> Don’t drink the pink Kool-Aid

Cazzy Lewchuk
Opinions Editor

 

s you probably know,

October is breast cancer
awareness month. The pink
ribbon—and pink in general—is
everywhere. Stores sell buttons
or ribbons you can buy by
donation to raise awareness.
Marathons are organized all over
to raise money for research, and
to give your female relatives a
chance to show off their pink
feather boas and odd bras.

Let’s be clear: Breast cancer,
like any cancer, is a very serious
and tragic issue. Pretty much
everyone knows someone who
has beaten or passed away from

this awful disease. Although it
mainly affects women, men are
also capable of getting it. It is not
something to be taken lightly,
and it is one of the most common
medical causes of death today.
Fighting cancer remains a
frustrating and serious medical
issue. There are hundreds of
kinds of cancers, each with
their own treatment efforts and
present dangers. Breast cancer
is one of the most common
and terrifying occurrences.
It is incredibly important to
raise awareness of the risks
and symptoms, especially
in preventative measures,
such as mammograms.
Giving your money to
“cancer research” can feel like

Stop targeting Muslims

> Islamophobia in the world today

Cazzy Lewchuk
Opinions Editor

 

here are 1.6 billion Muslims

in the world. Islam is the
second-largest religion in the
world after Christianity, with a
significant following in pretty
much every country on Earth.

Like every religion, Islam
has many different sects,
viewpoints, and diversity
in its followers. They are
guided by common beliefs
about Muhammad and his
teachings, but otherwise the
people who follow it are just
as diverse as any other group.
Muslims exist in every country
on Earth and come from all
races and backgrounds.

The term “radical Islam”
is gaining traction. Indeed,
many terrorist groups, such
as ISIS, are a form of extreme
Islam. In the same way that
the Westboro Baptist Church
(who regularly picket soldier’s
funerals, believing their deaths
to bea punishment from God)
could be considered “radical
Christians,” and do not speak for
the vast majority of Christians,

“radical Islam” groups do not
represent Islam. Many believe
using the term is essential to
understanding and stopping
these terrorist enemies, while
others feel the usage of that
term leads people to believe
that killing is a core value
of Islam (it’s definitely not)
and that it leads to ignorance
over what terrorism really is:
Independent of any one religion.
I cannot believe the amount
of misinformation and fear
that affects so much of the
Muslim community. If some
misinformed people are to be

4a Lr bh

the right thing to do, but it can
often do less good than you think
it does. Many organizations that
collect for this sort of thing do
not give a significant amount

of proceeds to actual scientific
funding of cancer treatment, nor
does it go to actual victims of
cancer. It goes towards funding
organizations that are sometimes
for-profit instead of charities.
This is especially true if it’s a
non-cancer related product

that’s suddenly pink for October;
they're still using the ribbon

to make a profit, even if they
donate some of the money to
(allegedly) fighting the disease.
Ironically, some of these products
contain ingredients that actually
increase someone’s chance of

  

Image via Thinkstock

believed, all Muslims want

anyone who isn’t a Muslim

dead, believe all women should

have no rights whatsoever, are

hopeful for a collapse of Western

society as we know it, and

are secretly working towards

a theocracy dominated by

oppression and terrorist tactics.
If all 1.6 billion Muslims

in the world really wanted to

take over and eliminate any

and all non-Muslims, you’d

think they would have done so

already. It is true that cultural

differences in certain areas

can lead Muslims to have

a

The depressing industry of breast cancer awareness

getting breast cancer. So much
for reducing the disease in the

future—but hey, it’s something
else to collect money for!

A lot of organizations
collect for breast cancer during
this month. If youre going to
donate, do your research and
make sure you feel comfortable
with whoever youre giving your
money to. Better yet, donate the
money directly to a breast cancer
victim, or donate the gift of time.

Fighting cancer seems to
have gone from helping people
who are sick and helping
people not get sick, to a whole
industry with a shallow promise
of increasing research and
awareness. | don’t like to get
too conspiracy theorist on big

ideas about non-Muslims and
Western culture that are foreign
and perhaps even detrimental
to us. Many countries have
Islam coded into law, and
have horrible human rights
records. However, there are also
many Islamic countries that
are democratic and beautiful
places to live. In addition, the
rules/interpretations by certain
governments do not represent
that of all their citizens.

Many Muslims in North
America are immigrants,
or recent descendants of
immigrants. Some are refugees,
coming to our country as it is
a safe zone in contrast to the
war-torn areas theyre originally
from. Much Islamophobia comes
from the misguided belief that
someone whose house was
bombed by ISIS has the same
values as an ISIS member.
Refugees are very thoroughly
screened for behaviour that
could jeopardize the safety of
Canada/America, and if they
don’t pass, we don’t let them in.

Muslims are human beings.
They have their own dreams,
values, and lives, just like
Christians, athiests, or anyone

Image via usaghumphreys on Flickr

 

pharma organizations or medical
research, in general. | don’t
quite believe companies are
working to suppress a cure so
they can make more profits, but
I do believe cancer awareness
has left its roots. Ultimately, we
should be working for the victims
and their medical care, not for
the industry and foundations
sprung up in their shadows.
Cancer research does a lot of
good, and most of the funding at
least goes indirectly to helping
people—such as providing
resources for free mammograms,
for example. Ultimately, what
causes we support Is up to us,
but it’s important to know what
the causes are, and what the
best way to help out really is.

else. A Muslim is someone
who follows the principles and
teachings of Muhammad, whom
they believe to be a prophet
of God/Allah. Although the
Quran is a significant text
valued by many and believed
to be the Word of Allah, it is
not taken literally by many
Muslims, just as most Christians
don’t take everything in the
Bible at face value, either.
People fear what they
don’t understand. Those who
worry about the popularity of
Islam or are afraid of Muslims
are guided by ignorance and
misinformation. Most of all, they
miss the humanity aspect: I’m
sure they’ve never been friends
with a Muslim and gotten to
know the person behind the
faith. Many respected celebrities
are Muslims: Shaquille O’Neal,
Cat Stevens, and the late
Muhammad Ali, to name a
few. Hopefully, the spread
of misinformation and fear-
mongering about human beings
with certain religious beliefs
will stop soon. It’s one of the
most ridiculous and terrifying
forms of prejudice so noticeable
around us today and it is.