The attack on the World Trade Centre September 11th, 2001 marked the change in global attitudes towards the Arabs and Muslim communities. What Evelyn Alsultany discusses is the new portrayal of Arabs and Muslims in the media by referencing popular television series like “24” and “Sleeper Cell” in addition to analyzing news reports since this major event. Before the Cold War, Arabs and Muslims were stereotyped as rich oil sheiks surrounded by opulence in an exotic land, whereas during the Cold War when the United States gained a considerable amount of geopolitical power, the generalizations gradually became darker and more focused on terrorism, violence, and the oppression of women. The theme that Alsultany is choosing to elaborate in her introduction
Stark compares European colonialism across the world and the Islamic fury due to Crusades as a motivation for the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center by Muslim terrorists (Tristano). European colonialism can be found in both the times of the Crusades and today. During the time of the Crusades, many of the Crusaders set out to spread Christianity; therefore, leading to the spread of Christianity. During the time of the Crusades, “the crusaders marched east not out of idealism, but in pursuit of lands and loots; that the Crusades were promoted by the power-mad popes seeking to greatly expand Christianity though conversion of Muslim masses” (Stark, 4). Whereas the United States is primarily Christian county (because of European colonialism), the Middle East is still primarily Muslim, leading to the next points of pursuit of land, loot, and power, as well as, and crime in need of atonement (Tristano).
In the book Zeitoun, by Dave Eggers, Eggers informs his readers about how Muslim Americans were treated while living in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. He emphasizes many flashbacks from Zeitoun's past, which helps persuade readers; also why Zeitoun is so passionate about helping the community and why he works hard to provide for his family. Eggers presents his argument by appealing to logos and pathos to support his argument. Eggers’ purpose is for his audience to understand that Muslims should not be stereotyped, as it was revealed through Zeitoun's life experience.
Many held stereotypes against the Middle-Eastern because of the September attacks. Lots of these stereotypes were held up by ignorance of the misinformed. Many weren’t familiar with the culture and customs of the Middle East, and this raised the question: What is the Middle East really like? All calls were answered on October 31, 2005, George Saunders, a graduate from Syracuse and former GQ magazine writer, traveled to Dubai and experienced what the other side of the world is like.
They begin with the persistence of 9/11 rumors, which are characterized by the mixture of raw emotions as they emerged during a time of disaster. Most, however, arose out of immense fear, fear of what was to come, and fear of these foreign “others” who were seen to be invading “home.” The authors write that these forms of rumors create divisions in society, as they pit one group - usually a single ethnic group - against the innocent masses who have become victims. As Fine and Ellis (2010) write these rumors stem into concepts of fear but there are rumors of hope, but as they argue, “rumors of hope are less common” (p. 203).
A great terror struck our nation September 11, 2001, two aircraft’s hit the world trade centers, killing 2000 people and injuring over twice as many. A third aircraft flew into the Pentagon while a fourth crashed in a rural area in Pennsylvania. This day will forever be engrained into history as one of the worst terror attacks faced in this nation. Nearly three years later, in an attempt to figure out what happened on that tragic day, scholars came together to discuss the possible parallels between foreign and domestic terrorist. The author, Michael Kimmel, outlines the possible cause of the 2001 attacks and offers us a link between both foreign and domestic terrorism.
The events of 9/11 were a highly significant tragedy that had profound global implications. The attacks on the Twin Towers resulted in an immense loss of life, with 2,977 deaths, numerous casualties, and extensive destruction. Beyond the immediate human toll, the attacks triggered far-reaching changes in society and government. They prompted violent military responses and led to the establishment of Homeland Security in the US, accompanied by counter-terrorism campaigns and the enactment of the USA Patriot Act under President George Bush. Moreover, the attacks harmed Islamic views, increasing stereotypes and biases.
In Behind the Backlash: Muslims Americans After 9/11, Lori Peek explains the post 9/11 backlash against Muslim communities in the United States. She did so by interviewing Muslim American men and women after the terrorist attacks over a time frame of two years, most of the sample being from New York and a small sample from Colorado. She found that individuals felt prejudice and discrimination before 2001 and ignorant stereotypes about Islam. However, they expressed that after 9/11 they felt more isolated, excluded, and fearful of hate crimes by their neighbors and experiences various forms of harassment. Expanding on what Peek found, in Humane Migration, Christine G.T Ho and James Loucky state, “In the aftermath of 9/11, a brutal attack was
Samira Ahmed’s realistic fiction novel, Love, Hate, and Other Filters, takes place in modern-day Chicago where a suicide bombing has engrossed the attention of America. Maya Aziz, a Muslim teenager, is targeted for her heritage while attempting to lead a life free of high school drama, controlling parents, and difficult relationships. As Maya copes with Islamophobia, prejudice against Muslims, she begins to understand the horrors and shortcomings of violence. One lesson the story suggests is that hatred is an infectious and blinding motive. From the very beginning of the story, readers are familiarized with the source of terrorism through thorough description and sentence structure.
America became a nation who questioned the intentions of every Middle Eastern person. Today, there are Middle Eastern men and women who are pulled over for “suspicious activity.” Some people will even walk a little faster or in a different direction when a Muslim walks down the street. September 11, 2001 will remain the day when children became orphans and parents became childless. As those giant towers collapsed, so did our sense of security and the “safest place on Earth” became a home of fear.
In fact, according to a study of attitudes towards Muslim Americans post 9/11, after 9/11 “the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported a 1,700 percent increase of hate crimes against Muslim Americans between 2000 to 2001” (Khan). While discrimination towards Muslim Americans existed before, after 9/11 the general public’s view of Muslim Americans rapidly declined and resulted in an increase in the Muslim-terrorist stereotype as well as many individuals having to face unwanted hostility. In a study on microaggressions directed towards Muslim Americans, a participant shared, “’A truck driver said to my mom, ‘Say hi to Osama,”’ presuming that because she was Muslim she was associated with terrorism (Nadal). While in another case, a participant described how because his name was Osama, his seventh grade teacher “accidentally” called him Osama bin Laden during attendance, “but [he knew]
In “Some Are Born to Sweet Delight” written by Nadine Gordimer, foreigners and especially Arabs are portrayed as poor, secretive and different as opposed to the Westerners who are classified as “normal”. Gordimer represents this negative portrayal through the characterization of Rad and Vera. The negative representation of foreigners is made to underline and criticize the stereotypes and generalizations that Westerners tend to make about them. In this short story, Gordimer focuses on Arabs as her main representation of foreign populations.
From slavery in the 1700s to the civil rights movement of the 1960s, the subject of race has been a paramount issue in American culture and politics. In the world of today, however, racism and racial bias have begun to take new forms. The violent hate crimes of the past have been replaced by racial discrimination and bias. While bias affects many aspects of one’s daily life, experiences dictated by racial bias cause much more harm than the bias of a historian in his writings or a newscaster in her reporting. Furthermore, the problem does not conclude with one specific group experiencing hate; countless other ethnicities are victim to these abhorrent experiences, specifically Arab/Muslim-Americans.
Tayla Galvin Grade 12-M History Original Research Task Research Question: ‘To what extent does the movie United 93 accurately depict the devastation of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, as well as the economic and social consequences it still has on the USA in present times?” Introduction On September 11th 2001, a series of 4 co-coordinated terrorist attacks were carried out by al-Qaeda – an Islamic terrorist group, in order to cripple the US and destroy their main hotspots. The origins of al-Qaeda can be traced to 1979 when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden traveled to Afghanistan and helped organize Arab mujahideen to resist the Soviets.
One of the main stereotypes that arose after 9/11 was that Muslims and Arabs were linked to radical Islam and terrorism due to the 15 out of 19 attackers were Muslims. ( New York Pakistanis) This stereotype that arose was a big distrupement of American citizens who practiced Islam. Their everyday lives were altered drastically, for example many Arab organizations were vandalized like Mosques were bombed and vandalized. ( New York Pakistanis 1) Muslims and Arabs suffered greatly from these hate crime, these such crimes have a serious effect on their lifestyles.
Many say that 11 September 2001 was a start of a new era for muslims in the United states, as they became unfortunately targets of hate and racism from many.