Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, September-October 2002, pages 82-84

Islam in America

American Muslims and 9/11: A Community Looks Back…and to the Future

By Riad Z. Abdelkarim, M.D.

As our nation approaches the one-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, American Muslims around the country will join their fellow citizens in pausing and reflecting upon the horrors of that day and its aftermath. While commemorating the event in their mosques, Islamic centers, and schools, America’s estimated six to seven million Muslims also will ponder the aftermath of the attacks on their community—and indeed on the larger issue of Islam in America.

Initial Response

Muslims were shocked, saddened and outraged at the vicious attack on our own soil—and they did not hesitate to voice their unequivocal condemnation.

In fact, American Muslim and Arab-American organizations and leaders were among the first to react in an organized fashion to condemn the terrorist attacks on that very same day, long before it became clear that individuals calling themselves Muslims were involved in the attacks.

On Sept. 11, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest grassroots American Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, distributed a statement which read: “We condemn in the strongest terms possible what are apparently vicious and cowardly acts of terrorism against innocent civilians. We join with all Americans in calling for the swift apprehension and punishment of the perpetrators. No cause could ever be assisted by such immoral acts. All members of the Muslim community are asked to offer whatever help they can to the victims and their families. Muslim medical professionals should go to the scenes of the attacks to offer aid and comfort to the victims.”

CAIR also urged Muslim relief agencies to “offer support in the recovery efforts.” Individual Muslims were asked to donate blood and cash.

Similarly, the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) issued the following unequivocal statement: “We feel that our country, the United States, is under attack. All Americans should stand together to bring the perpetrators to justice. We warn against any generalizations that will only serve to help the criminals and incriminate the innocent. We offer our resources and resolve to help the victims of these intolerable acts, and we pray to God to protect and bless America.”

And, in a Sept. 11 letter to President Bush, American Muslim leaders stated: “American Muslims, who unequivocally condemned today’s terrorist attacks on our nation, call on you to alert fellow citizens to the fact that now is a time for all of us to stand together in the face of this heinous crime.” This letter was signed by the leaders of the American Muslim Alliance, the American Muslim Council, CAIR, MPAC, the Muslim American Society, the Islamic Society of North America, the Islamic Circle of North America, the Muslim Alliance in North America, and American Muslims for Jerusalem.

Despite the unanimous and vocal condemnations by American Muslim and Arab-American groups and leaders nationwide, however, some media pundits were not satisfied. In subsequent weeks and months, numerous unsubstantiated references would appear in newspaper opinion columns and on television talk shows about American Muslims’ “silence” after the terrorist attacks. Such claims were clearly not based on facts, but rather were the products of either outright ignorance—which is inexcusable—or deliberate defamation—which is utterly deplorable.

Backlash

Following the initial hours of shock, grief, and anger—when it became apparent that the suspects in the attacks were Arab Muslims—American Muslims and Arab Americans braced themselves for an anticipated vicious backlash.

For American Muslims and Arab Americans, the tragedy that befell our nation was doubly painful. First, like the rest of the country, we watched in stunned horror as the twin towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacked. Many wondered whether any friends or loved ones were aboard one of the hijacked planes or inside one of the targeted buildings.

Then, when speculation centered on people of Middle Eastern descent as suspects in these terrible acts, Muslims were forced to turn their attention elsewhere as well. A widespread backlash—borne of misguided rage, ignorance and hate—engulfed the American Muslim and Arab-American communities.

Across the country, there were well over 1,000 reported hate incidents and hate crimes, including murders, arson, vandalism, physical and verbal assaults, and telephoned threats. Muslim women wearing hijab were assaulted, and Muslim children were taunted at school. Mosques, Islamic schools, cultural centers, and Muslim- or Arab-owned businesses from New York to Dallas to California were the targets of death threats, bomb scares, vandalism and assault. A Muslim man of Pakistani origin was shot dead in Texas, while an Indian Sikh gas station attendant who may have been mistaken for a Muslim was gunned down in Mesa, Arizona. So widespread was the fear, many Muslim women stayed indoors, and some Muslim parents did not send their children back to school for days after the attacks.

In those early hours and days after the terrorist attacks, Muslims were comforted to hear words of support for their community by federal, state, and local officials. President George W. Bush’s visit to a Washington, DC Islamic center just a few days after the attacks was a welcome departure from the fledgling administration’s previous disinterested stance vis-à-vis the American Muslim community.

Acts of Kindness and Compassion

While there were many documented hate incidents and hate crimes against American Muslims, Arab Americans, South Asians, and others who resembled them (including Mexican Americans and Native Americans), there were also countless acts of compassion, tolerance and friendship. Many of these were not officially documented, but their immeasurable value in boosting the morale of the besieged American Muslim community cannot be overestimated.

These tales truly demonstrated the American spirit of reaching out to those in need. Neighbors volunteered to escort Muslim women to the grocery store. Churches offered their buildings to Muslims for prayer after acts of vandalism and arson. Non-Muslim women symbolically donned the hijab in solidarity with Muslim women. Non-Muslim neighbors of mosques offered to provide security for praying worshippers. Some acts were as simple as a smile to a woman wearing hijab walking on the street.

This overwhelming support was heartwarming and reassuring to a community under siege. Most Americans realize American Muslims and Arab Americans love their country just as much as everybody else and were equally traumatized after the terror attacks.

FBI Interrogations, Detentions, Profiling

After the initial wave of hate crimes, a second manifestation of the backlash ensued. Sadly, this backlash was in part sanctioned and carried out by our government. FBI agents began to interview tens of thousands of American Muslims and Arab Americans around the country. The manner in which many of these interviews were carried out led community leaders and members to feel that they were being treated as suspects.

These interviews did nothing to further the investigation into the Sept. 11 attacks—not a single Arab American or American Muslim was arrested or charged. Non-citizen student visa or green card holders were in some cases detained—and some deported—for minor visa violations. Rather than assisting the investigation, these heavy-handed FBI and INS tactics contributed to the atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust with which Muslims were being viewed. In addition, the interviews had a chilling effect on the community, with many people fearful of speaking out against the subsequent curb on civil liberties or the war in Afghanistan for fear of being labeled “unpatriotic” or “un-American.”

Even more serious than these voluntary interviews have been the detentions of hundreds of individuals—mostly non-citizen Arab or Muslim males—by the FBI and INS without charge, without public hearings, without allowing legal representations, and without even revealing their names. These draconian detentions have been the target of widespread, coordinated efforts by civil liberties and Arab-American and American Muslim advocacy groups.

With “profiling” brazenly being conducted at the federal government level, it is no surprise that such actions have been carried out in other settings as well. Hundreds of cases of passenger profiling at airports have been reported. In addition to several highly publicized cases where Muslim- or Arab-appearing passengers were forcibly removed from planes because of passenger or flight crew “discomfort,” there have been many more subtle incidents where Muslim passengers have been singled out for extra security screenings and in some cases questioning before being allowed to board airplanes. Most recently, several Muslim passengers were forcibly removed from Greyhound buses in two separate instances.

In addition to the blatant examples of profiling, American Muslims and Arab Americans have been subjected to other, more subtle forms of profiling that are not as easy to prove. Muslims seeking to lease apartments, houses, or commercial spaces have reported repeated rejections from landlords. Anecdotal reports indicate that some Arabs and Muslims, laid off during the economic recession, have found difficulty obtaining employment. The long-term impact of this type of profiling is far greater—both in economic and psychological terms—than the transient humiliation and indignation experienced by profiled airline, train, or bus passengers.

The “War on Terrorism”

American Muslims once again found themselves on the defensive when our nation attacked Afghanistan last fall. Generally, American Muslims and Arabs tend to oppose military action in favor of peaceful conflict resolution. In the face of enormous “peer pressure” by an American public that favored war as a means of seeking revenge on al-Qaeda, however, American Muslim and Arab-American organizations buckled and conformed. Fearful of being labeled unpatriotic—or worse, traitorous—most major American Muslim and Arab-American organizations issued statements of qualified support for the war—along with expressions of concern for the safety of innocent Afghan civilians.

The “war on terrorism” was not limited to overseas foes, but was extended to potential “enemies” at home. The USA PATRIOT Act constituted a major assault on civil liberties in our nation. It was clear to American Muslims that our community was the primary target of this legislation, which gave law enforcement agencies unprecedented powers—and conversely stripped away cherished civil liberties for those unfortunate enough to fall within the wide net it cast—under the guise of “preserving national security” in waging the war on terrorism.

Government Assault on Muslim Charities

American Muslims were still reeling from the post-9/11 backlash, the passage of the PATRIOT Act, and the fallout from the war in Afghanistan when the Bush administration further extended the “war on terrorism” to American Muslim charities. In December (which corresponded to the Muslim holy month of Ramadan), the government suddenly shut down three American Muslim charities, including the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF—the nation’s largest Muslim relief group), Global Relief Foundation, and Benevolence International. The charities all were accused of “funding terrorism” and had their assets frozen—without formal charges being issued against anyone and without any proof brought forward to substantiate the government’s claims. Months later, the charities are still closed, but all have filed lawsuits against the government that are currently pending.

In addition to the direct effects of these closures—the sudden halting in humanitarian assistance to such places as Palestine, Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Kashmir—these closures have had tremendously deleterious indirect effects. Many Muslims are now afraid to contribute donations to any Muslim charity, for fear of being targeted by the FBI for questioning and accusations of “support for terrorism.”

Internment Camps for Muslims and Arabs?

Recent comments by a Bush appointee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights have added to the feeling among American Muslims and Arabs that they are being viewed as the “enemy within.” At a recent hearing in Detroit, Commissioner Peter Kirsanow said that “if there’s another terrorist attack and if it’s from a certain ethnic community or certain ethnicities that the terrorists are from, you can forget about civil rights in this country.”

Kirsanow added that another attack could lead to internment camps such as those built to hold Japanese Americans in World War II. “Not too many people will be crying in their beer if there are more detentions, more stops, more profiling,” he said. “There will be a groundswell of public opinion to banish civil rights.” (See story p. 64.)

Looking Forward: Challenge and Opportunity

Indeed, the past year has been a most difficult one for American Muslims. In addition to the various setbacks detailed above, there have been countless attacks against Islam by conservative commentators, right-wing evangelical Christians, and ardent Zionists. Targets have included virtually every major American Muslim leader and organization, as well as the tenets of the Islamic faith itself, the Qur’an (Muslim holy book), and the Prophet Muhammad himself.

Despite these setbacks, however, American Muslims have much to be proud of. More Americans know more about Islam and Muslims than ever before. Major bookstore chains which previously did not reliably stock even a single copy of the Qur’an now have multiple translations for sale, as well as other thoughtful analyses and treatises by such distinguished scholars as Karen Armstrong, John Esposito, and Akbar Ahmed.

The horrors of the Sept. 11 attacks and the subsequent fallout have resulted in a more rapid maturation of the American Muslim community. Prior to the attacks, one common complaint about Muslims (not without basis) was that we tend to be “insular” and “isolated.” Sept. 11 forced American Muslims to emerge from their cocoons of isolation. Finally, Muslims began to reach out to their neighbors and to other faith and ethnic groups. Mosques and Islamic centers around the country began to hold open houses for their non-Muslim neighbors. Muslims have participated in earnest in interfaith gatherings and in town hall meetings with local, state and federal government officials.

On the level of activism and advocacy, American Muslim organizations and leaders have accelerated their involvement and coordination with civil rights groups, and have participated in countless coalitions, panels, and debates. Indeed, American Muslims have stepped forward as the new champions of civil liberties, with other ethnic and civil rights groups looking to them to take the lead in this important struggle.

With respect to Muslim charities, several new humanitarian and relief foundations have formed to fill the voids left by the government-ordered closures of Muslim charities last winter. Essentially, American Muslims are courageously asserting their rights to provide badly needed humanitarian assistance around the world without being intimidated by false accusations and scare tactics.

As for political advocacy, American Muslims have been stung by the realization that their bloc vote for Bush in 2000 did not bring about the anticipated positive effects. Many regret casting their ballot for Bush, while others—particularly community leaders who organized the bloc vote—continue to insist that it was the right decision at the time. In any event, American Muslims have earnestly embarked upon yet another voter-registration drive, now convinced more than ever that they must take it upon themselves to be involved in the process that determines who should represent them. After the trials and tribulations of the past year, even the most skeptical members of the Muslim community have been convinced of the need to register and vote. The upcoming midterm elections will be the next test of nascent American Muslim political clout, with all eyes on the campaign of Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney—a champion of American Muslim causes who has been targeted by pro-Israel forces for defeat.

The next year post-9/11 will undoubtedly be a challenging one for the American Muslim community—perhaps even more challenging than this first year. With challenge, however, comes opportunity. Nobody really knows what President Bush and Company have planned for the next phase of this “war.” One thing is for certain, however: America’s seven-million-strong Muslim community—and its leadership—must be ready for any eventuality.

Indeed, along with the millions of other Americans who fear for our country’s future, we must be ready to wage a full-scale struggle—a jihad, if you will—for the soul of our nation.

Riad Z. Abdelkarim, M.D. is Western Region communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).