Post 9/11 Hate Crimes

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.

1939-1945 was a time where many hate crimes were committed. These hate crimes were against almost anyone, but mainly Jews. Many of them still happen today, although they do not show. Hate crimes today are worse than they were in 1939, although they are mainly hidden from sight, so the victims have go through everything alone.

After 9/11, Muslim Americans were targeted for bullying while they got into depression and anxiety. Muslims were blamed and pursed for revenge. Following 9/11, approximately 18,000 Muslims were deported, while 15,000 were arrested or held back. Several victims of 9/11 were innocent Muslims, ranging in age from unborn to late 60s.“94% of terrorist attacks carried out in the United States from 1980 to 2005 have been by non-Muslims,” Alnatour a writer at HUFFINGTONPOST.com writes. As he mentions the number of terrorist attacks are mostly held by non-Muslims; however, Muslims are blamed for it. Mostly people refer to Muslim Americans to ignore others crimes. Since 9/11, American Muslims are adrift; in addition, they are suffering a 10% salary cut. Ms. Elhuni, who is an American citizen and a Georgia State University political science graduate student was sitting inside a coffee shop in Atlanta when she was harassed by a man identified only as

According to NBC News, following the September 11 attacks in 2001, there were four hundred eighty one reported anti-Muslim hate crimes in the United States, totaling an average of 40 per month. The number of these attacks continues to rise today. Muslims seem to have targets on their backs. The arrow pointed at them is known as Islamophobia, the hatred and prejudice against the religion of Islam.

9/11 marked the beginning of the multitude of cases of Islamophobia. The actions of a few radicals shaped what is the false perception of Islam. Many Americans, especially New Yorkers, believe that Islam is a faith of violence, terrorism, and misogyny. Prior to 9/11 there were only 20 to 30 cases of islamophobia a year nationally (Wulfhorst, New York City Is Taking Aim At Islamophobia). In 2001 alone there were 481 cases of Islamophobia according to the FBI, which

9/11 also resulted in racial stereotyping, which is the use of race or ethnicity as grounds for suspecting someone of having committed an offense. Racial stereotypes are automatic and exaggerated mental pictures that we hold about all members of a particular racial group. The post 9/11 feeling of fear and paranoia greatly contributed to an increase in anti-Muslim sentiments through the generalizations that one extremist religious group can be applied to an entire widespread culture of people. These conclusions left the people of America in fear of an event similar to 9/11 happening again, and anger and constant paranoia transgressed into the lives of Americans and their interactions with other people. A dramatic increase in hate crimes towards Muslim people and in TSA racial profiling show how real fear, anger, and paranoia are in our society. People live in complete fear of an entire race, when only a very small part of the Muslim race believed in the

Most would argue that American’s negative conceptions of Muslims and the cultures which originate from the Middle East have dramatically risen since 9/11. Research shows that, although this may be true, negative attitudes towards Muslim-Americans have existed throughout the decades, and have only just become more prevalent since the September 11th attacks. In October of 2001, ABC did a poll to come up with the results of what percentage of America has favorable views of Muslim Americans. This poll found that in 2001 there was a 47 percent favorable view of Muslims. In 2010 the percentage dropped to 37 percent. Today that percent is even lower, at just 27 percent.

Islamophobia today can be defined as “discriminatory practices against Muslims and the exclusion of Muslims from mainstream society.” (Martin-Munoz). While there is a threat to the American lifestyle from extremists, this does not and should not include the Muslims practicing Islam in communities around America. All too often “Anti-Muslim hostility is seen as natural or normal.”(Martin-Munoz). A study done by the Federal Bureau of Investigation showed that roughly twenty-one percent of those targeted in hate crimes in 2015 were chosen because of religion, the first largest percent being bias towards race/ethnicity/ancestry. Of the percent of the religious, twenty-two percent were targeted because of their belief in Islam (U.S. Department of Justice). These hate crimes have made too many innocent Muslims the target of unjust violence. The perceived threat from Muslims is on the rise in America as tensions grow.

Through political cartoons and images, America has been examined, and it has been conclusive in society that Islamophobia is prevalent. When the attack on the twin towers occurred on September 11, 2001 by Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda, America was plunged into a state of dismay. Recovery, though hard, was attained, but feelings towards Muslims became more abhorrent as people filled with trepidation feared that there may be more attacks. Islamophobia galvanized hate crimes towards Muslims, heightening tensions within America. There were book burnings, shootings in mosques, and many more repugnant hate crimes. Extremists sullied the name of Islam, and many observations were made and showed that there was an increase in stereotypes on Muslims.

According to a website “gallup.com” Islamophobia is described to be an exaggerated fear, hatred and hostility towards Islam and Muslims that is perpetuated by negative stereotypes resulting in bias, discrimination and the marginalization and exclusion of Muslims from social, political and civic life. According to “Progressive.org”, a new study shows that bias against Muslim Americans is having an impact on their job prospects, especially in red states. In those red states, only 2 percent of applications by the Muslim candidate received interviewed invitations compared to 17 percent for the Christian candidate, the study finds. A friend of mine who is a Muslim told me that after 9/11, her father lost his job, and was arrested for questioning because he was Muslim and an Arab. This directly goes against the standards America was built upon. A result from progressive.org also found out that “Since 9/11, Muslim-Americans have claimed 33 lives in the United States, out of more than the 180,000 murders committed in the U.S during this

Every political leader in the country says we are not in a war against Islam, but after the September attacks, there were over 400 hate crimes against Muslims or Muslim-Americans, including nine deaths, 90 physical assaults, and 85 incidents of vandalism. Cases include firebombings of Islamic centers and mosques in Chicago, Cleveland and Seattle (Poe A.10). Many Americans have acquired the stereotype of Muslim people as a symbol of danger.

Utter the word “Muslim” and immediately bodies stiffen, lips curve downwards, brows furrow, and the word “terrorist” comes to mind for many Americans. Since the tragedy of 9/11 thirteen years ago, Americans have generally become even more fearful of Muslims, and after wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the public opinion of Muslims tends to be more negative. A poll by the Arab American Institute in 2014 reveals that only 27% of Americans feel favorably toward Islam –a dramatic drop from the 47% registered in an ABC poll a month after 9/11 in 2001 (Obeidallah “13 Years”). This sharp decline at best shows a growing distrust of, and at worst, a deepening prejudice toward Islam. Negativity toward Islam spawns from a fear in many people who consider

“The attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001, which destroyed the World Trade Center in New York City… effectively triggered a campaign of fear mongering against Muslims by influential commentators in the media and elsewhere”( Johnston 166). As previously mentioned, Islamophobia is evident today more so than decades past. According to the FBI, hate crimes directed towards Muslims have grown more than 5 times since September 11. It saddens me to see that innocent Muslims are very much in danger as a result of the horrid actions made by others. This exemplifies that society views Muslims of all ages and genders a threat to society’s well-being. Other individuals also believe that September 11 is what sparked Islamophobia. This is evident in an excerpt titled, “The Long History of Islam as a Collective Other of the West and the Rise of Islamophobia in the US after Trump“ as it states, “Many people accept the 9/11 attacks as the beginning of the rise of Islamophobia in the west” (Sunar 40). Both these sources clearly believe the September 11 was the reason why Islamophobia rose the way it did.

Ever since the attacks on the Twin Towers, Islamic prejudice has been on the rise. A study by the Associated Press reveals that Islamic prejudice is more common now than in the 1980’s or 1990’s. The same study also shows that roughly 700 Arab related hate crimes had been executed in the weeks after 9/11. The acts of the 9/11 attacks entirely changed the outlook non-Islamic Americans have about Islamic Americans, foreign Muslims, and any Arabs of the kind. The American government needs to extinguish the prejudice because if the US citizens of America nullify each other over a mosque than there is no way we could ever defeat a greater calamity.

After September eleventh, news coverage was main cause a rise in Islamophobia feelings. With terrorist attacks from Middle-Eastern based groups, like ISIS and al-Qaeda, a sense of fear has grown among the American people. A major cause in this rise is the media’s influence on people opinions. The media can get people to feel almost anything they want through pictures, videos, etc. News sources focus on Middle Eastern conflicts, putting Muslim’s in an unfavorable light, and news outlets show pictures of terrorist groups, such as ISIS, to represent the Muslim population. Acts of discrimination, racial profiling, and racism against Muslims, also classified as Islamophobia, has seen a major increase because of news coverage.