Teaching 9/11 and the War on Terror Beyond the Twentieth Anniversary
A Resource Guide for Teachers and Educators

Perspectives of Muslim and Arab Americans

Context: 

In the aftermath of 9/11, Muslims throughout the United States and the world all reacted with horror to the attacks. Unlike racist assumptions from Americans who thought all Muslims and people from the Muslim world applauded the attack, the reality is that Muslims experienced 9/11 as both an attack against their home country and as a shift in their daily experiences with racial profiling and targeting. Additionally, Middle Eastern countries immediately condemned the attacks, offered support, and held vigils for those who perished.

Essential Questions:

  1. How did Muslims around the world and Arab Americans in the US react to and experience 9/11 and its aftermath? 
  2. How did the US government and the greater US society treat people of Muslim/Arab descent post-9/11?

Primary Sources 

  1. Bush’s “Islam is Peace” Speech:
    1. https://qz.com/1074258/911-video-and-text-of-george-w-bushs-islam-and-peace-speech/
    2. Video and transcript of the 4-minute speech President Bush gave on September 17, 2001, to Muslim and Arab Americans at the Islamic Center of Washington, D.C. The article also includes a short comparison of President Trump’s false claims about Muslims and Arab Americans. 
    3. EQs: 2
  2. Hate Crime Stats: 
    1. https://theconversation.com/explaining-the-rise-in-hate-crimes-against-muslims-in-the-us-80304
      1. This secondary source examines and explains the rise in hate crimes against Muslims and Arabs after 9/11. The article includes charts, graphs, and tweets to engage with multiple text features or to incorporate cross-curricular engagement. 
      2. EQs: 2
    2. https://saalt.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/American-Backlash-report.pdf 
      1. A secondary source from the South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow (SAALT) reports on the backlash and violence against Americans of Asian and Middle Eastern descent. The report provides charts, graphs, photographs, and other data to enhance their report, as well as recommendations for how to move forward. The report also outlines how specific cities around America are working to end the backlash and violence, and does not just focus on America’s biggest cities. 
      2. EQs: 2
  3. Storycorps interviews
    1. https://storycorps.org/stories/remembering-balbir-singh-sodhi-sikh-man-killed-in-post-911-hate-crime/
      1. Two brothers recount the murder of their third brother, who was killed a week after 9/11 because he looked Muslim. A recording and transcript of the story are available. 
      2. EQs: 1 and 2
    2. https://storycorps.org/listening-to-arab-american-voices-in-dearborn-mi-2/
      1. An article outlining two men and the experiences after 9/11 that led them to collect StoryCorps interviews of Muslim and Arab Americans in Dearborn, Michigan. Also includes a link to all of the interviews. 
      2. EQs: 1 and 2
  4. Library of Congress interviews 
    1. https://webarchive.loc.gov/legacy/20011010225024/http://www.arabamerican.com/
      1. A collection by the Library of Congress to archive responses received by the Arab American Journal after 9/11. The collection includes government and religious responses, poems, memorials, 59 messages of support from the greater community, 7 messages of hate, and 7 opinion pieces received. (Note: the messages all include the original email address of the senders. Teachers might want to remove this before working with this primary source in class.) 
      2. EQs: 2
  5. Responses from Iran/Iraq/Afghanistan governments, tribes, other middle eastern countries:
    1. https://www.aljazeera.com/photo_galleries/americas/201182095412113693.html 
      1. Pictures of 18 world leaders, including a short caption/quote on their reactions to 9/11. Many world leaders are pictured with President Bush. 
      2. EQs: 1
    2. https://web.archive.org/web/20101104112451/http://www.time.com/time/europe/photoessays/vigil/index.html
      1. A gallery of photos of how Iranians mourned the 9/11 attacks. Captions include quotes from Iranians, as well as the Iranian president at the time, Mohammad Khatami. 
      2. EQs: 1
    3. https://web.archive.org/web/20021218024208/http://www.crescentlife.com/heal%20the%20world/muslim_reactions_to_sept_11.htm
      1. An article that also provides short quotes from Muslim organizations and individuals around the world condemning the 9/11 attacks. The article also provides context for the quotes, including descriptions of Islamophobia, fanaticism, and extremism. 
      2. EQs: 1 
  6. Islam in America + Hip Hop
    1. https://www.backstoryradio.org/shows/islam-and-the-united-states/ 
      1. A podcast episode that looks at the relationship between America and Islam. The podcast is broken up into eight segments, with topics on 1) Islam and slavery, 2) the influence of Islam on music, 3) the Barbary Wars, 4) the relationship Thomas Jefferson had with Islam, 4) the development of the Moorish Science Temple, 5) the Muslim community in Dearborn, MI, 5) How Islamophobia connects with other spaces of oppression in American society, 6) the connection between Islam and hip-hop. The link above also includes a transcript of each segment, as well as lesson plans and resources to use with this podcast. 
      2. EQs: 1 and 2
  7. Children of War by Deborah Ellis
    1. Stories of children who fled Iraq after the US invasion. This book gives voice to the child refugees who were displaced all around the world. The introduction provides context for students to understand why Iraqi children have been forced to flee, and the book humanizes these childrens’ stories. 
    2. EQs: 2

Sources: 

  • Speech
  • Podcast
  • News Article
  • Interview
  • Quantitative Report