9/11 Forever?





It was finally spring, and I wanted to go shopping for new spring clothes. So my mom took me to the Fresh Pond Mall with my dog, Ella. As we were walking into T.J. Maxx, there was a woman wearing a hijab. Ella, who is friendly with whomever crosses her path, wagged her little tail over to her. My mom quickly pulled her leash right back to us. Afterwards, she told me some Muslims can't touch dogs. Some Muslims can't touch dogs. Not all. She remembered this from her Muslim grandmother.

On September 11th, 2001, tragedy struck the great city of Manhattan. There were four coordinated terrorist attacks caused by the group Al Qaeda. They hijacked two planes and flew them right into the World Trade Center (The Twin Towers) killing around 3,000 people. To this day people have been blaming and mistreating Muslims for an act that only a few committed. We should not accuse a whole race and religion of being terrorists when only a few were involved. Prejudice, even hatred has manifested itself in many ways: hate crimes, stereotypes of Muslim women, and increasing security measures and profiling, among others.

Why do we do this? Many people in the United States and Europe Believe that Islam is a religion that seeks violence against any non-Muslims, the West, and women, according to their sacred book the Qur’an. Many also believe that Muslims want to impose their beliefs and code of laws, called the Sharia. But these opinions are based on racism and distorted information.

Hatred against Muslims is generally caused by ignorance, lack of information regarding their culture and religion, and misinformation. To this day, hate crimes towards Muslims have increased 1600%. People have burned down and vandalized mosques. Last summer a hate group murdered a young Muslim mother, in San Diego, California, after several months of sending her notes accusing her of being a terrorist. Likewise, Muslim kids that have grown up since 9/11 have been called “ragheads’’ and “osama.’’ Indirect discrimination towards Muslims rose 82.6%, and overt discrimination rose 76.3%. There was also a 153% increase in work discrimination, against Muslims, post 9/11.

In terms of Islam and women, much of the stereotyping is based on the use of the hijab. The hijab is a veil worn by many Muslim women, representing modesty, morality and privacy. ''Because I’m often mistaken for a nun, or terrorist, I feel the reactions to the hijab for many women, is the truest test of being a Muslim," says Sumayyah Joan writer for the Islamic Information and Services Network of Australasia (IISNA). One study, cited by the website Opposing Viewpoints, used photographs of Caucasian and South Asian women, both with and without the hijab, to prove a point. The women who were covered were rated less physically attractive and intelligent than the ones without the hijab. The hijab is a part of the Muslim religion, while some women may be forced to wear it, many women choose to use it to show their devotion to Islam.

Ever since 9/11, security measures have taken over airports and Police departments. I get to spend every summer and Christmas vacation in the ravishing island of Puerto Rico. Two years ago, my mom and I were traveling to Puerto Rico, we were passing through security when they asked my mom to verify her name, Firuzeh S. They questioned her for at least an hour. My mother is Puerto Rican-Iranian. Just because her name sounded ''middle-eastern'' they stopped her and interrogated her. Her name! She has also told me stories of when she was younger, when airport officials stopped her because of her "middle eastern" features. We assume that if a person looks or sounds ''middle-eastern'' they must be Muslim terrorists. This is called racial profiling.
The term "Islamophobia" is usually defined as “dread or hatred of Islam and therefore, to the fear and dislike of all Muslims.” Islam is the second largest religion in the world. Muslims make up more than “one-fifth of the worlds population.” Through education in schools, accurate and unbiased information, empathy, and sensibility we can create a culture that is against Islamophobia and any other form of discrimination.