Twenty years on, Islamic life in the United States is flourishing. Most Americans wouldn’t have it any other way.
By Jeff Jacoby Globe Columnist
(BOSTON GLOBE) Meeting with congressional leaders on Sept. 12, 2001, one day after the the worst terrorist atrocity in modern history, President George W. Bush expressed two concerns. One was that it would be a challenge to maintain an unflagging focus on fighting the threat from al-Qaeda and other violent jihadists. The other was something else entirely.
“My second concern was about backlash against Arabs and Muslim Americans,” Bush later recounted. “I had heard reports of verbal harassment against people who appeared to be Middle Eastern. I was mindful of the ugly aspects of America’s history during war.” He cited the persecution of German Americans during World War I and the internment of more than 100,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He felt a keen responsibility “to guard against hysteria and speak out against discrimination” and intended “to convey that message by visiting a mosque.”
