7 Days in September

This movie brought to light many different aspects of 9/11 that I had never encountered before. The images of the city, dusty and desolate, impacted my memories of 9/11 by adding more information and emotion to my previous conception of the terrorist attacks. The movie also raised various issues that occurred during and after the attacks. One of the moments that was most striking to me was when the members of a mosque near the Twin Towers were handing out pamphlets about Islam a few days after 9/11. The mood in the country after the these terrorist attacks was very anti-Muslim. When a man began arguing with the workers, although he appeared angry and uneducated, he was expressing a point of view that many Americans held at the time. The fear that the Americans felt due the apparent vulnerability of their country and the extreme anger felt by the New Yorkers, translated into a need to find an outlet for those emotions. This outlet was found by finding something to do. Blaming an entire community, and taking their anger out on the closest representation of this community that they could find, gave the people a sense of purpose. The prospect of the Iraq War was welcomed by most Americans because everyone wanted to bring justice to those who had killed thousands of innocent Americans. This was very interesting to me because I could definitely see where the man who was arguing with the people outside the mosque was coming from, but it also made me upset. With the benefit of hindsight, it is clear that placing the blame on the entire Muslim community has encouraged nothing but unfounded, negative prejudice and discrimination. The Iraq War has lost public support and there are many terrorists still at large. It would have been much better if the members of the mosque and other Muslims had a chance to speak and be heard. It is necessary for Americans to accept that all Muslims are not terrorists. By discriminating based on religion we lost the opportunity to have engage in discussion with the majority of those Muslims who had nothing against America. These people may have become a valuable ally in rooting out other extremists. Instead, we have created a legacy of hatred that still continues today.