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Key points
- Being a Muslim American is not a contradiction in terms.
- Rather, it is a set of identities that can at times conflict with each other.
- Many Muslim Americans have faced discrimination since 9/11, which can pose a psychological burden.
- Embracing both identities and being forthright about Islam's complex history could help them navigate this.
Monday, September 11, 2023, marked the 22nd anniversary of the egregious 9/11 attacks. This event changed the experiences of Muslim Americans and placed them into a psychological predicament to reconcile being Muslim with being American.
As a result of 9/11, approximately 432,000 civilians were victims of the global war on terror and many Muslim Americans were placed under surveillance and profiling. Today, hate crimes against communities of color are rising.
Being a Muslim American is not a contradiction in terms. Rather, it is a set of identities that can, at times, conflict with one another.
Hence, I argue that Muslim Americans have the prerogative to teach and educate others about the complicated history of political Islam. Although it is not fair that, in the eyes of some, Muslims are presumed guilty until proven innocent, I believe that the political realities of the world demand that Muslim Americans engage in a campaign to educate others about the true nature of Islam.
I have studied Islam at the University of Miami and attained a bachelor’s degree in Islamic studies. I was fortunate enough to study under the tutelage of Dr. Nebil Husayn, who is a world-class expert on Islam. Dr. Husayn earned his master's degree from Harvard University and Ph.D. from Princeton University, both in Islamic studies. I served as a teaching assistant in the courses of Dr. Husayn in which we taught students about political Islam in the contemporary world. Many of the students were confused about the complicated history of contemporary Islam.
In a class entitled “Islam and the United States: The Politics of Race, Media, and Terrorism,” Dr. Husayn discussed Muslim Americans after 9/11. Muslim Americans have historically been challenged to integrate into American society. In Muslims in America: A Short History, Edward Curtis outlined how Muslim Americans have responded to various forms of discrimination by forming political organizations and advocation agencies, all of which demonstrate how Muslim Americans are part and parcel of the overall fabric of American society.
Dr. Husayn is also an expert on Islamophobia and racism. Islamophobia and racism are both forms of xenophobia—fearing the other—based on external attributes. In the case of Islamophobia, it is the fear of Muslims as a geopolitical force; in the case of racism, it is the fear of people of color. Just as many people of color in this country struggle to navigate racism in daily interactions, some Muslim Americans are subjected to the same bias, prejudice, and discrimination due to Islamophobic attitudes and behaviors.
In my own experience, I was once profiled on a Delta Airlines flight. I went to the bathroom and spent a longer time. When I returned to my seat, the flight attendant told me, in a nervous manner, that the entire airline crew was afraid of me because of my Islamic first name: Abdulrahman. Because I had been studying Islamophobia, I was cognizant of and resistant to his racial profiling. Later, the airline apologized for the inconvenience.
Many Muslim Americans have faced similar discrimination in the years since 9/11. This constant pressure can lead to psychological discomfort. As a result, some Muslim Americans decide to disassociate from their Muslim identities, changing their names and anything that may convey an Islamic identity. Others may go to the other extreme and strongly project Muslim identities to protest against the discrimination of society. In both cases, it is an extreme reaction to an unjust situation.
Muslim Americans, to this day, must navigate the social and psychological aftermath of 9/11. To do so effectively, I argue, they will have to embrace and reconcile the challenges of being both Muslim and American, without rejecting wholesale the differences between the two.
Islam, like most religions, is capable of inspiring both the beautiful and the ugly in its followers. Acknowledging this sometimes painful history, and making an effort to highlight the beautiful parts and condemn the ugly, can help Muslim Americans find a balance between their two often competing identities.
