Essay On The Effects Of 9/11 On Muslim Americans

The aggressive and hostile public response to native born Muslims after September 11 provides a justification of racism and religious discrimination that Muslim Americans faced. September 11 impacted the public’s attitude toward Muslim immigrants and that is seen through America's actions. Many of the articles and books discussed in this paper elaborate on a theme of Muslim identity and what it means to be an “American Muslim”. In addition, stereotyping and labeling affects one’s standpoint and these experiences feed into the process of popular attitudes toward Muslim Americans. Such issues like hate crimes and discrimination appear because of one’s attitude. The aim of this paper is to address the effects of September 11 on community attitudes

Terrorist attacks against America have continued for years, however, the attacks of 9/11 were essentially different. Such attacks evoked a response and the response has transformed America's attitude. Prejudicial stereotypes play a role in shaping intergroup relations and in influencing public attitudes. Negative treatment of Muslim immigrants in the United States after 9/11 was not caused by the events alone, but by pre-existing social constructions that stigmatized them as people who would readily conduct such attacks. Muslim Americans were symbolically attached to 9/11, causing aggressive and hostile responses. The attacks provided a justification for the hate towards this race. Post 9/11 treatment was not about the attacks themselves, but about the connection of Muslims relationships to the attacks. Information about the type of threat that Muslims were said to pose to society was used as a selection of targets for hate acts and harassments after 9/11. The notion that Muslims posed not only a security threat but also a cultural one aids the explanation for why some experienced discrimination. Many scholars have observed significant shifts in American popular culture and its representations of Muslims since the 9/11 attacks. However, some scholars argue that the new representations are only slightly different than the old ones. It is evident that there is a stigma that remains in place in the American