L



ost for the venomous arguments with been recently traveling back and forth between Muslims and atheists –
on HBO
and
on op-ed pages
, in the us and beyond – is merely simply how much both of these marginalized, underrepresented groups have in common.

According to a Pew poll conducted this year
, Muslims and atheists are the two least favorably regarded spiritual or honest groups in america. Both communities tend to be badly underrepresented for the basic populace –
around 2percent of People in the us determine as atheists
, compared to
1per cent for Muslims
. Both face rising amounts of animosity through the majority of folks. And both commonly identified by the loudest voices inside their communities.

The media might saturated with pictures of Islamic terrorists and suicide bombers, but a
2011 craigslist gallup personals study
figured Muslims are now inclined than just about any other spiritual or honest class in the usa to decline violence against civilians. In addition, the vocally “anti-theist” atheists who dominate the airwaves additionally the top seller listings gets every hit, but a
2013 research from University of Tennessee
showed that below 15per cent of atheists end up in the “anti-theist” class.

So why hasn’t indeed there been even more discussion and solidarity between Muslims and atheists? Can’t most of us only get along?

The split has to do to some extent with
our organic tendency
to escape into our personal communities or have defensive when confronted by difference. This is why, stereotypes about both groups not only get unchallenged – they come to be amplified as each area clings to their preconceived notions of the additional. Although it’s certainly not really the only cause, the amplification for this “us against them” mindset provides provided to big majorities of Americans labeling Muslims as “violent” and atheists as “amoral”.

The irony is the fact that whenever atheists and believers become familiar with one another, they frequently find that lots of their beliefs aren’t therefore various in the end. Definitely something we, a Muslim and an atheist, discovered from your friendship – once we know our very own differences and disagreements.

We aren’t alone in knowing the power of connections to overcome distinctions.
Research shows
that simply understanding someone from another religious or moral party often causes more positive opinions of the party. That is why private relationships are essential about switching how exactly we speak about religion and atheism. Once you know and appreciate a Muslim or an atheist, it no longer makes a lot good sense to help make sweeping generalizations about either team as consists of enthusiasts or bigots. The logic of blanket statements comes apart when you are confronted by the diversity of lived religious and nonreligious knowledge.

When 46percent of People In The Us
imagine
Islam is far more violent than many other faiths but merely 37per cent even
know
a Muslim, so when atheists continue to be the
many distrusted
teams in the united states, its clear that a conversation between those two communities could gain both. But that will not occur until we Muslims and atheists invest in spending a shorter time speaking past the other person and time talking to one another.

Needless to say, this does not signify Muslims and atheists will out of the blue find themselves in absolute equilibrium. We’ll consistently debate and argue with one another, certain that the talks may give light as much issues and contradictions between our communities while they resolve. Pluralism actually relativism; it’s not the erasure of variations, as well as the embrace. This is the acceptance that differences can be found, hence the fix to interact all of them is a great thing, an important thing.

Nor can it signify we ought to only lift up the most effective in ourselves as well as others while whitewashing the true conditions that exist in both of our own communities. There is many strive to carry out during the Muslim neighborhood with regards to attitudes about and techniques influencing
LGBTQ men and women
,
ex-Muslims
and
females
. Likewise, the atheist area will continue to have a problem with fraught arguments over anti-theism,
sexism
and
racism
among atheists. But once we work to address these problems in your communities, we can additionally reap the benefits of appearing beyond our very own edges and mastering from those external.

Or we can easily just go back to shouting at each different on TV.