, making them face constant mistreatments. For instance, the story posted by Alia Malek about views of Adam Bah in the column of News and Politics (“Patriot Acts”), is a very sad story. At just sixteen, the Federal Bureau of Investigation got the home of Adam Bah by force. After this, they arrested her father and deported their entire family. The accusation laid her was that she was a prospective suicide bomber; however, there was not any potential evidence to support this. Even after this, she was then released after six weeks, but under partial detention with an ankle bracelet. As stated in the Daily Beast Post of November 9th, 2014 (“worse and worse”), the situation of the Muslims is, unfortunately, getting worse and worse. For example, the percentage of the Americans who view the Muslims in a positive light have been recorded to reduce from the initial 47 percent as at 2001 to the current 27 percent. Moreover, worse still, there are no avenues that the Muslims have for changing the situation in which they are. For one, most of the Americans, about 60 percent, don’t even personally know any Muslim, as outlined by the Pew poll that was carried out recently (Baqi-Aziz 101). With the discrimination and mistreatment that the Muslims face in America today, there may not be any significant lesson that may be said to have been learned from the case of Crucible. In fact, it even worsens as time goes by as the Muslims don not see the day that they may get the avenue of proclaiming themselves clean. They may have to live with the guilt that is imposed on them, hence, endure the sufferings that come with it. It is the fear that the Americans have developed towards the Muslims that make them not even willing to interact with them, and it is the same fear that will still see the persistence of the situation. Works Cited Abu-Ras, W. M., and Suarez, Z. E. “Muslim men and women’s perception of discrimination, hate crimes, and PTSD symptoms post 9/11” Traumatology 15 (2009): 48–63. Print. Alia Malek. “Voice of Witness’s Patriot Act: Narratives of Post-9/11 Injustice”, 26th August, 2011. Web. 9th December, 2014. Allen, C., and Nielsen, J. S. “Summary report on Islamaphobia in the EU after 11 September 2001”, Vienna: European Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia, 2002. Print. Baqi-Aziz, M. A. ‘Where does she think she is?: On being Muslim, an American, and a nurse”. American Journal of Nursing, 101 (2001): 11–12. Print. Balenger, V. J., Hoffman, M. A., & Sedlacek, W. E. “Racial attitudes among incoming White students: A study of 10-year trends”. Web. 9th December, 2014. https://www.questiaschool.com/read/99880567/beyond-911-a-new-era-for-policing Aurther Miller. The Crucible. Dir. Nicholas Hytner. Perf. Daniel Day-Lawis, Winowa Ryder. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. 2004. DVD. Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York: Penguin, 1976. Print. Muedini, fait. "Muslim American College Youth: Attitudes and Responses Five Years after 9/11" 99.1 (2009): 39-59. http://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jmmh/10381607.0007.101/--attitudes-toward-muslim-americans-post-911?rgn=main;view=fulltext Rick, Hampson. "For families of Muslim 9/11 victims, a new pain." USA Today. Web. 9th December, 2014 from: http://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/09/muslims.aspx Read More