Many American Muslims breathed a collective sigh of relief when they heard the annual Eid al-Adha holiday would fall on Sept. 12, instead of the painful anniversary of Sept. 11. One religious leader hopes the coincidence will spark some deep reflection.
According to data from the FBI, there was a spike in hate crimes against Muslims after the attacks on September 11, 2001. In these data visualizations you’ll see that while attacks have dropped in the years since, hate crimes against Muslims have never fallen back to levels seen before the attacks.
“We can talk about the difference between Islam in New York City and Islam in Paris, but on the human level? Fear. Fear and anxiety lurk within in.” That’s the tie that binds the Sept. 11 and Charlie Hebdo attacks, both of which Mary Hadded witnessed in person.