American Muslims reflect on impact of 9/11

Local Muslims believe they have "turned a page" in the decade following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Before Sept. 11, 2001, Prospect Park Mayor Mohamed Khairullah said Arab-Americans were far less visible in the borough, but the tragedy of that day compelled many into the greater community.

"I believe it was a turning point for the American-Muslim community," Khairullah said. "Many people had to come out of their closed environment and integrate more with society."

Today, he said, more Arab-Americans volunteer in the local fire department and make a positive contribution to the borough.

Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, Muslims throughout the United States have faced challenges and discrimination resulting from the association of radicalized Islamic sects with mainstream Muslims living in America, according to Salaheddin Mustafa, the head of the state chapter of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

Mustafa said American Muslims have sought to overcome this stigma by fostering relationships with media, law enforcement, and local and state officials and, as a result, have developed a national identity.

"I think [the events of Sept. 11] served to identify us as one people," Mustafa said. "It didn't matter if you were an African-American Muslim or an Indonesian Muslim. You were an American Muslim."

According to Dr. Aref Assaf, president of the American Arab Forum, American Muslims – as opposed to the "imported" hijackers – in many cases sacrificed everything they had to become United States citizens. Assaf, a Palestinian, said he gave up everything so that he and his family could move to the United States.

Despite the "racial profiling, the denial of visas and spying on mosques" by government officials, Assaf said he understood the anger many felt toward the Muslim community.

"We were charged, we were accused, it was tough, but we got through it," Assaf said. "It's the price we had to pay as Americans to survive and move on. Was it fair? I don't think so, but it's the only way the government had at its disposal to vent its anger and move on."

While many have focused on the role of radical Islam sects in the terror plot, Assaf said 150 Muslims also died in the Sept. 11 attacks. He added that he too was almost a statistic.

That fateful day, Assaf was on the fourth bus of a delegation of representatives from the Morris County Chamber of Commerce who were scheduled to meet with state officials at the World Trade Center. Traffic in the Lincoln Tunnel held his bus up by 45 minutes and probably saved his life, he said.

E-mail: zaremba@northjersey.com