9/11: A Dozen Years Passed

         September 11, 2001. A day the will never be forgotten in American history, the day the Islamic extremist group, Al Qaeda, attacked the U.S. and took nearly three thousand lives. Being only four at the time, I missed much of the widespread panic and devastating loss that struck the nation. Despite this, one of my earliest memories is watching and rewatching footage of the South Tower of the World Trade Center falling. In seconds, stories upon stories disappeared into a cloud of dust and debris. 

          My family was lucky not to lose any of our relatives or friends in the tragedy. However, 9/11 affected us anyway, we were swept up in the grief of our nation, and the blame and stigmas that were placed on the Muslim population. The American people did not consciously chose to discriminate against Muslims, or at least I would like to think not. Although growing, the U.S.'s Muslim population is very small. I had no Muslim neighbors or classmates, so when I heard the words Muslim or Islam, it was usually in the news, along with the words: terrorists or Al Qaeda.

        It easy to fear unknown. For many Americans, that's what Islam is. An unknown force that inspired nineteen terrorists to kill thousands of civilians. The truth is, any religion can be used to justify hate. The 9/11 attacks caused a few violent people to eclipse the billions of peaceful ones. Society helps us create subconscious links in our mind, associations we can either consciously ignore or accept.  

        Now I am here, in Oman. Living in the Middle East. Every morning a wake to my sister's alarm for prayers, I listen to the daily passage of the Quran at school, and I hear the call to noon prayer, no matter where I am in the city. My new friends and neighbors are almost all Muslim. It has become so normal to see women dressed in hijabs and abayas. 

        Living here has given me the chance to see how similar everyone is. I am seven thousand miles away from my childhood home, and still, girls gossip about boys, worry about their looks, and paint their nails. Boys play video games, and do pull-ups in doors ways. Many things are eerily similiar to Vermont. The greatest similarity of all: everyone loves their family and hates the news of deaths from war.