Horror of the September 11

On September 11, 2001 the hopes of the American Dream were  taken away from many people due to the actions of a certain group, many people come to America with with the hopes of getting the American Dream they have always heard about and been offered bt when they come to America nobody will give them a job, they are discriminated, and they are looked down on because of the actions of radicals in their religion. After the event many people shied away from Muslim people in as whole because they were afraid tat even though only a radical group took it upon themselves, that they were all bad people. Xenophobia is discrimination against and hatred of foreigners, targeting outsiders and strangers or more often those who are in effect part of one's own society but are perceived as incommensurably different from the majority population.(International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences 1). The description of Xenophobia tells what the increase in fear of Muslim people was after the attacks on September 11, 2001. People questioned for a while why this attack was planned and why this group, known as Al Qaeda, decided to attack the nation in such a drastic way. When people began looking back on what else this group has been apart of it was shown that this group was targeted and tried to warn America before, that if we did not do what they wanted us to do something much bigger would be coming our way.  The day of September 11, 2001 was an awful and scary day for just about everyone in the United States of America, the horrific attacks that were committed on the biggest city in this country was not only a surprise but a sign of the beginning of war for our country against the one they are based in. After this day everything changed, not only for Americans but for the different groups that had come to America for the hopes of the American Dream that they cannot now not accomplish. What happened after this day proved that the American Dream is only offered and available for certain groups of people in The United States of America.

    Leading up to September 11, 2001, there was many signs given by Al Qaeda that hinted if we did not start listening to them and their demands, that their was going to be major conflicts. That attack on the towers was not the first attack that had taken place in one of  the buildings. Al Qaeda had attempted to bomb the World Trade Center only a few years before by bombing under the building. They had set up attacks in other locations around the city of New York, but nothing as big as what they would do to the World Trade Center on September 11. America had been in the country of Afghanistan for a couple years, and many of the Afghan people wanted them to leave them alone and get out of their country. Osama Bin Laden, the leader of the Al Qaeda group, spoke out on his beliefs and and dislikes about Americans being in his country, he did not like it one bit and wanted them to leave, he believed the attacks he had planned would finally get the US to leave his country and leave them alone for good. He gathered people who he knew were on his side and recruited people to join his terrorist group, Al Qaeda. The 19 perpetrators were all Arabs, mostly of Yemeni or Saudi Arabian origin, some recruited in Germany. All belonged to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist network. The chief plotter was jihadist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a Kuwaiti who had joined al-Qaeda in Afghanistan in 1996. Al-Qaeda trained the terrorists and financed the operation. Some of the terrorists smuggled box cutters past airport security, using these weapons to overcome the crew and the pilots. Others, trained as pilots, entered the cockpits, shut off the communications systems, and headed for the targets. (9-11 and Its Aftermath Update 1). Osama Bin Laden made sure to train his men so that he could accomplish what he wanted all along, to bring down the United States of America. They targeted one of the biggest cities and one of the main buildings for our military to go. For them this was their way of getting our country out of theres and trying to prove a point that they can take us down, though they were very wrong.

    For many years after the attack on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, Osama Bin Laden denied his involvement and his group involvement in the attacks of September 11, 2001. Al Qaeda was not known as a terrorist group to the world until after the attacks had taken place, even after the attacks and they were suspects it took a very long time for them to come out and admit to what they had done and why. Interrogations were going on in secret in many places around the United States and other countries, but still they could not get Osama Bin Laden or his men to admit to having any parts in the attacks they did in fact commit. It was not until 2006, five years after the heinous attacks on september 11, that Osama Bin Laden admitted to what he and his group had done and he wanted everyone to know h had no regret to it and was proud of what he did.we are free ... and want to regain freedom for our nation. As you undermine our security, we undermine yours (Osama Bin Laden admitting to his crimes). When he spoke those words he was saying when we were undermining them protecting themselves and by being in their country, they were able to undermine our security and our feelings of safety by planning this attack and going through with it. He saw the United States as weak because of him and he wanted everyone to know that he was behind all of because he had now seen the full effects it had on the country in a whole. It was not until another six years later on September 10, 2012 that Osama Bin Laden was found during a raid in Pakistan and shot by a group of Navy Seals.

    The day of September 11, 2001 changed everyone in the United States and all around forever. The morning started off normal and the next thing everyone knew a plane was flown into one of the Twin Towers in New York City. Not even an hour later and second plane ent through the second Twin Tower leaving everyone inside and outside the buildings horrified and questioning what to do now. Throughout the morning firefighters, cops and first responders traveled into the bg city to come and help save as many people as they could from the bulinings that were about to go down. Not two hours after the first plane hit the first tower, the building began to go down, trapping hundreds of people inside and killing many outside. Not long after the second tower came down faster than the first and nobody knew what they were going to do. What nobody knew at this time was that there was two more planes heading for the Pentagon and the White House in Washington,DC. Another plane hit the Pentagon and wrecked only a section of the building, and still sadly, leaving few casualties. The fourth plane set to hit the White House in Washington was taken over by the passengers on the plane, when they found out what the plan was, and instead of crashing into the white house was crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. Although killing all the passengers on the plane, the passengers of that plane saved many more lives from being taken if the terrorists had succeeded and hit the White House. A total of 3,000 people were killed in these attacks, including police officers and firefighters.(9-11 and Its Aftermath Update 1). Many people lost their lives on September 11, 2001 because of the point Osama Bin Laden and his terrorist group, Al Qaeda, was trying to get across to the United States. These attacks not only took the lives of many people but changed everyone's lives all in the United States and many other places.

    The day of September 11, 2001 not only goes down in history for being one of the biggest terrorist attacks ever, but also for being the day that changed the lives of not only Americans but for every Muslim worldwide. The attacks in New York City and the Pentagon left many living in fear and not knowing who they can trust. People began to fear all Muslim people near and around them, afraid that they had direct correlation to the terrorist group that just tore apart the nation. Muslims are now afraid to go out, because of a group of extremists in the same religion. As a result, they know that they are going to face a lot of hate and criticism simply because of the religion they choose to believe in. Xenophobia is discrimination against and hatred of foreigners, targeting outsiders and strangers or more often those who are in effect part of one's own society but are perceived as incommensurably different from the majority population.(International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences 1). Many people after September 11 got the fear of Muslim people, worried that something may happen again that will leave our nation is a heap. With many being afraid of Muslim people and their culture, when Muslim immigrants come to America with the hopes of getting the American Dream that had always heard of and were promised, they are denied it when they get here because many people fear them and what they believe they will do. The American Dream is always offered to people from other countries and when most Muslim people enter America they are discriminated against and because of that are not given jobs and therefore cannot conquer their hopes of the dream they originally came to this country for. The letters arrived in March. Sent anonymously to multiple communities, the letters with words in bold at the top declared that Tuesday, April 3, would become "Punish a Muslim day" in the United Kingdom.

 

Sent to homes, lawmakers and at least one business, the documents detailed a disturbing point-based system that would award attackers for acts of hatred and violence: 10 points for verbally abusing a Muslim; 500 points for "butchering a Muslim using a gun, knife, vehicle or otherwise."('Punish a Muslim Day' generates anger, fear and solidarity in Britain 1). Even though this did not take place in America, this shows that these attacks have caused others to view Muslims in negative ways. This shows that even though Britain was not directly attacked during September 11, they still have had terrorist attacks increase and many of their citizens have a fear and do not know how to handle it. An American writer speaks about his experiences in America and how he has been being attacked by Islamophobes because of the religion he practices. With the increase in attacks towards Muslims since the September 11 attacks, many Muslim people who have always worked in America have now been being targeted for hate crimes.

 I began my work as director of the Arab American Association of New York in the wake  of the horrific attacks of 9/11. As crisis after crisis struck Arab and Muslim communities, from the backlash to the "Ground Zero mosque" to the anti-Muslim hearings held by Rep.  Peter King, R-N.Y., to the rampant surveillance of New York City's Muslim communities, I became more vocal about Islamophobia's terrible impact on my community, city and country. Because of that, I become a target of the Islamophobia industry, a well-funded group of organizations and spokesmen who fuel anti-Muslim sentiment through misleading narratives, propaganda, local policies and the vilification of Muslim activists and public figures.(Islamophobes are attacking me because I'm their worst nightmare 1).

Since the attacks almost seventeen years ago, Muslim Americans have been facing much hate because they are directly associated with groups they do not involve themselves with. This is direct proof that because of the attacks on September 11, Muslim people are treated and given less opportunities than they once were.

    The attacks on September 11, 2001 left America and much of the rest of the world not knowing how to go on. Due to these horrific attacks Muslims who were once offered the American Dream are now not given it. Muslims come to America with the hopes of creating a new life and are not aloud jobs, are discriminated against, and are targeted for hate crimes constantly just because they are directly associated with the extremists in their religion. This shows that though the American Dream is offered to many people it is only offered to certain groups.

Works Cited

1. "Xenophobia." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, edited by William A. Darity, Jr., 2nd ed., vol. 9, Macmillan Reference USA, 2008, pp. 158-161. U.S. History In Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3045303004/UHIC?u=mlin_w_ludlow&sid=UHIC&xid=b26d321a. Accessed 2 May 2018.
2. Sarsour, Linda. "Islamophobes are attacking me because I'm their worst nightmare." Washington Post, 10 July 2017. U.S. History In Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A498249166/UHIC?u=mlin_w_ludlow&sid=UHIC&xid=0f87f4b2. Accessed 2 May 2018.
3. Kaplan, Sarah. "In New York, the deadliest terrorist attack since 9/11 stirs old memories, strengthens resolve." Washington Post, 1 Nov. 2017. U.S. History In Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A512712654/UHIC?u=mlin_w_ludlow&sid=UHIC&xid=a6cd539f. Accessed 2 May 2018.
4. "9-11 Commission Report: Chapter 12." The 9/11 Commission Report, The 9/11 Commission, 2004. U.S. History In Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/BT2359090013/UHIC?u=mlin_w_ludlow&sid=UHIC&xid=8b42934a. Accessed 2 May 2018.
5. "9-11 Commission Report: Chapter 3." The 9/11 Commission Report, The 9/11 Commission, 2004. U.S. History In Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/BT2359090004/UHIC?u=mlin_w_ludlow&sid=UHIC&xid=a2775106. Accessed 2 May 2018.
6. "9-11 and Its Aftermath Update." Gale U.S. History in Context, Gale, 2017. U.S. History In Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/FXSRHG925695278/UHIC?u=mlin_w_ludlow&sid=UHIC&xid=2238e8ba. Accessed 2 May 2018.
7. Hassan, Jennifer. "'Punish a Muslim Day' generates anger, fear and solidarity in Britain." Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2018. U.S. History In Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A533136664/UHIC?u=mlin_w_ludlow&sid=UHIC&xid=f817b130. Accessed 2 May 2018.

 

 

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