Islamic Terrorism & 911 Will history judge the events of September 11, 2001 as acts of unwarranted terrorism, or as the retaliatory acts of Islamic patriots and freedom fighters? There has been much speculation as to the root cause of 9/11. Most Americans, and indeed much of the Western World view that these were unwarranted acts of outright terrorism that justified the “War on Terror” in response. However, to many in the rest of the world, especially those living in predominantly Muslim countries, the events leading up to and including 9/11 were caused by the West, especially the United States. An analysis of the facts by reveals that the events of 9/11 are seen differently because our fundamental collective ways of thinking are vastly different. The truth of the events of 9/11 will only ever be understood properly if we objectively look at the history of both the West and the history of Islam.
Investigation of this conflict reveals two very different thought processes. In Europe and the West, people are viewed in terms of nations or states first. Then subdivided by smaller territories, by language, by religion. In Europe or America, one can speak Farsi, be Persian, but be American or French first. In the mindset of a Muslim living in the Middle East, nationality is subordinate to ones Islamic faith. Though I believe it is even more complicated than that. “Even the concepts of history and identity require redefinition for the Westerner trying to understand the
On September 11th of 2001, more than 3,000 people died during the terrorist attacks. The event changed the lives of not just the people whose loved ones died on that day, but also of those who belonged to the Islamic world. The experience of Muslims who lived in America in 2001 and those who were yet to come here would never be the same again. After 9/11, the number of hate crimes against Muslims in the United States increased and their everyday lives changed forever due to the rise of islamophobia and the vicious influence of the American media.
September 11, 2001 (herein referred to as 9/11) was a day in American history, which will be remembered as the most horrific attack on American soil. This attack, carried out by nineteen Islamic extremists, was associated with al-Qaeda, and involved the hijacking of four airplanes. Two of those airplanes were hijacked and flown directly into the World Trade Center in New York City, New York. The third plane’s target was the Pentagon in Washington D.C., and the fourth plane was brought down in Pennsylvania where it is believed the passengers aboard fought the hijackers. This horrific day in history cost over 3,000 people their lives, and was labeled the worst attack on American soil since the attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II.
After a horrible terroristic attack that shocked the whole world on September 11th in the center of New York City, Muslims in the Western world have been constantly fighting against prejudice. After September 11, media interest in Islam increased, where Islam was usually portrayed in a negative way. Before 9/11, many Muslims lived the normal, everyday life. However, the attack has changed lives of many people that belonged to the Muslim community, where they were the victims of guilt. Unfortunately, many Americans were introduced to Islam, after the 9/11 attack, thus even till today, Islam is associated with terrorism. For the past ten years, Muslims felt excluded from the American society by being rifled, attacked, discriminated, checked
Foreign and domestic policies are not linear, rather the policies are connected in a circle, with each policy reinforcing the values of another. Domestic American terrorism in the prison and detention systems and governmental reforms are influenced by the mobilization and ethnocentrism abroad. The militarization internationally is justified by the domestic handling of the same cultural issues within the United State borders. The United States has strangely used a near Catch-22 to handle dilemmas. The United States has allowed perspective to become reality, whether with oneself or regarding issues abroad, specifically in the Middle East. Terrorism is the use or threat of fear for political or economical gain. An internal characteristic of terrorism is how dependent it is of perspective, one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. To understand “terrorism,” a focus must be applied to the history, what drove an organization to commit such acts. Respectively, the Middle East has been a hotbed for the key word “terrorism,” especially because of 9/11. Subsequently, Muslims have been stigmatized by the United States as terrorists. The consequences spawned because of 9/11 require a look to the past to understand the present.
On September 11, 2001, a series of terrorist attacks were directed for the United States by means of four hijacked planes. Two of which hit the twin towers of the World Trade Center, one hit the Pentagon, the headquarters of the Department of Defense, and the fourth crashed in a field near Pittsburg after it was meant to hit the White House. The terror spread in the United States and brought concern and fear to the citizens. The impact of these terrorist attacks caused serious and detrimental damages within the country, and their result on the people were enormous; insecurity, helplessness, and susceptibility spread. Especially after the release of a videotape in which Osama Bin Laden, head of Al-Qaeda, admitted that he was responsible for the terrorist attacks. Hence, President George W, Bush declared the “war on terror” against all terrorists in the Arab world, specifically Afghanistan and Iraq. In the following paper, we will be discussing how the war on terror was waged, its effects on the target countries, and how it was perceived by political thinkers, where some saw it as a conspiracy theory against the Arab countries, and others believed the USA was the victim.
September 11th, 2001 is a day darkened by tragedy. This day is remembered for one of the biggest terrorist attacks the United States has ever faced on American soil. The 9/11 attacks left many hearts broken and heads spinning about the events that occurred. I personally have been very skeptical about the official version of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. There are a few reasons that made me question what started a war that has become the longest war in American History. This paper will dive into the facts behind the events of this day to uncover the truth behind what occurred that day. Some of the major aspects I will be examining are the hard facts of September 11th, who was responsible for these attacks, the political repercussions,
On September 11, 2001, there was a terrorist attack against the United States. Hijackers flew a jetliner into each of New York’s World Trade Center towers. Simultaneously, a third jetliner crashed into the Pentagon in Virginia. Due to these horrific events, thousands of people were killed. In response to the attacks, the United States declared a “War on Terror.” However, the actions of the U.S. did not come without criticisms from the people of the nation.
September 11, 2001 is a date in history that changed the lives of people from all over the world and especially the lives of Americans. On this day nineteen militant men associated with al-Qaeda, an Islamic extremist group, hijacked four airplanes and carried out multiple suicide attacks on different locations in the United States. Two of the planes directly struck the World Trade Center located in New York City, one of the other two planes hit the Pentagon in Washington D.C., and the final plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania before it could reach its final destination. On this day, more than 3,000 people were killed including over 400 first responding police officers and firefighters. In recent years as people look back on that day it is remembered as a time when the country was joined together by grief and showed an overwhelming amount of comfort and support to the victims and their families; it was also a time of extreme national pride. People also remember that following the attacks the economy suffered tremendously, in addition, air traffic which makes up a portion of the economy was greatly disrupted, both of which created uncertainty about the security of the financial markets critical to the success of the United States. What most people do not remember is the immediate backlash and hostility the Muslim and Arab communities received following the attacks by both civilians and the media. This is a topic that has been largely ignored by the public and media’s
An event such as 9/11 was bound to occur at some point and time, due to the United States’ strained relationship with the Middle East, with roots back to the year 1910. However, it wasn’t until the Gulf War in 1991, when tensions began to run high. The Gulf War began due to an Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, who ordered an invasion of Kuwait. Neighbouring countries were alarmed by the news and immediately asked for Western nations to intervene, fearing Hussein would continue to feed his power hunger and advance to other Arabian countries. Finally after forty two days at war, his troops surrendered. From this moment on, the events leading up to the attack on 9/11 snowballed. This is evidenced by, “After the Gulf War ended in 1991, the United
The September 11th terrorist hijackings and attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon caught the United States largely by surprise. Once the dust had settled, and the shock and horror of such an unprecedented event had waned, the American public began to ask questions. Names such as Osama bin Laden, countries such as Afghanistan, and organizations such as Al-Qaeda were brought into the public's consciousness for the first time. Through newspapers, talkback radio and television programs the nation asked why do they hate us so much?' Others, such as those in the government and public service, asked what could we have done to have prevented this?' It is
The horrific events of that day definitively answered Linenthal’s question, the scale and scope of the 9/11 attacks understandably pushing the 1995 bombing from center stage. The 9/11 attacks, by their very destructiveness, helped to relegate the Oklahoma City bombing to a side exhibit in the national memory—to somewhere in the background of Linenthel’s “landscape of violence.” The 9/11 attacks were larger, far more deadly, and committed by a more faceless, harder-to-comprehend enemy, whether defined as Al Qaeda or more broadly as violent Islamic radicals in general.
The events of 9/11 shocked the nation. One of the most highly acclaimed countries in the world was now lost and extremely vulnerable. The last terrorist attack on American soil had been ages ago dating back to Pearl Harbour in 1945, so far back that most Americans were not even alive to remember the incident. Now our nation was in a state of mourning, a feeling that does not come often. Everyone wondered if this was just the beginning or if it would lead to something more drastic. What was the motive or cause of this event? The answer lies in the past of their leader, Osama Bin Laden. Many critics have claimed that the terrorists in the Middle East just wanted to see us suffer and show that they are superior. Thus, they targeted the most symbolic places in our nation:the World Trade Center, the White House, and the Pentagon. The Terrorist attacks on 9/11, resulting in great devastation, can be traced back to Osama Bin Laden’s home environment, and these circumstances explain Osama Bin Laden and his
September 11th, 2001 was one of the most tragic days in American history. On this day, an Islamic group called al-Qaeda launched numerous attacks on the United States and killed thousands of innocent americans. Although the cause of it all was al-Qaeda, people believe that it was in fact the U.S. government that attacked its own nation. However, evidence from live footage of the attacks show that their claims are indeed false.
Ever since September 11, 2001 Americans along with the majority of the world’s population have been skeptical of Muslims. It’s a sad reality but it’s hard for people to think of a Muslim without linking them directly to terrorism. But these assumptions aren’t totally out of the blue—the Muslim’s religion, Islam, teaches a low tolerance for other religions and the Islamic government has no separation of church and state, so it’s only normal to assume that their government shall have a low tolerance as well—some however, immediately translate this into terrorism. Through the Islamic government and religion, relations with foreign countries, and separation amongst themselves it can be concluded that Islamic Fundamentalism is clearly a threat
In the days after September 11, 2001, American leaders rushed to portray Islam as a peaceful religion that had been "hijacked" by a fanatical band of terrorists. One hopes that these assurances were merely tactical—that nobody was meant to believe them and that they were meant to assure the Muslim world that the inevitable American