By 
These stories are part of our new hashtag conversation, #IAmMuslimGirl — Share your experiences about post-9/11 life, incidents of Islamophobia, or additional reflections on social media to let us know your thoughts.
The anniversary of 9/11 is always a somber day of remembrance and reflection.
For many Muslim Americans, its memory is forever etched in our minds, because every day afterwards was a struggle to simultaneously and harmoniously be a practicing Muslim and an American citizen. In the minds of many, it seemed such an identity didn’t exist.
In the past 15 years, stories of firefighters, first responders, survivors, New Yorkers, and many more were featured in documentaries, op-eds, news features, and movies. Their stories were rightfully promulgated, uplifted, and retold to illustrate the intensity of the tragedy, the larger sociopolitical ramifications, and the poignancy of the human experience.
Yet, largely absent from those well-amplified voices were the Muslim American women’s experiences of that unforgettable day, and how it continues to affect our daily lives today.
The visibility of our Muslim identity in a post-9/11 world invited, and continues to invite, many questions, suspicions, vulgarity, hate, and sometimes, more rarely, love and friendship.
In many ways, the events of that tragic day inadvertently shaped our minds, our careers, our lives, and our identities.
Largely absent from those well-amplified voices were the Muslim American women’s experiences of that unforgettable day, and how it continues to affect our daily lives today.
The collection of memories and experiences shared here demonstrate the nuances and challenges of Muslim American women in a post-9/11 America from all over the United States. Every story is uniquely powerful. They will shock you, inspire you, and compel you to reflect on the social and political trajectory of our country.
Here are our stories.