Loss still lingers in the minds of many Americans after the terrorist attack ten years ago on September 11.
“That tragic day was not just a loss for many Americans, but it was a loss for the Muslim population here in America as well,” Jasir Soomro, president of the Muslim Student Association, said. “Most people don’t know that 300 Muslims also died when the towers collapsed, leaving many Muslims very sad as well.”
Shamms Khalil, 18, chemistry major, remembers 9/11 starting with spontaneous chaos that erupted from her teachers.
“As soon as I found out, I automatically became filled with fear,” Khalil said.
“The feeling of chills rolling up and down my spine would not leave and I just began to cry,”she said.
Khalil, as well as many Muslim-Americans, said that 9/11 marked the beginning of a new era of hatred towards Muslims.
Khalil also said that the whole Islamic religion was going to get blamed for it.
Also growing up as a Muslim-American, Sooria Hakimi, 20, nursing major, delt with ignorance from peers throughout her middle school.
“My classmates would all make jokes about me being a terrorist or related to Osama bin Laden,” Hakimi said. “It took me a while to be proud of who I am and where I came from.”
Soomro said that the fact of the matter is that Americans are still not knowledgeable about Muslims, so when Fox News reports, ‘Muslims are bringing their laws into America,’ many of them will believe it.
However, he said that is as much of a blatant lie as Muslims are not doing their job well.
“Muslims are encouraged to explain what Islam really is,” Soomro said.
“I do as much as I can to educate Americans around me that Muslims do not encourage violence, it is written in the Quran that, ‘If you kill one life, it is as if you have killed all of humanity,’” Soomro said.
With the current war, the military needed many troops who were willing to fight for their nation. Some of those troops were family and friends of students.
Samantha Titos, 20, microcomputers operation major, said that after the terrorist attack, many of her friends and a lot of her family joined the military.
“It has affected me a lot that they were going off to war,” Tito said. “I will never forget about 9/11.”
However, Tito manages to stay positive in life and refuses to lose faith in the system.
“I am a very spiritual person and I feel that I am at peace, I don’t want to give our enemies the opportunity to feel that by distracting us that they have won,” Tito said.
Also Michelle Levert, 20, music major, believes no one should be overly negative about things.
“It’s a matter of getting on with life,” Levert said. “I think we will be OK.”
Greg Scott, mathematics professor, recalled his time in the military on that day, starting out with his history in the ROTC.
Along with his scholastic achievements, he was able to enlist as an officer. He came close to seeing battle, and still remembers how well he was trained.
“I feel our nation need not worry about our security, as we’ll be able to withstand any further acts of terrorism, as long as we continue at a peace-keeping mission,” Scott said.
With new guidelines the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) still manages to disappoint many Muslim-Americans when traveling.
“I am always disappointed when I travel to New York to see my family,” Hakimi said. “The TSA have given me ‘random’ searches multiple times.”
Soomro said the United States should do everything it can to keep the citizens safe and secure; but to continue the war on terrorism to the level it has been at from the Bush Era to the Obama Administration is excessive, he added.
“At the airport I make sure to wear my ‘I must be popular, I get stopped at airports’ t-shirt. It always gives the TSA a good laugh,” Soomro said.
