9/11: The backlash against American Muslims
Witness History
BBC
4.5 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 10 September 2021
⏱️ 13 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In the Aftermath of the Al Qaeda attacks against America on September 11th 2001, many Muslims living in the US had their allegiance to America questioned. In the days after 9/11 all over America hate crimes against Muslims and anyone perceived to be Muslims soared. In 2001, according to crime statistics by the FBI, hate crimes against Muslims and Arabs in the US increased by 1,700 percent. Stories about Muslim women in hijabs and Muslim men with beards being attacked became commonplace. Farhana Haider has been speaking to Kevin James, a Muslim first responder who was at Ground Zero in New York immediately after the attacks.
Photo: Nadia Nawaz holds a sign remembering the victims of the attack. Credit: ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know. |
| 0:04.7 | My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds. |
| 0:08.5 | As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices. |
| 0:18.0 | What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars, |
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| 0:29.7 | If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds. |
| 0:36.0 | Hello and welcome to the Witness History podcast from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:47.0 | I'm Frahana Hither. |
| 0:49.0 | After 9-11, Muslims across America had to cope with a horrifying increase in racism. |
| 0:55.0 | According to the FBI, hate crimes against Muslims rose by 1,700 percent in 2001. |
| 1:02.0 | This is the latest in a spate of anti-Muslim attacks. |
| 1:07.0 | A young man traveling at more than 80 miles an hour plowed his car into the front door of the Grand Mosque in Cleveland, Ohio. |
| 1:16.0 | Amazingly, no one was hurt. |
| 1:19.4 | Throughout this state, Muslim businessmen are turning out the lights and leaving because they fear for their lives. |
| 1:26.0 | Overnight Muslims found themselves having to prove they were patriots. |
| 1:31.0 | God bless America. The community did what it could to we're Americans. We're |
| 1:38.6 | Americans too. This is horrible. This does not define our faith. |
| 1:43.0 | This is Kevin James. He is a Muslim and back in 2001 he was a member of the New York Fire Department. |
| 1:50.0 | The first responders hailed as the heroes of 9-11. |
| 1:54.0 | The firefighter mentality, it's like you rush towards danger, |
| 1:58.5 | you rush towards a fire, you rush into the building, |
| 2:02.0 | that's how you're trained Kevin worked as a |
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