2024 marks the 23rd anniversary of the September 11 attack, yet Islamophobia still seems to be an ongoing issue….

To start with, what exactly is Islamophobia? According to Georgetown University, Islamophobia is an intense dislike and fear of Islam and Muslims that frequently results in hate speech, hate crimes, and social and political discrimination. Many factors can influence how Muslims and Western communities interact and how respectfully they treat each other. The differences may influence one person’s opinions toward another in their cultures, religions, and political beliefs. Islam and its politics, culture, and beliefs are believed to be the key things frequently blamed for inciting fear. 

On September 11, hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers in New York, the Pentagon, and into an open field in Pennsylvania by the terrorist group al-Qaeda. As a result, nearly 3,000 people were killed. Following the attacks, Muslims in the United States entered an era of fear and terror where they became clear targets of anger and racism. FBI statistics demonstrated that since 9/11, hate crimes against Muslims drastically increased over the years following the terrible terrorist attack.  

There are approximately 1.8 billion Muslims thought to be practicing their faith worldwide, with 3.45 million of them in the United States alone- a figure consisting mainly of South Asians, Arabs, and African Americans. Some ways that people in America would show their fear and hate towards Muslims was by hurting, mistreating, vandalizing mosques, giving death threats, and being downright racist. Because of these acts, many Muslims worldwide are afraid that people will cause harm to them and their families for their religious faith. 

So, how exactly can we deal with Islamophobia? A helpful way to combat Islamophobia is to confront hate speech and look out for those who it was said about. Countering hate speech is an important part in ensuring that the dignity of each person is respected. Educating other people around you is also an effective way to prevent Islamophobia, because knowledge is power. Educating yourself and others is beneficial all throughout our society to combat not only Islamophobia, but racism, Antisemitism, xenophobia, and sexism.

Muslims weren’t the first to face discrimination and unfortunately they won’t be the last either. We can all do better, to be tolerant of our differences. We must not generalize and stereotype people, because their beliefs are different.