Muslim Americans During World War II

In the airports, Muslim people became “the usual suspects”, were thoroughly searched and often interrogated. In her article, O’Connor claims that the lives of American Muslims changed forever, and the statement is hard to disagree with (“How 9/11 Changed These Muslim Americans’ Lives Forever.”) Those who had nothing to do with the September 11 attacks, their children and grandchildren were sentenced to face racism, hate and violence.

Among the minorities, people with an Islamic religious viewpoint are treated differently throughout America. A dark day in United States history,

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

“Since 9/11, Muslims in America are living in fear” (“In a virtual internment camp: Muslim Americans since 9/11”). When our World Trade Center came crashing down, American had one more enemy, Muslims. 9/11 was a tragic act of terrorism and those victims will not be forgotten, but because of the Muslims that did this terrible act most Muslims in America were grouped into one category, evil.

The study researched how 47 non-Muslim Americans considered and responded to a specific act of injustice against Muslim Americans. The larger goal of the study was to see if Muslim Americans are included or excluded from other American’s moral and judicial values during a “context of national conflict” (Borshuk & Coryn, 590). The study undertook this research because of the then recent 9/11 attacks and because of President Bush’s declaration of a “job well done”. The research was done at a time when it was difficult for non-Muslim Americans to separate how they viewed their fellow Muslim Americans from the Muslims and Arabs they were fighting abroad. The study was conducted by having participants read a prompt about a conflict incident involving Muslim Americans and then answering open-ended questions, this method was used because the researchers wanted to understand the reasoning associated with

The 11th of September, 2001 was a momentous day in American history. 19 members of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 & United Airlines Flight 175, and crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. Hijackers crashed the third plane into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The fourth jet, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives on 9/11 due to the terrorist attacks on that day. After 9/11, the power of the government increased, allowing police, the FIB and other government agencies the ability to search telephone, e-mail communications, medical, financial, and other records; in addition to easing the restrictions on foreign intelligence gathering within the United States. Along with the war in the Middle East as a result of 9/11, Islamophobia in the United States has reached new growth. Racial profiling and discrimination of Muslims, Arabs, and those with stereotypical Islamic names or appearances have not only increased in the past 14 years since 9/11, but the results of such actions are devastating to not only the Muslim community but also the rest of America. 42% of Americans support the use of profiling by law enforcement against Arab Americans and American Muslims. Hostilities towards Muslims and Arabs have only increased as a result of 9/11.

With the attacks on the United States by terrorists, many Americans have been experiencing feelings of fear, sadness and tremendous anger. Many of Middle-Eastern descent have been experiencing great prejudice and discrimination and are being stereotyped as terrorists. These types of feelings are very prevalent in American society today. Similarly, though not widely as discussed, Japanese-Americans have felt these feelings directed toward them for several generations. Going from the extreme of being herded to internment camps after the surprise attack of Pearl Harbor, to the more commonplace, being stereotyped in the entertainment industry and internet sites, prejudice, discrimination and stereotyping have been apart of the lives of

“All Muslims are now suspects” expressed Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman of the Council of American-Islamic Relations. After 9/11 ethnic profiling was directed heavily toward people of Muslim or Arabic descent. Discrimination toward Muslims occurs in many settings and is often degrading and evil. The irrational fear and public mindset swing around the country was a huge consequence of 9/11. Politics, communities, and culture has shifted to where citizens do a double take on those who are Muslims because of the flashback they get when they remember where they were on 9/11. For some, just the sight of a Muslim in our country sends a shockwave though their mind. On September 11, 2001, the United States froze in fear as terrorist attacks

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

This book chapter also introduces surveys, examples and statistics that will help support my argument and further my research. This book chapter differs from the article, “Framing Arab-American and Muslims in the U.S. Media” because it explores the way that the U.S. media attempted to aid in the destruction of the Arab and Muslims terrorist stereotype, but ultimately failed. It provides an interesting contrast from the article, presenting a more positive way that the media tried to portray Arab and Muslims after 9/11. This book chapter, although different than the article, does reinforce the same idea that Arab and Muslims were ostracized following the events of 9/11 and felt they needed to prove themselves to the rest of American citizens as “good Americans”. The information in this book chapter is reliable because it has numerous cited examples and statistics that reinforce the validity of the main idea. This book chapter helps perpetuate my research as it gives me another perspective on the influence of the U.S. Media, and encourages me to continue down this path of research, and I will now be looking for how the U.S. media have tried to correct the terrorism stereotype they perpetuated against Arabs and

According to CAIR.com, the council of American-Islamic Relations, “Almost 4 in 10 Americans have an unfavorable view of Islam.” Malala Yousafzai said that: “there should be no discrimination against languages people speak, skin color, or religion”. Discrimination comes in many forms such as age, gender, ethnicity, religion, and more. It had always been part of human nature; nevertheless, after the tragedy incident of 9/11 Muslims are widely seen as victims of discrimination especially those in foreign countries. Discrimination came in the form of both oppression and violence. Moreover, these bullies lead to a number of serious effects on a person's life such as depression and anxiety. Even though, some think that all Muslims cause violence,

Prior to the attacks of September 11, 2001 most Americans knew very little to nothing about Muslims nor had an opinions towards them. The lack of knowledge quickly changed due to a combination of factors. Terrorist attacks against America have unfortunately persisted for years, the attacks of 9/11 were fundamentally different. Such attacks evoke a response and the response has evolved and transformed Americans attitude. Non-economic factors, such as prejudicial stereotypes, place a significant role in shaping intergroup relations and in influencing public attitudes. Negative treatment of Muslim Americans in the United States after 9/11 was not caused by the 9/11 attacks alone, but by pre existing social constructions that configured them as

Two of the planes made a course toward the World Trade Center, flying through the Twin Towers. One plane flew into the Pentagon, while the fourth plane’s passengers fought off the hijackers and crash landed in an empty field in Pennsylvania, killing everyone on board. “The carefully planned attacks killed nearly 3,000 people, making it the worst attack on the United States in history”(Pressler Par.1). Prior to this day, Muslims were treated very similarly to other minorities in America, but once the towers came crashing down, the Muslim population as a whole was treated in a completely different manner. Large amounts of “media coverage immediately after the attacks presented vast amounts of negative images related to Muslims and Arabs in general, thus leading to greater but temporary prejudices toward this group” (Khan and Ecklund Par.33). Al-Qaeda’s attack on 9/11 is how Islamophobia rose in the

Some young Muslims living in the U.S. experience discrimination in schools, public areas, or wherever an Islamophobic is present. Islamophobia is a term that has been described as someone who has hatred or fear of Muslims (University of California, Berkeley). In fact, 70% of American Muslim Youth have reported some form of discrimination due to being Muslim (Ahmed, et al. 161). Society and the media are sometimes the fuel of Islamophobia, which sometimes transmit from adults to younger generations, which spreads even more from that point on. Due to the negative portrayal of Muslims that is mostly spread through the media, many Muslims are discriminated against in schools; as there is often no real knowledge of Islam except the image that Society exhibits. Discrimination has developed

As an American Muslim, I can provide an outlook of life in the United States that the majority do not have the opportunity to experience. Living in a world wher Islam is misrepresented, many people do not fully understand what Islam teaches. As a result, it feels impossible for me or my family to travel without being labeled as a threat to security, and being pulled away from everyone else for hours of additional screening. This is unacceptable, especially in a country that takes pride in it's religious freedom and acceptance. These discriminatory practices are a direct result of anti-Muslim rhetoric in politics and in the media, as it allows people to feel that these actions are justifiable. For example, during my freshman year of high school,