‘A Little Target On My Back’: SMU Student Shares Experience Growing Up Muslim Post 9/11

UpwshaSeptember 9, 2021

565 1 minute read

download — Razan Bayan says she's been told her hijab is a sexist symbol. She's pushed back against those comments. "What feels demeaning isn't the hijab, it's people thinking that I'm forced into it or brainwashed into wearing it when I tell them I'm not forced into it," she said.

By Elizabeth Myong

Despite not being old enough to have seen the Twin Towers fall, Dallas native Razan Bayan says the event shaped her upbringing.

(KERA NEWS) When 9/11 happened, Razan Bayan wasn’t even born yet.

Bayan first learned about the event when she was about 4 years old. She recalls watching a TV show with her mother, curious to know what it was about.

“She told me, ‘A few years ago, there were some really bad people who crashed these planes into a building and killed a lot of people,’” she said. “‘And because they were Muslim, everyone blames us for it now.’”

Like other young American Muslims, Bayan’s had to learn about 9/11 through her family, community and school. Starting from a young age, she’s been warned about the prejudice and discrimination she’d face.