09/11/2024
Today marks the 23-year anniversary of my country's descent into extremist Islamophobia.
When we say "never forget" -- I will always remember that as someone who considers himself rather clever and politically aware, I bought into the anti-Muslim racism blindly.
I remember feeling sad and hurt as a gay man thinking "Why do these people halfway around the world want me dead? They don't even know me! I bet if they knew me, they'd think I'm a good person."
I DIDN'T SEE THE IRONY. Here I was, happy to hear that we were bombing places I had never heard of.... of PEOPLE I had never met. And I was glad that "Well at least we're doing something!"
I didn't know these people. If I had known them, I would probably have thought "Well this person was nice! I like them!"
Having studied the Holocaust in middle school and seeing what happens when a government propagandizes racism, I was shocked to finally realize that I bought into it every bit as much as the world did back in World War II.
I still have so much unlearning to do. We all do.
I'm sure we've all spent a good long while "never forget"ting September 11th. On this day, I would encourage us all to reflect on the experiences of Muslims in America and what they had to endure not only in the wake of 9/11 but pretty much their entire lives.
See the original post I shared below and the link to the article dispelling the anti-Muslim propaganda we all fell for.
If you have any first-hand experiences to share of what you have gone through as a Muslim or a person of color assumed to be Muslim, I welcome you to share your stories in the comments below.
There are nearly 2 billion Muslims in the world, and the religious group continues to grow rapidly. Yet Islam continues to be largely misunderstood by many, which has given way to Islamophobia and even violence against Muslims.
