By Adrien Taylor
It’s 11 years since the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States that killed almost 3,000 people. The coordinated terrorist attacks left destruction in New York City and sent shockwaves around the world, many of which are still felt today.
The attacks also defined the religion of Islam in the eyes of many Westerners.
The images were painful and unforgettable, but no one could have predicted just how enormous an influence the 9/11 attacks would have on our lives, even 11 years later.
The attacks were the catalyst for the 'War on Terror', started by US president George W Bush. By some estimates, that war has claimed 250,000 lives and cost hundreds of billions of dollars.
And the death toll keeps growing, as the recent deaths of New Zealand soldiers remind us.
Mr Bush tried to steer away from demonising Islam.
“The enemy of America is not our many Muslim friends,” he said just over a week after the attacks. “Our enemy is a radical network of terrorists.”
But some commentators point to a perceived link that's been created between the words "terrorist" and "Muslim".
“The suggestion that all Muslims are terrorists is idiotic, and it's misguided and unhelpful,” says religious studies professor Paul Morris, of Victoria University.
Muslims living here say they've felt discrimination since 9/11.
“Given that New Zealand is a very peaceful country, we certainly had quite a bit of backlash,” says Anwar Ghani of the Federation of Islamic Association of NewZealand.
That backlash has included verbal and physical abuse. Mr Ghani says although the reaction was natural after 9/11, it is unjustified.
“In fact it's quite a peaceful religion, it's a just religion, it's quite a caring religion as well,” he says.
Overseas, there have been some extreme displays of anti-Islamic sentiment in the past 11 years. American pastor Terry Jones caused outrage in 2010 when he organised a public Quran burning.
And right-wing extremist Anders Breivik killed 77 people in Norway last year, partly in a bid to stop what he perceived to be an "Islamic invasion" on the Western world.
Professor Morris says it is more important than ever for New Zealanders to understand the diverse religions that make up our society, and those of our global trade partners.
“It's absolutely vital for us to engage in interfaith understanding and relations,” he says.
And that's something that the New Zealand Muslim community wants to help bring about. It's planning to build an interfaith centre in Rotorua that welcomes people from all religions.
“This is the Muslim community's way of saying, ‘We're giving something back to this community,’” says Mr Ghani.
“And when we have better communication there's less room for conflict and confusion.”
Less room for conflict and confusion, and less room for the haunting images of 9/11.
3 News
source: newshub archive
