9/11 backlash declining, students say

It has been more than two years since the terrorist attacks of
Sept. 11, 2001, and the harassment of Muslim Americans that
accompanied the disaster, but Muslim students at UCLA say they are
no longer experiencing noticeable backlash from the attack.

“I honestly did not experience any changes. It might have
been due to my surroundings, since everybody knows me pretty well,
but there was no change for me,” said Alia Khan, a third-year
political science student.

In fact, some say the attacks may have had a reverse effect,
increasing awareness and interest in the Islamic religion, a major
theme of this week’s events aimed at promoting Islamic
culture.

“My friends started asking me questions about Islam after
Sept. 11. They felt more open about it, and even though I was
afraid they would judge based on the events, it didn’t
happen,” said Hanna Siddiqui, a second-year chemistry
student.

For many Muslim Americans, the weeks after Sept. 11 greatly
changed the way they were perceived, with nationwide reports of
hate crimes against Muslim Americans or those who appeared to be
Muslim.

Mariam Jukaku, Muslim Student Association president, said though
she was worried about the possible backlash Muslim Americans would
experience after Sept. 11, there has been no substantive negative
reaction on campus.

“There was a lot of support in my community and now I feel
like people are more curious about the religion now,” Jukaku
said.

With the attack two years in the past, Jukaku believes there
have definitely been changes for the better in the way Muslim
Americans are treated.

“Muslim Americans are becoming full members of society
““ they do community service, get involved in the political
system. After all, this country is based on taking the good from
different cultures and people and making a change,” Jukaku
said.

Attacks against Muslim Americans have been steadily declining in
the last two years and violent attacks against Muslim Americans
have virtually disappeared, said Laila Al-Qatami, a spokeswoman at
the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

After the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, many Muslims predicted a
potentially violent backlash against Muslim Americans.

“When I saw the attack on the television screen, I knew it
was a life-changing event. It was just too much,” said Robina
Khan, a fifth-year psychology student.

Some students, like Khan, still feel some of the negative
backlash associated with Sept. 11, 2001.

There have been less than a handful of isolated incidents of
hate crimes directed at Muslims on campus since the attacks. In
April 2003, Muslim prayer rugs in the UCLA Medical Center chapel
were found soaked in a liquid suspected to be pork blood.

Kahn said people have looked at her differently since the
terrorist attacks and she recently experienced anti-Muslim
harassment.

“I was driving on the 405 Freeway a couple of days after
the second anniversary of the attack, and this car next to me was
inching closer and closer, with the driver and passenger trying to
look into my window. I looked over, and the guy blatantly told me
to go back to where I came from,” Khan said.

“It made me feel very insecure and
uncomfortable.”

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