UNDATED — 9/11 impacted all of the U.S. in some way, but the Muslim-American community was uniquely impacted by the terror attacks 20 years ago, and is still feeling the effects today.
The latest PEW research data shows there are more than 3.5 million Muslims living in America today, and that number continues to grow. PEW estimates that by 2050 the U.S. Muslim population will make up more than 2% of the nation's total population. But after the 9/11 attacks, Muslims started facing more discrimination because of their faith.
The FBI's uniform crime reporting website shows that anti-Islamic hate crimes rose from 28 incidents in the year 2000 to 481 in 2001. That's a 1,617% increase in just one year. 20 years later, those numbers are still high. In 2019, anti-Islamic hate crimes made up 13.3% of all religion-based attacks in the U.S.
If you want to learn more about the religion and culture of Islam in our country, you can visit alislam.org or the Muslim American society's website. The 9/11 memorial site also gives you more information on how the Muslim community was impacted by the events of that day, and how the community responded.
