Something to Think About

I am a 20 year old, bi-racial, Christian, American woman.

This interim, I was able to go traveling throughout the country of Ghana. The national census states that 17% of the population identifies as Muslim. While the overwhelming majority of the country is Christian. Being born in 1995, I have lived through the shift in Christian/Muslim relationships. I watched the towers fall on 9/11 and I've watched horrendous terrorist attacks in cities like Paris and San Bernodina California. If anyone in the United States should have tainted views of Muslims, it should be people from my generation. 

This past week I had the pleasure of touring the oldest mosque in Ghana. Our guide told us that the community surrounding the mosque is 100% Muslim. I walked around that community in complete safety. As an American, Christian woman I strolled through an entirely Muslim community without a worry in my mind. The people were so incredibly welcoming and curious about why we were in their town and their country. Why is it that when a woman wearing a burka in Walmart she's cussed out or avoided and even afraid for her life, but when I walked through a Muslim community my hands were held by young girls and the people warmly welcomed us?
It makes me sad that Christians and Americans generalize those who practice Islam. Yes, there are extremists who use their religion to justify their unthinkably horrific actions, however, that does in no way reflect upon all members of Islam or people with middle eastern roots. I hope my experience in the welcoming and joyous Muslim community can serve as a checkpoint for how Americans respond to Muslims and Arabs in our community.