9/11: Islamophobia In The United States
Sara Elgayar
Mr. Tracy
English 3
11 December 2015
Islamophobia
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 have indeed affected the lives of Americans all over the United States. Everyone is aware that the events that took place on September 11th 2001 were a series of horrific tragedies, but they also brought a sense of unity amongst the nation, making Americans, in a sense, more patriotic. Along with this feeling of American pride and ‘standing as one’, Americans suddenly found something to unite against. While our military and government started a war in the Middle East, it seemed as if it became normalized to target anyone who shared the characteristics, religion, or background of al-Qaeda, those who were actually responsible for the September …show more content…
This is imperative to comprehend that the events have vastly affected American society in many different ways; statistics show the average American has little to no contact with Muslims on a day to day basis (Ghazali). The government classifies Arab Americans as ‘white’ but popular U.S discourses tend to represent Arabs as ‘different from and inferior’ to whites (Amaney). The fact that the country’s opinion has been so sharply altered and their opinions drastically shaped on the feeling towards Muslims solely based on the principle of ‘guilt by association’ is central to this …show more content…
victim’s race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, and/or disability. Before September 11th Muslims were the least common religious group targeted for hate crimes: 28 in 2000 jumped to 481 in 2001 an increase of 1600%. Within 6 days of the 9/11 attacks the FBI already had 40 hate crime investigations going including 3 murders and 35 cases of arson. Crimes against all other races fell as hate crimes against Muslims and other Middle Eastern immigrants “skyrocketed” subsequent to September 11th. Murder, beatings, arson, attacks on mosques, shootings, and verbal threats are all included in these hate crimes (Ghazali, April 2008). Before September 11th , usually reported hate crimes typically included young male offenders and male victims. But after the events both perpetrators and victims included women, children, senior citizens, and business owners (Coryn, Chris L.S, and Catherine Borshuk, Sept. 2006). Within hours of the attacks physical assaults on American citizens of Arab, Muslim, Sikh, South Asian, even Hispanic descent were targeted for perceived physical similarity to those responsible for the attacks (Coryn, Chris L.S, and Catherine Borshuk, Sept.
Mr. Tracy
English 3
11 December 2015
Islamophobia
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 have indeed affected the lives of Americans all over the United States. Everyone is aware that the events that took place on September 11th 2001 were a series of horrific tragedies, but they also brought a sense of unity amongst the nation, making Americans, in a sense, more patriotic. Along with this feeling of American pride and ‘standing as one’, Americans suddenly found something to unite against. While our military and government started a war in the Middle East, it seemed as if it became normalized to target anyone who shared the characteristics, religion, or background of al-Qaeda, those who were actually responsible for the September …show more content…
This is imperative to comprehend that the events have vastly affected American society in many different ways; statistics show the average American has little to no contact with Muslims on a day to day basis (Ghazali). The government classifies Arab Americans as ‘white’ but popular U.S discourses tend to represent Arabs as ‘different from and inferior’ to whites (Amaney). The fact that the country’s opinion has been so sharply altered and their opinions drastically shaped on the feeling towards Muslims solely based on the principle of ‘guilt by association’ is central to this …show more content…
victim’s race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, and/or disability. Before September 11th Muslims were the least common religious group targeted for hate crimes: 28 in 2000 jumped to 481 in 2001 an increase of 1600%. Within 6 days of the 9/11 attacks the FBI already had 40 hate crime investigations going including 3 murders and 35 cases of arson. Crimes against all other races fell as hate crimes against Muslims and other Middle Eastern immigrants “skyrocketed” subsequent to September 11th. Murder, beatings, arson, attacks on mosques, shootings, and verbal threats are all included in these hate crimes (Ghazali, April 2008). Before September 11th , usually reported hate crimes typically included young male offenders and male victims. But after the events both perpetrators and victims included women, children, senior citizens, and business owners (Coryn, Chris L.S, and Catherine Borshuk, Sept. 2006). Within hours of the attacks physical assaults on American citizens of Arab, Muslim, Sikh, South Asian, even Hispanic descent were targeted for perceived physical similarity to those responsible for the attacks (Coryn, Chris L.S, and Catherine Borshuk, Sept.