I am Arabic, I am an American! Essay

Islamophobia, the term that was not very well-known before September 11, 2001, is now known to almost any individual of any age. After September 11th, islamophobia became a part of many Muslims’ daily lives (O’Connor “How 9/11 Changed These Muslim Americans’ Lives Forever.”) Not only did Muslims have trouble going through customs and security at the airports, but they also encountered islamophobia in their daily routine. Since September 11th, terrorist jokes became popular among many non-Muslim Americans who oftentimes did not understand the seriousness and the offensiveness of those jokes. Some found the “Muslim terrorist” stereotype to be somewhat justified and did not consider it to be as insulting as, for example, the representation of Black and Asian Americans in 1920s and 30s cartoons. However, the two are equally abusive and it is horrible to realize that in some ways, the American

On the day of September 11th, 2001 tragedy spread through the whole United States. This disaster took place in New York City, New York on the eastern coast. The World Trade center employees thought it was just a casual, degrading day of work, but it was anything from that. As workers drank their coffee and typed on their computers, a hijacked plane ran right into one of the towers. A thick gray cloud of smoke absorbed the innocent

"A plane just crashed right into one of the Twin Towers!" Someone yelled. People were screaming because they were on fire. Others were fleeing for their life, but all I could do was stare in awe at the smoking hole in one of the biggest towers in New York. September 11, 2001, one of the most devastating days for me, and for all of America.

September 11, 2011, started like every normal day in New York City. People rushing to work, children going to school, and people taking a morning walk or jog. But no one knew that this day would turn into a horror film. A terrorist organization call al-Qaeda hijacked airplanes and hammered them into the World Trade Centers North and South Tower along with the Pentagon in Washington D.C. The September 11, 2001, attacks changed America forever (9/11 Attacks - 102 minutes That Changed America).

People can be brought together because of their religion, but can have different mindsets and ideas. This is the case in “Words to Sit in Like Chairs” by Naomi Shihab Nye. The author tells a true, personal story about the aftermath of nine-eleven to Arabs, not involved. She says “...If

After 9-11, things deteriorated drastically for Middle Easterners. They were labeled as terrorists, their houses and their places of worship were burned down, they were physically abused when out in public, Some were scrutinized heavily when traveling, or not even allowed to travel at all, they were detained illegally, deported, and some even had secret trials, (Hassan S. 2002) These are citizens of the United States, protected under our Constitution.

Post 9/11 negative stereotypes and attitudes toward Muslims intensified in many Western societies. “The FBI recorded a sixteen-fold increase in hate crimes (e.g., acts of arson, aggravated assault, property crimes) against Muslim Americans from 2001 to 2002” (Rodriguez Mosquera & Khan & Selya, 2013). All of this goes to show that Non-Muslim Americans were taking out their emotions on innocent Muslims. Not only was all this going on, but the U.S. Congress’ response to the attacks was the USA Patriot Act. The USA Patriot Act gave, “the government investigative powers to fight against terrorism and subsequently targeted those in the Arab, Muslim, and South Asian communities with not just prejudices against these communities, but blatant racism toward innocent people, just because they appear to look like they “identify” with those who have made terrorist threats” (Akiyama, 2008). The discrimination post 9/11 was awful. The hijab which was seen as a prideful garment for Muslims became a target for discrimination. In the article, “9/11 Ten Years Later: Muslim Women, Organizations Work to Fight Discrimination, Patel talks about a woman, Wasan Mohamad. Mohamad talks about how she and her friends/family were discriminated against ten years after 9/11. Her daughter in class got told that her people were responsible for 9/11. Her friend changed his name from

It is time to end the hating and labeling of all Arab Americans for what was done by a few individuals. One person’s race, religion, and activities do not mirror a population. With all the hate crimes, it seems that regular Americans can be considered terrorists, as well.

According to the report of FBI(2000), the number of anti-islamic hate crime incidents prior the terrorist attacks were 28. In the immediate year after 9/11, 481 incidents were reported against the Muslims and Arabs(FBI 2002). The hate crime statistics of FBI conforms a staggering increase of 1617 percent in such a short period of time. The Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) reported that over 700 violent incidents were ruthlessly targeted against Arab Americans within the first 9 weeks after the 9/11(Ibish 2003). These incidents included physical violence, death threats, harassment, mockery ,hate mails and many others. Suddenly, an unknown society was brought into the negative spotlight due to the actions of a handful of people.

September 11, 2001, the start of terrorism in The United States, and the end of innocence in our lives. Some of us are lucky to never know the fright of that horrid day. For others though, the events that transpired on September 11 will live on forever in their memory.

September 11, 2001 is a date in history that changed the lives of people from all over the world and especially the lives of Americans. On this day nineteen militant men associated with al-Qaeda, an Islamic extremist group, hijacked four airplanes and carried out multiple suicide attacks on different locations in the United States. Two of the planes directly struck the World Trade Center located in New York City, one of the other two planes hit the Pentagon in Washington D.C., and the final plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania before it could reach its final destination. On this day, more than 3,000 people were killed including over 400 first responding police officers and firefighters. In recent years as people look back on that day it is remembered as a time when the country was joined together by grief and showed an overwhelming amount of comfort and support to the victims and their families; it was also a time of extreme national pride. People also remember that following the attacks the economy suffered tremendously, in addition, air traffic which makes up a portion of the economy was greatly disrupted, both of which created uncertainty about the security of the financial markets critical to the success of the United States. What most people do not remember is the immediate backlash and hostility the Muslim and Arab communities received following the attacks by both civilians and the media. This is a topic that has been largely ignored by the public and media’s

Many people can look back and remember September 9th, 2001, like it was yesterday. This day will be forever remembered in America’s History. This is the day the world seemed as it stood still. On 9/11, America experienced a major terrorist attack, which hijacked planes were crashed into the World Trade Centers in New York City, crashed into the Pentagon in the District of Columbia, and had a plane crash into the fields of Pennsylvania.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor Japanese Americans were unjustly jailed and their rights were violated due to fear. More recently in history, after September 11, 2001, several Middle Eastern Americans have become more scrutinized in the United States and some were even victims of hate crimes. Since September 11, 2001, accountability has become an everyday reality for Middle Eastern Americans in light of official policies that systematically demand that they explain their every action (Amir, 2005). These challenges do not have to become common practice amongst the citizens of the United States. There are ways to combat the challenges of cultural diversity.

1. Between September 11th and November 9th the American Arab Anti Discrimination Committee confirmed 520 violent incidents directed toward Arab Americans, and 27 incidents in which Arab Americans have been expelled from a flight. Complaints from Arab Americans to the ADC also include employment discrimination, law enforcement profiling, and tensions in schools. (ADC, 1)

Mogahed, a Muslim woman living in America at the time of the terrorist attack on 9/11, speaks about her experience with white America after the attack. She talked about what made her attracted to the Islam religion and how her friends reacted when she started wearing the Hijab. Her young friends asked her why she would willingly subject herself to the oppression that Americans see in Islam, she told them that wearing the Hijab is actually a feminist act. After 9/11 she faced strange looks, profanity shouted at her on the street, and the fear of what might happen if she didn't listen to the news. Muslims were told to stay indoors and not