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Life For Arab And Muslim Americans A Decade After 9/11
Ten years after 9/11 life hasn’t change much for Arab and Muslim Americans. Many of them have faced an increasing number of security checks, harassment and verbal abuse. KUOW’s Mustafa Zaki spoke with some Arab and Muslim leaders in the Seattle area and has this report.
American Arabs and Muslims have experienced a lot of changes since the tragic events of September 11. Arab and Muslim American communities have faced increases in hate crimes and discrimination.
Rita Zaweidah is the co–founder of the Arab American Community Coalition of Washington State. Her organization focuses on Arab and Muslim Americans’ civil rights. Zaweidah says their 24–hour hotline still receives phone calls from Arabs and Muslims who often face discrimination.
Zaweidah: “People assume that racial discrimination doesn’t exist any longer and it does. We’re seeing it at airports when people go, we’re seeing it when people apply for jobs, for housing situations, we’re seeing it. There are things that are happening pretty much on a regular daily basis to be honest with you.”
Zaweidah says Arab and Muslim Americans continue to feel targeted by negative portrayals in the media.
Zaweidah: “When somebody is picked up or arrested or they’ve done something, they don’t just mention that it is a male that was picked up. It’s a Muslim male. You never see them saying a Christen male or an Irish male or an English male or female or whatever else. But for some reason when it’s anything regarding the Middle East, the religion is the first word somewhere in that sentence.”
Zaweidah wants the media to do more to protect the civil liberties and rights of American Muslims and Arabs.
Arsalan Bukhari is the executive director of the Council on American–Islamic Relations Washington state chapter. He says the number of hate crimes directed against Arab Americans and Muslims is on the rise.
Bukhari: “There is a sharp spark in hate crimes; in the last year we’ve seen 10 hate crimes happen in the Northwest. Ten hate crimes have been reported to us or to the FBI, and that includes stabbings, beatings, arsons, graffiti and many more things.”
Bukhari points out that most Muslim and Arab Americans were relieved by Osama bin Laden’s death because they have suffered as a result of bin Laden’s actions. But there have been some positive things that have happened since 9/11.
Adnan Bakkar: “Before 9/11 we were not really known to the community.”
Adnan Bakkar is a trustee at Idris Mosque in Northgate, Seattle. He says after 9/11 people in the local community became more interested in his religion.
Bakkar: “They want to know what is Islam about. We start to have tours into the mosque and they start to ask the mosque for speakers into the churches and start to know what Islam is about.”
Bakkar says he continues to educate the local community about Islam. He wants people to understand that anyone who attacks or kills people in the name of Islam doesn’t represent the Arab and Muslim communities.
He dreams of the day that September 11 will no longer be tied to Muslims, but instead tied to a day in which all Americans of all backgrounds banded together to get through a tragedy.
Mustafa Zaki
KUOW