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Developments After 9/11
American interest in Islam reached
its pinnacle in the last quarter of 2001. The most important reason
for this was the 9/11 attacks against the World Trade Center and
the Pentagon. Several studies undertaken to determine the roots
of terrorist ideology, as well as investigations of Islam, have
enabled people to learn that Islam is a peaceful religion that
enjoins tolerance, justice, mercy, and love. Islam has suddenly
become a major topic of discussion all over the world. More and
more world-renowned statesmen, political scientists, researchers,
and thinkers consider it necessary to understand Islam correctly,
and have given speeches underlining Islamic tolerance and willingness
to reach agreement. Americans have approached Muslim organizations
in order to find the most accurate information about Islam and
Islamic history. As a result of this interest, the Middle East
Media Research Institute reported that after 9/11, 34,000 Americans
converted to Islam.40
The Egyptian weekly al-Ahram al-Arabi published
a letter by Dr. Walid A. Fatihi of the Harvard Medical Faculty.
In it, he stated that when he first heard of the attack, he thought
that the work he had done to introduce Islam to America would
be set back by 50 years. However, he soon realized how wrong he
was. He continues:
On Saturday, September 15, I went
with my wife and children to the biggest church in Boston, [Trinity
Church in] Copley Square, by official invitation of the Islamic
Society of Boston, to represent Islam by special invitation of
the senators of Boston. Present were the mayor of Boston, his
wife, and the heads of the universities. There were more than
1,000 people there ...
I read an official statement issued by the leading Muslim clerics
condemning the incident [i.e., the attacks]. The statement explained
Islam's stance and principles, and its sublime precepts. Afterwards,
I read Koranic verses translated into English…
One said to me: "I do not understand the Arabic language, but
there is no doubt that the things you said are the words of Allah."
On Sunday, September 16, the Islamic Society of Boston issued
an open invitation to the Islamic Center in Cambridge, located
between Harvard and MIT. We did not expect more than 100 people,
but to our surprise more than 1,000 people came, among them the
neighbors, the university lecturers, members of the clergy, and
even the leaders of the priests from the nearby churches, who
invited us to speak on Islam. All expressed solidarity with Muslims.
Many questions flowed to us. Everyone wanted to know about Islam
and to understand its precepts…
That same day, I was invited again to participate in a meeting
in the church, and again I saw the same things. On Thursday, a
delegation of 300 students and lecturers from Harvard visited
the center of the Islamic Society of Boston, accompanied by the
American Ambassador to Vienna. They sat on the floor of the mosque,
which was filled to capacity. We explained to them the precepts
of Islam, and defended it from any suspicions [promulgated in
the media]. I again read to them from the verses of Allah, and
[their] eyes filled with tears. The audience was moved, and many
asked to participate in the weekly lessons for non-Muslims held
by the Islamic Center…
On Friday, September 21, the Muslims participated in a closed
meeting with the governor of Massachusetts. In the meeting, a
discussion was held on introducing Islam into the school curriculum,
to inform the [American] people and to fight racism against Muslims
arising from the American people's ignorance regarding the religion
…
These are only some of the examples of what
happened and is happening in the city of Boston, and in many other
American cities, during these days. Proselytizing in the name
of Allah has not been undermined, and has not been set back 50
years, as we thought in the first days after September 11. On
the contrary, the 11 days that have passed are like 11 years in
the history of proselytizing in the name of Allah. I write to
you today with the absolute confidence that over the next few
years, Islam will spread in America and in the entire world, Allah
willing, much more quickly than it has spread in the past, because
the entire world is asking, "What is Islam!" 41
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| (Above) A New York Times
report entitled "Terror Attacks Could Change Paths of Faith"
dealt with the increasing number of people turning to religion
after 9/11. An investigation that appeared in the report revealed
that after 9/11, four in every five persons prayed or attended
a religious service. (Middle) In a New York Times report in
the entitled "Islam Attracts Converts by the Thousands, Drawn
Before and After the Attacks," the growth in the number of
Americans converting to Islam was discussed. The report stressed
the rising number of converts after 9/11. (Below) One of the
most striking scenes shown by the media after 9/11 was that
of Muslims and Christians sharing their grief and praying
together. |
(Above) The 9/11 attack was severely condemned
by Muslims (above). Nihad Awad, executive director of the
Council on American-Islamic Relations, stressed in a report
that there was no place for terror in Islam. (Middle) Muslims
throughout the world prayed for those who died in the 9/11
attacks. Muslims living in London gathered to pray in Hyde
Park. (Below) In a Kansas City Star report entitled "Muslim
faith opposed to terrorism, experts say," experts state that
Islam is against every kind of terror. After 9/11, many newspapers
and television programs reported the Muslim opposition to
terror. |
On a television program broadcast one week after 9/11,
Eck related what that event had changed:
And yet most of
us don't really see it [positive changes]. I think one of the
real gifts, if we could call it that, of the last week has been
the recognition that we are religiously diverse in ways we had
never imagined… 42
This increased interest in Islam caught the American
press' attention, and the issue became a topic on television news
programs. One newspaper that took up this issue was The Los
Angeles Times. An article entitled "Expressions of Support
Surprising to Muslims" reported that one of the most unexpected
results was that Americans had begun to study and investigate
Islam, and that this interest was so intense that it even surprised
Muslims:
Many Americans
also are investigating, some for the first time, one of the world's
great faiths and oldest civilizations. Bookstores are selling
out of copies of the Koran. University classes and teach-ins on
the Middle East and Islam are filled to capacity. Middle East
scholars are being invited on television news shows repeatedly
and being spotted on the street like celebrities. And many everyday
Middle Easterners-Muslim or not-are fielding a daily barrage of
questions about Islam from neighbors, co-workers and strangers…
"We are overwhelmed," said Mahmoud Abdel-Baset, religious director
of the Islamic Center of Southern California. Since the attacks,
the Los Angeles-based center has hosted a steady stream of dignitaries,
including Gov. Gray Davis, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca
and Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn... Richard Hrair Dekmejian,
a USC professor on Middle Eastern politics, said this thirst for
knowledge about Islam is a result of the powerful impact of the
Sept. 11 attacks and the general lack of religious knowledge in
America. 43
(Above) The Muslim population has
passed 7 million, In America, many mosques were filled to
overflowing at Friday prayers and streets were filled with
Muslims performing their prayers.(Middle) America is learning
about Islam, (Below) An internet site called "Islam-World's
Fastest Growing Religion" carries many items about the growth
of Islam. (www.geocities.com/Pentagon/3016/fastest.htm)
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In America today, the interest begun with 9/11 continues
to intensify and become more widespread. In the following pages,
we will see the rise of Islam in America. As we look at all of
these developments, we must keep in mind one basic fact: God has
given the good news of His promise to believers that true religion
will be established among human beings. The events we have experienced
show us that, God willing, the fulfillment of this promise is
very near. For this reason, we are living in a crucial period
and a time of profound change. Believers must realize the value
of this period, offer the best and most accurate information to
those who are slowly turning to Islam, answer their questions
in the most satisfactory way, and be zealous representatives of
Islam. As the verse below says, this is an important charge given
by God to believers:
Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and
fair admonition, and argue with them in the kindest way. Your
Lord knows best who is misguided from His way. And He knows best
who are guided. (Qur'an, 16: 125)
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| (Above) Interest in Islam increases in
the US, Islam will spread in the US, (Middle)
One of the frequently reported topics in the American
press is about converts to Islam. An ABC report entitled "An
American in Mecca" recounts Michael Wolfe's pilgrimage. His
mother is Christian and his father is Jewish. (Below) The
Chicago Tribune deals with the rise of Islam in an article
called "Searching Americans Embrace the Logic behind the Teachings
of Islam." |
(Left) One of the places where Islam is
most discussed in America is in universities. In this Christian
Science Monitor report, we see a meeting held at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT), one of America's most prestigious
universities.(Middle) As a result of the post-9/11 interest
in Islam, Muslims were inundated as never before with questions
about Islam. Newsday reported that a mosque on Long Island
is overflowing with people interested in learning about Islam.(Right)
In an ABC report on its Internet site shows images of Muslims
performing their prayers on New York streets. |
40. "Terror
in America, Muslim American Leaders: A Wave of Conversion to Islam
in the U.S. Following September 11," MERIM Special Dispatch, November
16, 2001.
41. Al-Ahram al-Arabi, October 20, 2001.
42. "Moyers in Conversation," PBS TV, September
19, 2001.
43. The Los Angeles Times, September 26, 2001.
    
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