Farah Pandith on the success and sorrow of American Muslims

By Farah Pandith, NSI Advisory Board member

Many people feared that American Muslims would suffer from a fierce backlash after the attacks of September 11th. The worries were justified. Prejudice against American Muslims had occurred at the time of the Iran hostage crisis in 1979, when television screens were filled with images of American flags being burned and chants of “Death to America” by people with brown skin, robes and turbans. After the release of “Satanic Verses” by Salman Rushdie in 1988, Islam was again portrayed as barbaric: a “fatwa” was declared by clerics, who called for the author’s death for having insulted Islam.

The American media’s message was that Muslims were savages, rejected American values and wanted them dead. In the minds of many non-Muslim Americans, Islam was strange and dangerous, practised by people who looked different and prayed in an odd way. For American Muslims it was a period of fear, bigotry and name-calling.

This was the foundation of most Americans’ perception of Islam leading up to 9/11. Yet immediately after the attacks, there was a concerted, bipartisan political effort to ensure that American Muslims, who make up 1% of the population, were seen as a respected part of America. And looking at the past 20 years, one could argue it has been a success. American Muslims today have several high-profile elected leaders at national and local levels. They serve on school boards, work in the military, police and fire departments, and are a part of public service as diplomats and government officials.

This article was originally published in The Economist on September 10, 2021 by NSI Advisory Board member Farah Pandith. Read the full article here.