US Muslims expand political presence 25 years after 9/11 — The National
In the United States, Muslim and Arab communities are increasingly asserting their rights and expanding their political presence 25 years after the September 11, 2001 attacks, despite persistent prejudice and the consequences of increased government surveillance. This was reported by The National.
Syrian-American comedian Zaid Fouzi said that one of his earliest childhood memories was a confrontation during a family picnic in Ohio a year after the attacks. A stranger accused his mother, who wears a hijab, of being involved in the events of September 11. Fouzi said that the experience of living after 9/11 made him especially protective of his identity.
Prejudice after 9/11
According to the FBI, the number of hate crimes against Muslims rose sharply immediately after the attacks. One of the first victims of such violence was American Sikh Balbir Singh Sodhi, who was shot near his gas station in Arizona several days after the attacks.
Youssef Chouhoud, an associate professor at Christopher Newport University who researches Muslim Americans, noted that young Muslims were often forced to explain their faith to others and defend their identity. In his view, this shaped a generation that is more self-aware and more confident in engaging in politics.
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A Pew Research Center survey conducted in May showed that 43% of adult Americans consider Muslims less patriotic than other US citizens, while 42% said Muslim Americans have a negative influence on the country. Last month, far-right activist Jake Lang held an event in Dearborn, Michigan, called the “Christian Crusade,” whose participants spread claims about the “great replacement” of Christians and the threat of the spread of Sharia law.
Surveillance and political participation
Forty-five days after the attacks, the US Congress passed the Patriot Act, which significantly expanded the authorities’ powers for surveillance and investigations in terrorism and national security cases. Although several key provisions of the law expired in March 2020, human rights groups believe that its consequences for Muslim Americans have persisted.
Sumaya Waheed of the civil rights organization Muslim Advocates said that the Patriot Act and the creation of the US Department of Homeland Security established mechanisms that were later used more broadly, including during the authorities’ response to protests against Israel’s war in Gaza. According to the publication, Donald Trump’s administration used immigration authorities to detain students, including Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil and Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk. Khalil was detained over his participation in campus protests, while Öztürk was detained after co-authoring an op-ed about the university’s ties to Israel. The administration said it was acting against antisemitism and activities it considered support for Hamas; human rights groups called the detentions a violation of freedom of speech.
Abed Ayoub, former executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, believes that the post-9/11 experience strengthened the civic and political activity of Arab and Muslim Americans. As examples, he cited the election of Abdullah Hammoud as mayor of Dearborn in 2021, Rashida Tlaib to the House of Representatives in 2018, and Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City.
