A Christian who was born and raised a Muslim explain his experience with seemingly inexplicable anger on religion-related issues.

Why are Muslims stereotyped as being angry?

Because we are.

I was a Muslim for a good part of my life, up into adulthood; I even married my wife while I was still a Muslim. I am a 2nd-generation Turkish immigrant born in Germany to relatively liberal, Atatürk-loving parents. Mom didn’t wear a hijab, just a headscarf.

Yet, even then, I was brought up that certain things are not negotiable and that you have to stand up for these things, even if it means becoming violent in the process.

Any Muslim claiming otherwise is a filthy liar! Especially the boys. You know precisely what I’m talking about!

Things to get angry are if someone insults Islam, make a mockery of the Prophet, or not getting enough respect for your faith. That means, that not getting your Halal food on a field trip with your class (Klassenfahrt) should be reason enough to let them know that you’re outraged.

And I did just that. It’s like a programmed knee-jerk reaction: I severely beat up a German kid in elementary for reciting a dirty limerick about Muhammad. On another occasion, the other Turkish boys and I went berserk on the youth hostel (Schullandheim) staff for mistakenly serving us non-Halal food. And I even went to a demonstration - completely outraged - when Salman Rushdie published his book.

Only after I got married and settled down did I realize that I didn’t even know who this Muhammad guy really was. I read the Qur’an back-to-back, but I didn’t have a coherent picture of who Muhammad was since he was almost not present in the Qur’an. I didn’t even know why I had to eat halal food, except “it’s in the Qur’an,” or why Salman Rushdie’s book was “bad?” Traditional Muslim families don’t foster a culture of inquiry. You do as you’re told… or else. And you’re told to defend the honor of Islam and the Prophet, and indirectly your culture and your heritage.

So, yeah, it’s not just a stereotype. It’s not just in your head. It’s definitely not a prejudice. We Muslims have been brought up to be angrier than the average Westerner. And that’s a huge problem!

ADDENDUM

Has the situation changed? Are Muslim parents nowadays bringing up their children differently than when I was a kid? Was I an exception to the norm?

Apparently not.

The Hamas-Israeli conflict served as a litmus test in how Muslim students would react to the divisive nature of the situation. Apprently, in several big cities in Germany we saw rising violence against teachers by Muslim students, who couldn’t tolerate the opinions of their teachers:

MSN
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/tense-situation-in-german-schools-riots-and-civil-commotion/ar-AA1iBXva

The angry Muslim is not just a stereotype.

https://www.quora.com/Why-are-Muslims-stereotyped-as-being-angry

https://www.quora.com/profile/Mike-Muluk