Life of American Muslims Post to 9/11, Essay Example

Introduction

The 2001 terrorist attack on USA appeared to have a dramatic global influence. The impact on the Islamic community occurs as especially dreadful, since the terrorists appeared to be Muslims. It is worth saying that approximately 6 million Muslims live in the United States. The majority of them are Arabs. American Muslims can be characterized by being well educated and having much higher revenues in comparison with, for instance, European Muslims. All in all, in contrast to Muslim minorities in Europe, American Muslims emerge to be much assimilated within the multinational American society. As for this paper, it argues that, in accordance with a variety of surveys conducted, life of American Muslims has deteriorated dramatically; 14 years after the terroristic attack on the United States, anti-Muslim propaganda proved to be worse than ever. In view of many scholars, the attitudes towards American Muslims today are surprisingly far worse in comparison with the public mood in October, 2001[1].

The Rise of Anti-Muslim Sentiment

On 9/11, it was possible to eyewitness the catastrophe of the twin towers crumble that many consider as the fundamental reason why being a Muslim emerged to be the challenge in modern-day American society. The morning of September 11^th has changed the viewpoints towards not only American Muslims, but also Muslim minorities of the other regions[2].

The administration of George W. Bush as well as the recent president Barack Obama has considered the “…radicalization of Muslim Americans…” as one of the biggest problems of the United States[3]. On the other hand, it is also worth taking into consideration the fact that civil libertarians have denounced the violation of many Muslims’ rights. It becomes clear both abovementioned rhetorical arguments mean draw attention to the impact of the twin towers crumble on American Muslims.

Considering the situation that Muslim Americans are currently undergoing, one should understand that, in accordance with many American citizens, Muslims’ dissent occurs as a real threat to the security of the United States. Concerning the issue of dissent, it is not the same with the notion of terrorism; nevertheless, the fear based on the probability of Muslims’ violence used to be the matter of great concern before 9/11. It is worth admitting the significant similarities between the attitude towards Muslim Americans before and after September 11^th, 2001. One should take into consideration the thing that Muslim Americans were always considered as potentially dangerous minority of people being able to commit serious crimes. It is a common mistake to suggest that the issue of prejudice towards American Muslims appears to be permanent. To be precise, there used to be assertions about Muslim aggressors long before 9/11; one cannot but make mention of Islamophobia – viewpoints with regards to Muslims from the perspective of their violence and cruelty. Regarding the national contemplation on Muslims for the last two centuries, it is worth saying this period was characterized by more dynamic discourses. For instance, before Civil War president John Quincy Adams considered Muslims as absolutely “…friendly to American interests.”[4]

The Birth of Islamophobia

It is necessary to clarify how Muslims turned into potentially dangerous people. When did friendly Muslims occur as the threat to the United States. The origin of Islamophobia appeared after the World War I. It was the period when the government acted on fears of physical infection via immigration policy. The U.S. had the fear that immigrants were likely to bring some ideological diseases, including anti-colonialism; moreover, the authorities were afraid of the circulation of these ideas among black population. It is possible to state that American Islam accelerated in 1930. During this period, black Muslims as well as black Jews demonstrated their solidarity for Japan, a friendly nation. As a result, the U.S. authorities arrested some of the leading proponents of “Development of Our Own” community. It is necessary to mention that among the arrested leaders was Elijah Muhammad, the most influential public figure of the Nation of Islam[5]. As for Muhammad, he was accused of the sedition and jailed.

In post-World War II period, there were some new methods of neutralizing the authority of American Islam. Among the strategies utilized towards American Muslims, it is necessary to make mention of the rejection of First Amendment to convicts.[6]Federal agencies managed to redefine Muslim belief as cult; it enabled the government to skip with the messiness of lawful defense for religious ideas.

Similarities with Post September 11^th Epoch 

It is important to admit that the public face of American Muslims changed starting from 1960s. The thing is that Muslim America appears to be no longer represented black people. In spite of the fact that people of African descent form the largest group of Muslims, American Muslims change the stereotype of black color into brown. What has changed? It is worth saying that the Nation of Islam (NOI) was no longer considered as the main threat[7].

Nowadays, transnational Muslim terrorist proved to be the major focus of national surveillance again. The point is that it appeared as the consequence of 9/11 even though federal agencies were involved in making attempts to block the issue of Islamic terroristic attacks long before. President Barack Obama can be characterized by following the Bush era approach to treating American Muslims. It is necessary to highlight the American mosque that has remained the major focus of surveillance. Moreover, the number of foreign nationals who regularly become subject to deportations has increased since the attack of 9/11; “…the post-9/11 has blurred the distinction beween national amds international politics when it come to Islam.”[8] Barack Obama personally insisted on the liquidation of Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan who provided speeches supporting al-Qaeda. Obviously, a number of American libertarians considered the targeted assassination of the two abovementioned U.S. citizens as the violations of civil rights. All in all, the White House has subsequently issued the support to National Defense Authorization Act, permitting the federal agencies to arrest the citizens accused of cooperating with terroristic organizations without any trials. The twin towers crumble on the 11^th of September, 2001 has resulted in a new wave of anti-Muslim sentiment. The administration of previous American president George W. Bush has insisted on training the students to figure out potential terrorists.

Analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the technique aimed to combat terrorism, the question naturally arises as why all American Muslims should be put under surveillance. Moreover, it is worth saying that the recent government’s consensus on combating terrorism basically lies in that once you support contradictory Muslim party, it means that you will be put under domestic counter-intelligence. On the other hand, in case you mention that you appreciate al-Qaeda’s ideas, it means that the government will definitely silence you. It is clear that for the majority of American citizens such a practice will result in the restriction on privacy. Apparently, one should clearly understand whether the given “…technique is particularly effective in combatting terrorism.” [9] When designing the strategies towards identifying the signs of terrorism, it is necessary to take into account the need to make a distinction between ideological dissent and the notion of terrorism. It becomes apparent that not all American Muslims are potential terrorists. Regardless of this fact, most often they are treated as potentially dangerous people after 9/11. Moreover, there has to be clear understanding of political dissent and actually terrorism. The thing is that today, once opening the dialogue to incorporate a large number of various dissenting opinions, many American citizens are likely to be accused of what they might hear from some fellows. The problem is that the U.S. government should rethink the approaches to combating terrorism. The thing is that not all Muslims are terrorists, and there should be some mechanism of not bothering the peaceful population.

Since al-Qaeda was responsible for the attack, it became clear that there would be the immediate rebellion against American Muslims as well as Middle Eastern Americans. As it was mentioned before, in October 2001, in accordance with an ABC poll, approximately 50 percent of American citizens had a positive attitude towards Islam. All in all, by 2015, the number of those having favorable views has dropped dramatically. As a result, it is worth highlighting that only 20 percent of Americans support American Muslims today. Obviously, the prevailing negative attitude towards American Muslims is much caused by the attack on the 11^th of September; partially, anti-Muslim sentiment occurs as “…Muslims’ own fault.” [10] Notwithstanding this fact, there were also some other cases of terrorism in the last years. It is necessary to make mention of, for instance, Boston Marathon bombing that many Americans assessed as the new evidence of Muslims’ violence. The question arises as to what future American Muslims will face. Evidently, Muslims have already faced sufficient number of hate crimes against themselves. It is also worth drawing attention to employment discrimination that Muslims emerged to suffer from last years. In order to eradicate the signs of anti-Muslim sentiment, American Muslims should finally denounce the terrorist who commit crimes so as to make it certain that the horrible acts of a few Muslims cannot represent the culture of the whole minority. It is obvious that the period to impartial attitude towards national minorities, including Muslims has come[11].

Conclusion

It is clear the U.S. society needs to rethink its approach to treating American Muslims. One should understand that it is necessary to conduct a survey of religious as well as political dissent. These debates should be aimed at analyzing the presence of Islam within the national policy. Obviously, millions of American citizens possess strong viewpoints “…about Shariah, the Quran, and the Prophet Muhammad…” being concerned that Islamic belief incites terrorism[12]. There are also millions of other people who do not see the dependence of terrorism on Islamic religion; they assume that it is about American foreign policy that attracts terrorism.

It is important to become aware that Muslims should not be regarded as the foreigners. U.S. society has seen a long history of partnership with Muslims. Thinking of colonial ancestors is likely to offer a space in order to explore the dissents of Muslims skipping with modern-day fears about Islamic religion. To sum up, one should come to understanding that American Muslims comprise not more than 2 percent of the U.S. society; moreover, Sikhs that many people call Muslims do not refer to Muslims’ minority; the same about Basques that Americans also misidentify as Muslims.  Consequently, all “…the legal responses to terrorism have caused three major effects on Muslims: increased surveillance and policy activity, banning of groups, and the deportation of radicals.” [13]   Inevitably, it is necessary to be optimistic and hope that the situation concerning the issue of islamophobia will get better. Americans have to be conscious that the bulk of U.S. Muslims are focused on succeeding in doing absolutely adequate things; they are willing to become teachers, parents, and engineers. As for the bigots, American Muslims have to come to terms with them and continue fighting for the right to be equally treated.

Bibliography

Baqi-Aziz, Michele. “Where does she think she is?”: On being Muslim, an American, and a nurse. American Journal of Nursing, 101, 11–12. 2001.

Brown, Lisa., Boniecki, Kurt., & Walters, Alyssa. Intergroup flexibility and people’s view of African Americans. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 28, 373–398. 2004.

Cesari, Jocelyne. Muslims in the West after 9/11: Religion, Politics and Law. New York: Routledge. 2009.

Curtis IV, Edward. For American Muslims, Everything Did Not Change After 9/11. Religion and Politics. Jul.5, 2012, http://religionandpolitics.org/2012/07/05/for-american-muslims-everything-did-not-change-after-911/.

Morello, Carol. “Muslim Americans say life is more difficult since 9/11,” Washington Post. Aug. 30. 2011.

[1] Carol Morello. “Muslim Americans say life is more difficult since 9/11,” (Washington Post. Aug.30, 2011).

[2] Michele Baqi-Aziz “Where does she think she is?”: On being Muslim, an American, and a

nurse, (American Journal of Nursing, 101, 2001), 11.

[3] Edward Curtis IV. For American Muslims, Everything Did Not Change After 9/11. (Religion and Politics. Jul.5, 2012).

[4] Edward Curtis IV. For American Muslims, Everything Did Not Change After 9/11. (Religion and Politics. Jul.5, 2012).

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Brown, Lisa., Boniecki, Kurt., & Walters, Alyssa. Intergroup flexibility and people’s view of  African Americans. (International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 28,  2004)., 390.

[8] Cesari, Jocelyne. Muslims in the West after 9/11: Religion, Politics and Law. (New York: Routledge, 2009), 4.

[9] Edward Curtis IV. For American Muslims, Everything Did Not Change After 9/11. (Religion and Politics. Jul.5, 2012).

[10] Carol, Morello. “Muslim Americans say life is more difficult since 9/11,” (Washington Post. Aug. 30, 2011).

[11] Brown, Lisa., Boniecki, Kurt., & Walters, Alyssa. Intergroup flexibility and people’s view of

African Americans, (International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 28, 2004), 373.

[12] Edward Curtis IV. For American Muslims, Everything Did Not Change After 9/11. (Religion and Politics. Jul.5, 2012).

[13] Jocelyne Cesari. Muslims in the West after 9/11: Religion, Politics and Law. (New York: Routledge, 2009), 22.