The Number of American Muslims Grew at Mosques after 9/11

Xenophobia descended upon the country, and Muslims felt the need to identify more with their roots. Look at what changed in the past 10 years.

It is not known how many Muslims live in the United States, however they have not reached 3 percent of the population. But disproportionate attention is given to them, and many have been viewed with distrust since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Many have been arrested and charged without evidence. Some spent many years incarcerated. Talat Hamdani, a teacher and mother of a paramedic who died helping the wounded in the World Trade Center and who was later also accused of being a terrorist, stated that “The damage of xenophobia has been done.”

Many Muslim Americans are not practicing. But since 9/11, there has been growth in the number of young people at mosques. According to Moustafá Bayoumi of Brooklyn College, “the principal reason for this is a question of identity, because it became necessary for us to define ourselves and not to leave our self-definition to others.”