Sixteen years after the September 11, 2011, terror attacks, Muslim, Arab, Middle Eastern, South Asian and Sikh Americans still live with the ramifications of Islamophobia as an ideology, including hate violence, law enforcement infiltration, airport discrimination and scapegoating. The recently launched #MySept11MuslimStory campaign seeks to lift the personal stories of this group on this anniversary and beyond.
#Muslims, share your #MySept11MuslimStory on the experiences you’ve had post 9/11 #September11 pic.twitter.com/NbuUIDvlxD
— Maha Hilal (@Dr_Maha_Hilal) September 11, 2017
Washington D.C.-based scholar and activist Dr. Maha Hilal first announced the #MySept11MuslimStory campaign in tandem with the grassroots D.C. Justice for Muslims Coalition on September 8. The campaign aims to bring these stories of discrimination, violence and hidden pain into the light, and Dr. Hilal’s announcement invited others to share their stories during a Twitter town hall between 2 and 3 p.m. EDT on September 11. Dozens of people responded to that invitation with their own testimonials throughout today. Here are 10 stories that illuminate the impact this American tragedy, filtered through Islamophobic policy and rhetoric, still has on this community.
A neighbor down the street put up banner saying "kill all them rag heads" #MySept11MuslimStory
— فاطمة/Fatema (@fatooms427) September 11, 2017
My thoughts are with my son Ibrahim. Worried he’ll feel singled out at school, or feel shame, for being Muslim. #MySept11MuslimStory
— Ramon Mejía (@MejiaSouth) September 11, 2017
#mysept11muslimstory is being targeted by state for daring to exist in this body at the nexus of blackness, Islam, womanhood & disability
— Azza عزّة Altiraifi (@Azza_Alt) September 11, 2017
as a Muslim prison chaplain l remember innocent Muslims being beaten&brutalized in jail #MySept11MuslimStory
— Imam Mahdi Bray (@MahdiBray) September 11, 2017
#MySept11MuslimStory is watching the twin towers fall replayed on tv at my catholic high school in upstate NY while my peers stared at me.
— Kashfi (@kashfi_teacher) September 11, 2017
#MySept11MuslimStory being impacted by anti-black racism and xenophobia BEFORE 9/11, just more compounded and overt. #BeingBlackAndMuslim
— Asha Noor (@RajooWeyn) September 11, 2017
#MySept11MuslimStory is not being able to fly without a special call being made because my name was similar to one on the Watch List.
— Taz Ahmed (@TazzyStar) September 11, 2017
#MySept11MuslimStory watching how some on the left have fully adopted neocon/right wing War on Terror rhetoric to justify war crimes
— Ramah Kudaimi (@ramahkudaimi) September 11, 2017
#mysept11muslimstory is worrying about my daughter’s safety today because hateful people have threatened Islamic schools.
— Margari Aziza (@Margari_Aziza) September 11, 2017
#MySept11MuslimStory having deal with death threats and getting harassed outside my house and the mosque at age 7
— petty labelle (@damourhaine) September 11, 2017