American Muslims, Sikhs Still Fighting Bias 20 Years After 9/11

Muslim Americans who grew up under the shadow of 9/11 have faced hostility and surveillance, mistrust and suspicion.

In the 20 years since the terrorist attacks, they've also dealt with questions about their Muslim faith and doubts over their Americanness.

But they've also found ways to fight back against bias.

That aftermath has motivated people like Shukri Olow to do what she is doing — run for office.

Born in Somalia, Olow fled civil war with her family and lived in refugee camps in Kenya for years before coming to the United States when she was 10.

Her experiences from that time also helped form her identity. She is now seeking a council member seat in Kent, Washington.

"As a candidate, especially one who is visibly Muslim in front of cameras, that I have to be cautious about kind of how I conduct myself because I know that for some people it'll be the first time that they meet a Muslim or engage with a Muslim," Olow said.

"I want to make sure that they know that, you know, whatever stereotype or image that they had is not the reality for many of us.

In the Kensington neighborhood in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Shahana Hanif recalls being called a terrorist while walking down the street.

It was 2001, mere weeks after the twin towers at the World Trade Center fell, Shahana Hanif and her younger sister were walking to the local mosque from their Brooklyn home.

Unsure, afraid, the girls ran.

As the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks approaches, Hanif reflects on the impact that had on her decision to run for office.

"That has stayed in my body. And it's trauma that I'm holding. And so I recognize that young people grew up or have a vivid memory of 9/11 need support," Hanif said.

On the opposite side of the country, Olow shares the same sentiment.

"I think it is actually one of the reasons why I'm running for office. This feeling of being other and feeling like I don't belong here and pushing against that rhetoric and saying that this is also my home, she said.

"This is the country where I've been the longest, almost twenty three years now, and wanting to create an environment where, regardless of what other people do, that we know that we belong here, that we are safe here."

United States Marine veteran Mansoor Shams, who served from 2000-2004, wonders how the harassment he received while in the military impacted his life.

"I sometimes wonder now, maybe I would have stayed in longer in the Marine Corps, maybe I would have retired from the Marine Corps had I not gone through some of those experiences because they did greatly impact me as a human being, as a person. I was a person at the end of the day," Shams said.

He believes the kind of bias he experienced back then still exists.

While booking accommodations in Niagra Falls recently, Shams told the hotel receptionist the trip was for the children attending a "house of worship" rather than specify it was for a local mosque.

"Because I was like, maybe they'll treat me different. Maybe they're like, 'Oh, we don't want them coming here.' I don't know. You know, and this is 20 years after 9/11 that I'm still having to feel this way. So we haven't made much progress. Right? I mean, I can't call that progress."

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