On eve of 9/11 anniversary, US grapples with Islamophobia and mass surveillance, as American Muslims step up their civic struggle

Americans are getting ready to mark 25 years since 9/11 as Islamophobia remains rampant and mass surveillance has become ingrained in daily life within the United States.

The attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September, 2021 led to a new era that weakened democratic norms and institutions, demonising Muslims and other marginalised communities.

Less than a week after the attacks, then-US President George W. Bush visited a mosque in Washington and said that the Muslim community played an important part in American society.

“Like the good folks standing with me, the American people were appalled and outraged at last Tuesday’s attacks. And so were Muslims all across the world,” Bush said. 

“The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That’s not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace,” he continued, emphasising that they should be treated with respect.

At that time of fear and anger, Bush’s statement might have saved lives. However, his administration’s establishment of the Department of Homeland Security, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as its chief attack dog, accelerated a climate of fear and bigotry.

Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, was with Bush on the day of his visit.

“I stood shoulder to shoulder with the president of the United States denouncing what happened and calling for unity,” he recalled in a local NBC news segment. 

“Today, we are living under an administration that has been thriving on division and pitting Americans against each other,” he said of US President Donald Trump, who has weaponised ICE against Muslims, Hispanics and other communities.

Despite a difficult climate, or possibly motivated by it, Muslims now account for more than 250 elected officials across the country.

Arguably the most popular is New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who, days before the 9/11 anniversary, released more than 10,000 documents detailing the environmental impact of the attacks not previously shared with the public. 

A petition is being circulated to prevent Mamdani from speaking at the commemoration event, though there appears to be more pushback on Trump’s unsubstantiated claims that he was by the World Trade Centre on 9/11.

Though a climate of fear and bigotry continues as a daily reality, it is now accompanied by a sense of hope for a long-maligned community.

"Today, I can say that American Muslims are deeply civically engaged. American Muslims refuse to be defined by guilt by association," Awad said.