Post 9/11: Discrimination In The United States

The issue of racial bias against Middle Eastern Americans in the United States has only worsened as time has gone on. Racial profiling, harassment, and unfair treatment are only a few types of abuse that Middle Easterners have had to face on a day to day basis which has stirred up anger and irritation in American society. This is a serious problem because if people are treated unequally then we are no longer the “land of the free” and society cannot move forward if we have racism holding us back. There is also a global and political aspect to this in the sense that Middle Eastern countries would choose against being allies with us due to the amount of hatred they receive in the United States. This discrimination was at first believed to stem

The general argument made by Jamie Dailey in “Modern- day Witch Hunts: Broadly targeting the Muslim Community is antithetical to America’s founding ideas” is that after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 the Muslim Community seems to be targeted. More specifically, Dailey is stating that the irrational fear and paranoia present in American Society causes racial and religious discrimination of the Muslims. Dailey writes about mosques, which are Islamic places of worship, and how they have been recently targeted. Dailey writes, “ In Glendale, Arizona, a bottle filled with acid was thrown at a mosque while mosque officials stood nearby. In Bridgeport, Connecticut, protestors picketed a mosque celebrating Ramadan and shouted slurs”

Even a decade after 9/11 Muslims still received hate threats, such as, burning the holy Koran on the anniversary of 9/11 and vandalizing Mosques. According to “Gendered Islamophobia: Hate Crime Against Muslim Women” “In Ann Arbor, Michigan, on August 7, 2011, a motorist pulled up to a 21-year-old Palestinian woman while she was stopped at a red light and screamed racial epithets, yelling, ‘You’re a terrorist,’ and, ‘Your people need to be killed,’ before pointing a handgun at her” (Perry 84). These types of scenarios are happening all throughout the US today. Disha et al. , states, while racially and ethically motivated hate crimes declined after 9/11, the number of Arab/Muslim hate crimes dramatically increased (40).

The safety of native born Muslim immigrants was fragile for the first few years after September 11. Higher levels of discrimination have been found in the Chicago area, which had the highest number of reported hate crimes in the nation. Harassment and hate crimes happened more in southwest suburbs of Chicago, which was an area high in Muslim concentration. This would explain why many Muslim American’s have encountered hate, mainly due to their extensive presence. Many of these crimes relate to woman wearing a hijab.

According to an article on CNN, Muslims only make up less than one percent of the American population (Yan). This number can be surprising to many Americans because of what they see and hear on media. There are many misconceptions about Muslims in our society that is causing hate towards them. Through a personal story in Suzanne Barakat’s speech titled “Islamophobia killed my brother. Let’s end the hate” she effectively shows how bigotry against Muslims is a problem in society.

After the 9/11 attack it started to become a rougher life for Muslims in America during this time we saw a 1,700 percent increase of hate crime against Muslim Americans, Many a Muslim groups began to be formed such as American- Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Council of American Islamic Relations. To help Muslims who are going through the pain of being hated, and are under raciest disputes. This was just a time raged by emotion, and a chance to blame it on somebody and that somebody was the innocent American Muslims. During this time the American people were hurt, and they wanted somebody that they could pin it on so they would take out their frustrations on the Muslims who have no control over what happened, this is because the American people were scared, they were scared that it was going to happen to them, people started to become more protective, they started to not want to go outside.

(S., Lauren M. "Racism and Its Affect on Society." Racism and Its Affect on Society. Teen Ink, n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.)When the 9/11 attacks occurred, anyone with an ethnic or religious background that were the same as the terrorists were discriminated against, and harassed.

When a large company begins hiring they try to pick an individual that would be perfect for their store and customers. Many large companies try to avoid hiring individuals that face hate around the world, they do this because they want customers to feel safe around the store. And since some people believe that muslims are “terrorist” and cause “terrorism” many companies avoid hiring an individual that comes from an islamic background. In the New York Times, Steven Greenhouse stated “On Sept. 1, the commission filed a case against Abercrombie & Fitch, the fashionable clothing retailer, accusing it of discrimination for refusing to hire an 18-year-old Muslim because she was wearing a head scarf” (New York Times). From this passage we can see that muslims face racism in their daily lives, a muslim girl could not get a job because of the way she was dressed.

However, the pervading reason is no longer the loss of job security but fear of terrorism. At present, the targets of anti-immigrant sentiment are individuals from Middle East countries because they have been branded as terrorists or individuals who support or aid terrorist activities. While it is true that some Middle Eastern individuals have perpetrated terrorist activities, it is not true that all of them are terrorists or that they support or abet terrorism. Most of them are as peace-loving as any of

Because of this, Americans began to live in a state of paranoia. They worried that their homeland might become victim to another terrorist attack. Americans questioned everyone and everything, specifically Muslims. Many people assumed that just because the terrorists in the 9/11 attacks were Muslim, that every Muslim must be a terrorist. Muslims, or anyone slightly perceived to be Muslim, were hated and feared.

Since then, there are between 100 and 150 anti-Muslim hate crimes yearly. More than a decade after 9/11, Muslims are still paying for the actions of a small group. The Department of Homeland Security, the “War on Terror,” and anti-Muslim hate crimes are results of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that still affect Americans today. “But our resolve must not pass.

There are three to examines: the fact and legitimacy of racial profiling, the redeployment of orientalist tropes, and the relationship between citizenship, nation, and identity. In order to racial profiling, people in US tend to seek male noncitizens between the ages of 18-33 from “Middle Eastern” or “Islamic” countries or countries with some suspected tie to Al-Qaeda are more likely to be terrorists. The majority were identified by the US government as based solely on perceptions of their racial, religious backgrounds, and ethnic identity. Before the terror 9/11 happened, people do not have concern and even stereotypes about Eastern Asian such as Pakistani, Somalian, and Muslim, on the other hand, exaggerated racial profiling since the terror 9/11 as terrorists might be the movement to provoke a rethinking of real citizenship about them in the United States of

In the United States of America today, racial profiling is when an individual is accused of committing a crime because of their race. There has been a lot of conversation about this topic whether racial profiling is okay or it’s considered as being racist and law enforcement can not stop and search someone because of their race. Racial profiling is a bad idea because people are being judged and might feel harassed because of their race. In an essay “Everything Isn’t Racial Profiling” written by Linda Chavez explains how Arab people are being discriminated at airports simply because they are Arab.

The continued threat of a terrorist attack has effected the citizen’s way they live everyday life. The aftermath of 9/11 has caused many citizens to become fearful. It also caused many to be more aware and cautioned of their surroundings to be prepare for any situation. But, it also caused many Americans to become very stereotypical and discriminate, which effected many citizens that are Muslim and Middle Eastern descent. The attack on the U.S also damage the economy and also changed many laws to protect the nation.

We see it in schools, politics and even in major travel sits such as airports. “For one thing, I travel a great deal and it seems to me, each time I enter US airport security, that the terrorists have won, because now I cannot pass any flight—whether for an hour or for two days—without having my entire body subjected to a search, scan, and/or pat” (Wadud 701). These invasive searches have been reportedly subjected to the Muslim coming into America. It starts with just one look, the look of a Hijab or a Turban. This is considered to be racial profiling yet it is not corrected in the law it goes on each and every day.