Much has changed since the 9/11 terror attacks 25 years ago. Almost 3,000 people died that day making it the deadliest terrorist attack in history. Each one of those people had family members—parents, children, siblings. Each life lost that day undoubtedly rippled out into waves of grief, anger and confusion, changing innumerable lives.
But the country changed as well. Surveillance measures were heightened and Islamophobia surged. Four days after the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, Balbir Singh Sodhi was murdered while working at the Chevron gas station he owned in Mesa, Arizona. When the murderer was arrested, he reportedly told police that he was seeking revenge for the 9/11 attacks, which were carried out by Muslim extremist group al Qaeda.
Singh was not Muslim. As a devout Sikh man, Singh kept a beard and wore a turban. To an angry white American with little knowledge of Islam or Sikhism, Singh appeared similar to Osama bin Laden and other terrorists whose pictures were published in news reports following the attacks. In addition to confusing the appearance of Islam with the appearance of Sikhism, the murderer also made a broad assumption about all Muslims being terrorists. In this case, and many more like it, ignorance about religion contributed to dangerous stereotypes.
Islamophobia and other types of religious intolerance are largely the result of religious illiteracy and disinformation. After 9/11, news media outlets labeled Islam a virus and utilized other harmful metaphors. The Times of London even ran the headline “Of Monsters and Muslims.” In the years following the 9/11 attacks, a poll found that 63 percent of non-Muslim Americans said they were fearful of Muslims, while 94 percent believed that Muslim terrorists lived in the U.S. While Muslims and other religious minorities have become more respected in the United States, religious discrimination and xenophobia persist. Communities in Albuquerque recently tried to block construction of a new mosque. The Department of Homeland Security faced backlash this week for posting an image depicting an Indian man with the caption, "Get off our roads, you don't know how to drive Mr. Singh."
As climate change, war, and economic issues continue to fuel mass migration movements, Americans of all races, ethnicities and religions will undoubtedly continue to integrate with diaspora communities from around the world.
It is important to remember and mourn each life lost on September 11, 2001. It is just as important to remember the collective mistakes our society made in the following weeks, months and years.
