By Lama
Tawakkol
Reporter
CAIRO,
Egypt -- Ten years ago, the whole world watched in horror – no, shock – as the
twin towers of New York's World Trade Center collapsed to the ground, taking
everyone inside with them.
Simultaneously,
the Pentagon was also hit by an airplane, but did not face the same fate.
I'm not
talking about the obvious ones where families lost their loved ones or people
were forever scarred, both physically and psychologically, by the experience.
I'm talking
about the war that the entire world has declared on Muslims and Arabs after the
Bush administration decreed that the attacks had been conducted by Muslim
"terrorists," the war that resulted in the actual wars in both
Afghanistan and Iraq.
As the
world watched the unapproachable America come to terms with the fact that it
had been attacked on its own grounds, Western governments, especially the
States, decided to take it out on every Muslim and/or Arab in the world,
including Americans.
These
actions that followed were more dangerous than any others because they targeted
innocent human beings, their religion and their dignity.
No true
Muslim or Arab, or any decent human being for that matter, would defend what
happened that day. If the attacks were orchestrated and conducted by extremists,
then there is no reason to punish an entire population or ethnic group for
it.
The global
community has punishments against both racism and discrimination, yet for the
past 10 years, if not more, the words "Muslim" and "Arab"
have become synonymous with "terrorism.”
"Random"
security procedures have targeted Muslims and Arabs in particular and
governments have encouraged negative feelings, resulting in the Islamophobia
phenomenon.
I was only
eight at the time, but I remember stories about American Arabs and Muslims
being mistreated and looked down upon by their fellow citizens because of their
choice of religion or origins.
I know
women were afraid to go out in public veiled and many people were arrested
under the pretext of the Patriot Act, keeping in mind that many of these people
had been born and raised in the United States, if not their parents before
them.
Regular
people were cast away by many of their friends and neighbors because they were
Muslims and Arabs, and apparently had somehow contributed to the bombing of the
towers. It mattered not that these people had possibly been living there their
whole lives.
In the turn
of a day, they had become enemies of the nation – of the globe, in fact.
My words
are not meant to undermine the heaviness of what happened that morning or to
belittle the lives of the people that were dramatically affected by the
attacks.
On the
contrary, I want those people to look around and realize that they are not
going through it alone, that there are other people across the globe whose
lives have been touched as well.
Ten years
have passed, and I am optimistically hoping that the drama of Islamophobia and
the Patriot Act are fading away.
Many people
are speaking against them, and coming to the aid of Muslims and Arabs around
the world. Many have realized that the Arabs and Muslims are all human beings
after all, who know grief and tragedy when they see them and can identify and
sympathize with them.
Some do not
believe it was Osama bin Laden behind the attacks, while others are aware that
regardless, dozens of Muslims died in the attacks on that day, too, including a
woman who was seven months pregnant.
After
paying my condolences to all families and friends of the victims of 9/11, I
want to stress that Muslims and Arabs are neighbors, friends, teachers and
fellow citizens of the world.
Today, they
are just as affected and disturbed as they were 10 years ago. There are many
candles being lit and numerous memorials being held tonight, many of which are
in Arab and Muslims places of the world.
My goal is
to make sure that the world is not once again blinded by prejudice and hatred
as it has been at many points in history. The consequences have been grave
every single time, with the American Civil War, the Holocaust, and the Iraq
War, among others.
It is time to put
those differences aside, open our eyes to the truth and pray for all the lost
souls and victims of 9/11, whatever their ethnicity, their color, their
religion, their beliefs or their sex.
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