9/11 2001: How Islamophobia silenced the world
The chasm between the Muslims and the non-Muslims has widened in the past 21 years
Silence is consent
I was still in college pursuing higher studies. Everything was normal, though I had for the first time seen divisions in my hostel between the Muslims and non-Muslims – the Muslim students usually used to sit together for food, away from the rest, and used to eat in a separate room during Ramzan.
I was returning from home to my college about 1,000km away on a train. In the evening, when the train had stopped briefly at an important station, I stepped down for water when heavens seemed to be falling. A glance at the TV screen, where people had huddled, shocked me beyond words – a tower in the US had been destroyed in the most unimaginable way – by a plane passing right through it. Soon, another plane entered the screen and blew away the second of the twin towers. Another crashed into the Pentagon…about 3,000 people were killed.
By the time I reached hostel the next day, it was known that Osama-bin Laden had attacked the US in a bizarre terrorist act. However, what was more shocking was that no one seemed to be discussing it – and there was no mention at all about Islamism that was responsible for the act. Muslim friends were silent (Muslim friends, speak up, now – MDDTimes). There took birth the Islamophobia that we all loathe and fear till date – 21 years after the event. Will this ever change?
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