Islam in America: The Negative Effects of September 11th on the Muslim Faith
Islam, currently the largest non-Christian religion in the United States, has carried a negative perception by American society since the September 11th attacks, when the radical militant Muslim group al-Qaeda took the nation by surprise. Since these attacks, the Muslims have been victims of discrimination, racial profiling, and hate crimes. It is important to note that much of this seems to sprout from the common misconception of the Islamic faith. It is due to this that it is imperative to explore not only a brief background on the religion and beliefs of the Muslims, but also look at some of the negative effects that September 11th has had on these people.
In order to understand the Islamic faith, one must begin by looking at the religion’s origin. For starters, Islam is a monotheistic faith that was founded in 610 by Muhammad ibn Abdullah, most commonly known as, “The Prophet Muhammad.” He left his birth city of Mecca and established himself on a cave in Mount Hira. It is there, where Mohammad was called to be a Prophet of God and was able to receive revelations from God – “Allah.” For the following twenty-two years until his death, Mohammad received these oral revelations. These revelations were later written down by scribes and are now formally known as the Koran – Qur’an.
The beliefs and practices of the Islamic faith are also essential to understanding the Muslim religion. The most important beliefs and practices are those discussed in the Muslim holy book – The Koran. The Koran, “Muslims believe…is the final, complete, literal, eternal, uncreated word of God, sent from heaven to the Prophet Muhammad as a guide for humankind (Koran 2:185)” (Riggs 358). It is important to understand that because Muslims believe this to be God’s literal word, the Koran has never been changed or altered by humans so that it remains truer in its form. This ‘guide for humankind’ sets the foundation for what Muslims should follow in order to live a life as true believers after submitting to Allah. One of the most commonly known sets of guidelines is The Five Pillars, which set the basic standard for all Muslims. The first pillar is the Testimony of Faith, which states that, “A Muslim is one who bears witness, who testifies that ‘There is no god but God [Allah] and Muhammad is the messenger of God’” (Riggs 361). Proclaiming this statement is the first step into becoming a Muslim. One must first profess and truly believe that there is but one God and that He revealed himself to Muhammad – His messenger to the people of the world. The second pillar is Prayer. Muslims pray five times a day and “Prayer is preceded by a series of ablutions, which symbolize the purity of mind and body required for worshipping God” (Riggs 361). As it is noted here, ‘purity’ is essential to the worshipping of God and prayer serves as the first step into trying to achieve this sense of pureness. Also, it is this idea of remaining pure that influences the dress of Muslims. They use very modest dressing to avoid any desire of the body which will corrupt their purity. The third pillar is Fasting. During the month of Ramadan, seen as the month when God first revealed himself to Muhammad, Muslims must refrain from eating, drinking, or taking part in any form of sexual activity from dusk to dawn. “The primary emphasis of fasting is not simply on abstinence and self-mortification but, rather, on spiritual self-discipline, reflection on human frailty and dependence on God, and performance of good works in response to the less fortunate” (Riggs 362). As it is noted here, fasting isn’t done as any form of penance but, rather, as a form of cleansing of the individual based on the reflection of one’s dependence on God. The fourth pillar, also seen as a social responsibility and religious obligation, is Almsgiving. This pillar refers to the caring of those in need by others, as Muslims are required to give back two-and-a-half percent of their wealth to the poor and the sick. The fifth pillar, also known as the Hijad, is the pilgrimage to Mecca that, “[e]very adult Muslim who is physically and financially able is required to make…becoming a person totally at God’s service at least once in his or her lifetime” (Riggs 363). Here, this last pillar can be seen as an obligation as it is being described to as something that is ‘required’ from the believer.
Lastly, now that one has a general understanding of what the Islamic faith entails, a closer look at how September 11th impacted the Muslim community in America is imperative. The majority of the public accepts the belief that al-Qaeda, led by Osama Bin Laden, was the brains behind the horrific attacks of September 11th. Al-Qaeda, a Muslim extremist’s sect, besmirched the perception that the American society had on the Muslims in the United States. It was because of this that Islam was viewed as a violent religion and American’s feared anything that was associated with Islam. A CBS News/New York Times poll found that “Thirty-three percent [of Americans] believe American Muslims are sympathetic toward terrorists” (Carty). The belief that Muslim Americans were supporting the terrorist cause of al-Qaeda is for the most part, wrong. The majority of Muslims in America rejected the ideas of the terrorists and they immediately condemned their actions. Deen Mohammad, a well-known Muslim leader, stated, “We believe that the one God calls us to be peoples of peace. Nothing in our Holy Scriptures, nothing in our understanding of God’s revelation, nothing that is Christian or Islamic justifies terrorist attacks and disruption of millions of lives” (Nimer 77). This statement not only proves the majority Muslim condemnation of the terrorist attacks, but also, touches on how the Islamic faith itself does not believe in such violent actions, as they are not supported by the holy scriptures of the Koran. This in fact, is stressed more clearly in the Koran itself, “[a] Muslim’s obligation to be God’s servant and to spread his message…” (Riggs 359) Like many other religions, it is important for the believers to not only adhere to God, but to also keep the faith alive and spread it out to other people. However, aside from this obligation, “[t]he Koran [also] stresses religious tolerance, teaching that God deliberately created a world of diversity…” (Riggs 374) One can draw from this that the extremist Muslim groups who do not accept other religions can be seen as not adhering to the Koran, and therefore, not following the guidance’s set forth by Allah. Most importantly, the “Koran stresses that ‘there is to be no compulsion in religion’ (2:256)” (Riggs 374). From this, one can say that the use of force by extremist groups to try and create a perfect Islamic world is again not the correct following of the Koran or Muslim law. It can be safe to say that for the majority of Muslims, terrorist attacks, which are obvious uses of force, are not accepted in the Islamic faith, as they are discouraged by the Koran. In a “Washington Post-ABC News poll, 31 percent of respondents said that mainstream Islam “encourages violence” (Morello). After what has just been discussed, one can say that such beliefs are incorrect and the Islamic faith should not be seen as one of violence, but rather one that is accepting of other religions. Also, it is important to note that Islam rejects the use of force for conversions, as submission to the Islamic faith is strictly voluntary.
Trying to cope with the losses of the September 11th attacks, the American public found it hard to understand how such tragic events could have happened. In the midst of it all, a sense of pride and nationalism arose in Americans, but it brought about a resentment and hatred for those of the Muslim faith, as terrorism was being generalized as being Muslim. This in turn, brought about a surge of discrimination, racial profiling, and hate crimes against Muslims in the United States. It is because of all this, that “[i]n the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks, American Muslims have had a complicated relationship with their own country” (Carty). It isn’t difficult to imagine how hard it must be for an American Muslim to live in their home country and come to terms with the idea that their religion is not only being looked down upon, but also makes them sole targets for injustice. As an American Muslim noted, "‘Yes, it's easy to be a Muslim in America as far as religious freedom, but there's a sense of being under greater scrutiny’" (Carty). Like it was mentioned earlier, these attacks brought a negative focus to the Muslim groups in the United States. Muslims were now being singled out in the most common places and were being damned terrorists. This was done especially in airports, where Muslims were being racially profiled, in fear that they could potentially be the next suicide bombers. On average, “Americans largely agree that Muslims face greater scrutiny in the country - a recent CBS News/New York Times poll found that 78 percent think Muslims and Arab-Americans are unfairly singled out” (Carty). This data goes on to stress the idea that Muslims were believed to be unfairly targeted in American society, as an astonishing 78 percent of Americans agreed on the issue. The fact that the majority of the American public acknowledges this unfair treatment of Muslims in this country goes to show how much of a large scale issue this has become. Yet, although American’s have accepted that there is an issue in the negative perception of Muslims, “A significant number of Americans [still] remain wary of Muslims” (Morello). “Just last month [October 2011], the Associated Press reported that the NYPD, with the help of the CIA, has been aggressively monitoring Muslim communities in New York and beyond” (Carty). This here is a perfect example of how the American society and government still are suspicious of the Islamic faith today, even a decade after the September 11th attacks.
It is evident that the negative effects of these terrorist attacks have taken a long and strong hold of the American society. It is no wonder that “[A] large portion of American Muslims feel that Muslims are unwelcomed in the public sphere” (Martin 44). The first step in reversing such hostile attitudes towards this peaceful faith is by educating the public about the religion itself. Until then, Muslims will continue to face unfair treatment by the American society in the United States.
Works Cited
Carty, Daniel. ""Mixed Bag" for U.S. Muslims since 9/11." CBSNews. N.p., 10 Sept. 2011. Web. 9 Oct. 2011.
Martin, Richard C., ed. "American Culture and Islam." Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World. Vol. 1. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2004. 41-45. Print.
Morello, Carol. "Muslim Americans Say Life Is More Difficult Since 9/11." The Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines. N.p., 29 Aug. 2011. Web. 10 Oct. 2011.
Nimer, Mohamed. The North American Muslim Resource Guide: Muslim Community Life in the United States and Canada. New York: Routledge, 2002. 46+. Print.
Riggs, Thomas, ed. "Islam." Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices. Vol. 1. Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2006. 349-79. Print.
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