Muslims in America share heartbreaking stories about how life changed for them following 9/11
Muslims in America were subject to hate and were attacked, harassed, and ostracized after the 9/11 attacks.
The 9/11 attacks were a landmark event that shaped the collective consciousness of the American public post-2001. Although there was already a certain degree of Islamophobia that already existed in the US, this event marked the point where it was about to become even more intense. Muslims in America were subject to hate and were attacked, harassed, and ostracized, forcing them to live in fear. They were being asked to pay for crimes that they were in no way related to. This sentiment has forever changed their relationship with not only the country but for some with their religion as well.
The thing with talking about #after911 is that it’s not just what happened in the days or weeks afterwards, but what is still prevalent even now. The racism and xenophobia that heightened then continues to live on and STILL affects brown people daily.
— sai (@Saisailu97) September 11, 2019
Not even children were spared from this misplaced anger. Many Muslims even started to conceal the markers of their religion so as to not be targeted. "The people who committed that horrific attack identified with Islam," Shukri Olow from Seattle told VOX. "That changed our lives tremendously. I remember in high school, in a predominantly white school, getting the looks, getting in fights, kids taking off your hijab. ... I remember one of my high school teachers saying something about 'your kind' and about violence. There were moments like that that shook my foundation a bit."
The aftermath of the 9/11 attacks has taken a toll on the lives of Muslims, who shared their story on Twitter with the hashtags "After September 11" and "After 9/11." Here are some of the innumerable heartbreaking stories:
1.
#after911 my mom had to explain to me why kids were told by their parents they weren’t allowed to play with me during or after school anymore, because my family lived in a small town in virginia and everyone knew they came from Iran. I was seven.
— milk 🐝 (@milkstrology) September 11, 2019
2.
#after911 1/4
— StanceGrounded (@_SJPeace_) September 12, 2019
I was only 8. Most of the kids in school called me a terrorist & asked me if Bin laden was my uncle. Physically and verbally abused. Not having any friends made it alot harder.
(Hence why I say- if you don't know a Muslim or have a friend that is, u do now follow)
#after911 2/4
— StanceGrounded (@_SJPeace_) September 12, 2019
Shopping w/ my mom who wears a scarf..people making comments next to us assuming we didn't speak english..."Let's leave before she blows this place up"...Knowing that my mom understood and went about shopping as if she didn't broke me.
#after911 3/4
— StanceGrounded (@_SJPeace_) September 12, 2019
I have 4 sisters. All visible Muslim women. One of my sisters works w/ special needs kids. She came home from work crying one day because parents told the company that they do not feel safe that their child is there while she my sister is working there.
#After911 4/4
— StanceGrounded (@_SJPeace_) September 12, 2019
I know my #afterseptember11 stories are very trivial compared to those who lost their loved ones in wars and hate crimes but I still want to share it them.
3.
The men who had been attacked were all Indian. My friend Ladan (who is Iranian) got no end of crap. I noticed all my Muslim friends sorta go into hiding.
— Mr. E Teaches Math CHERISH BLACK LIVES (They/Them) (@EisenreichMr) September 14, 2019
4.
#after911 I never wore my hijab outside the Mosque because I didn't want to be assaulted or harassed.
— suk (@mrscleric) September 11, 2019
5.
i moved to the united states from the middle east a few months #after911. i got called a terrorist, told to go back to my country, got called dirty, was bullied relentlessly. i was 8 years old.
— youstina (@youstinabby) September 12, 2019
6.
#afterseptember11 I grew up being profiled, called names, and demonized for brown skin. My cousin was hit with rocks. https://t.co/VLax2r2qAg
— ⚤ Bisexual supremacist ⚢ (@Bisexualbooks2) September 11, 2020
7.
#after911 My professor at a Midwest university pulled me aside and told me: Go home, now. And stay there. You’re a woman, blind, & your last name is Al-Mohamed.
— Day Al-Mohamed (@DayAlMohamed) September 12, 2019
He knew the backlash that was coming. In the middle of his own grief and pain he was looking out for his students. https://t.co/sLZXoS1ifB
8.
#after911 I found so much shame in my religion. I had a girl say that we couldnt date because, "in the end youre going to hell for being muslim." Kids my age made terrorist jokes daily and I had to just laugh them off.
— A Possible Muslim || BLM (@Zackaryathe1st) September 11, 2019
After a certain point it takes a toll.
9.
#after911 a kid in my class asked me if my dad was a terrorist bc he knew my dad was from Iran. I was in 4th grade. And I hit him in the face with a textbook.
— AriHendrixxx♉️ (@ariannamigNASTY) September 12, 2019
10.
The day of 9/11 my mom was pregnant w my little brother, the nurse stepped out of the room for 10 minutes & came back & threw a clipboard at her head & kicked her out of the hospital. She took the subway home & 3 men pulled a knife on her until someone called the police https://t.co/Ez3AWB6BLP
— Osama Bin Trappin 👳🏻♂️ (@bahjat_muhfuxka) September 12, 2019
11.
#after911 I decided to stop telling people I was Lebanese for a while, because whenever I did, they called me a terrorist and avoided being near me. The quarterback of my high school even said my family and I should be taken to a concentration camp. https://t.co/9P7NXJ7Qui
— ouija board (@danysings) September 12, 2019
12.
#after911 I was in second grade and terrified to tell anyone about my background. I felt like it was taboo and I disassociated myself from being Iranian for such a long time. There are people who still feel like this today, why are we allowing this be normal? https://t.co/XnoGQJLq8i
— Nakisa Behi (@Princess_Nakisa) September 11, 2019
13.
#afterseptember11 I was bullied relentlessly when I came to America in 2009. I was constantly asked if Osama Bin Laden was my uncle. We make sure nothing tick tocks on our person. I was asked if I carry Bombs in my head. I was called a the worst things. #after911, Trust was hard
— Umar Azam (@Music_mann2280) September 13, 2020
14.
My car was vandalized the night after. At the cafe at work, a woman refused to prepare my sandwich because I was "one of them." My parents had people surround them & sing "God Bless America" at the grocery store.
— Boozy Brown Girl (@BoozyBrownGirl) September 11, 2019
There was so much...My soul hurt & then I got kicked in the knees.
15.
#afterseptember11 the Libyan restaurant & grocery where I worked rearranged the entire store to put the refrigerators against the front window to protect customers from people shooting at the store.
— Wendy Trakes (@WendyTrakes) September 12, 2019
16.
#afterseptember11 A “friend” started to ask people “Doesn’t he look like Bin Laden?” (Referring to me)
— Ignacio (@OnTheUpSideUp) September 12, 2019
Aggression started.
I’m Hispanic.
17.
#AfterSeptember11 my classmates never looked at me the same. On my eleventh birthday, September 10th, I was just a kid. By September 12th, I was a threat.
— لی لی (@LilyBolourian) September 11, 2019
18.
My teacher told everyone a story about how she saw a fully covered Muslim lady waiting for the train and stayed far away from her because “You never know what they got under there” #afterseptember11
— Decaf Muslim (@YoItsAbba) September 11, 2020
19.
#afterseptember11 my mom was afraid to leave our house and took off her hijab
— yung 🐝zy (@brown_ASStivist) September 11, 2020
20.
#afterseptember11 I haven't lived in a time when people weren't afraid/bigoted towards muslims. I was 4 months old when 9/11 happened and I haven't lived in a time where the United states wasn't in a war caused by hatred.
— Dustys dad (@Nicotinedreamz1) September 12, 2019
21.
#afterseptember11 my classmate, freshman year of high school stared me dead in the face (knowing my religion at the time and said “fucking Muslims, we should kill them all.”
— MeelaC (@MeelaTweets) September 12, 2019
22.
#afterseptember11 age 11 my best friend cried in the middle of gym because kids were being assholes and calling her a terrorist. Then a teacher called her out in the middle of class and shamed her interest in religion.
— Abbi Burns-Cappel (@mrsaturtle) September 12, 2019
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