September 11 attacks Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Domestic reactions === {{Further|U.S. government response to the September 11 attacks}}{{multiple image | total_width = 410 | image1 = Address to the Nation by President George W. Bush on September 11, 2001.webm | image2 = Remarks from Ground Zero September 14, 2001.webm | image3 = | image4 = | caption1 = President Bush addressing the nation from the [[White House]] at 8:30 PM ET | caption2 = Bush speaking to rescue workers at [[World Trade Center site|Ground Zero]] on September 14 }} {{Multiple image | align = | direction = vertical | width = 220 | image1 = 911- President George W. Bush Addresses Joint Session of Congress, 09-20-2001. (6124236009).jpg | alt1 = | caption1 = | image2 = Bush Addresses Congress 9-20-01.ogg | alt2 = | caption2 = During a speech to a joint session of Congress, President George W. Bush pledges "to defend freedom against terrorism". September 20, 2001 (audio only). | link2 = | footer = }} Following the attacks, President George W. Bush's approval rating increased to 90%.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/116500/Presidential-Approval-Ratings-George-Bush.aspx |title=Presidential Approval Ratings β George W. Bush |publisher=Gallup |access-date=September 4, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090402045152/http://www.gallup.com/poll/116500/presidential-approval-ratings-george-bush.aspx |archive-date=April 2, 2009 }}</ref> On September 20, 2001, he addressed the nation and a joint session of Congress regarding the events of September 11 and the subsequent nine days of rescue and recovery efforts, and described his intended response to the attacks. [[Mayor of New York City|New York City mayor]] [[Rudy Giuliani]]'s [[Rudy Giuliani during the September 11 attacks|highly visible role]] resulted in praise in New York and nationally.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Pooley|first=Eric|title=Mayor of the World|url=http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2020227_2020306_2022358,00.html|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=September 4, 2011|date=December 31, 2001|archive-date=September 30, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930062651/http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2020227_2020306_2022358,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Many relief funds were immediately set up to assist the attacks' victims, with the task of providing [[Financial assistance following the September 11 attacks|financial assistance]] to the [[Casualties of the September 11 attacks|survivors of the attacks]] and the victims' families. By the deadline for victims' compensation on September 11, 2003, 2,833 applications had been received from the families of those who were killed.<ref>{{cite news |last=Barrett |first=Devlin |title=9/11 Fund Deadline Passes |publisher=CBS News |date=December 23, 2003 |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/16/national/main593715.shtml |access-date=September 4, 2011 |archive-date=August 26, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110826063644/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/16/national/main593715.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref> Contingency plans for the [[continuity of government]] and the evacuation of leaders were implemented soon after the attacks.<ref name="Commission"/> Congress was not told that the United States had been under a continuity of government status until February 2002.<ref>{{cite news |title='Shadow Government' News To Congress |publisher=CBS News |date=March 2, 2002 |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/03/01/attack/main502530.shtml |access-date=September 4, 2011 |archive-date=September 5, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110905080451/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/03/01/attack/main502530.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the largest restructuring of the U.S. government in contemporary history, the United States enacted the [[Homeland Security Act of 2002]], creating the [[United States Department of Homeland Security|U.S. Department of Homeland Security]]. Congress also passed the [[USA PATRIOT Act]], saying it would help detect and prosecute terrorism and other crimes.<ref>{{cite web |title=The USA PATRIOT Act: Preserving Life and Liberty |publisher=[[United States Department of Justice]] |url= http://www.lifeandliberty.gov/highlights.htm |access-date=September 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100102035036/http://www.justice.gov/archive/ll/highlights.htm|archive-date=January 2, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> Civil liberties groups have criticized the PATRIOT Act, saying it allows law enforcement to invade citizens' privacy and that it eliminates judicial oversight of law enforcement and domestic intelligence.<ref name="ACLUAdv">{{cite press release |url=https://www.aclu.org/national-security/uncle-sam-asks-what-hell-going-herein-new-aclu-print-and-radio-advertisements |title=Uncle Sam Asks: "What The Hell Is Going On Here?" in New ACLU Print and Radio Advertisements |publisher=[[American Civil Liberties Union]] |date=September 3, 2003 |access-date=April 10, 2012 |archive-date=June 3, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120603123234/http://www.aclu.org/national-security/uncle-sam-asks-what-hell-going-herein-new-aclu-print-and-radio-advertisements |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Eggen |first=Dan |date=September 30, 2004 |newspaper=The Washington Post |title=Key Part of Patriot Act Ruled Unconstitutional |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59626-2004Sep29.html |access-date=September 4, 2011 |archive-date=October 20, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020081006/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59626-2004Sep29.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/09/26/patriot.act/index.html |title=Federal judge rules 2 Patriot Act provisions unconstitutional |access-date=September 4, 2011 |date=September 26, 2007 |publisher=CNN |archive-date=December 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225172324/http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/09/26/patriot.act/index.html%20 |url-status=live }}</ref> To effectively combat future acts of terrorism, the [[National Security Agency]] (NSA) was given broad powers. NSA commenced [[NSA warrantless surveillance controversy|warrantless surveillance]] of telecommunications, which was sometimes criticized as permitting the agency "to eavesdrop on telephone and e-mail communications between the United States and people overseas without a warrant".<ref>{{cite news |last1=VandeHei |first1=Jim |last2=Eggen |first2=Dan |title=Cheney Cites Justifications For Domestic Eavesdropping |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=January 5, 2006 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/04/AR2006010400973.html |access-date=September 4, 2011 |archive-date=August 20, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110820073716/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/04/AR2006010400973.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In response to requests by various intelligence agencies, the [[United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court]] permitted an expansion of powers by the U.S. government in seeking, obtaining, and sharing information on U.S. citizens as well as non-U.S. people from around the world.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Savage |first1=Charlie |last2=Poitras |first2=Laura |title=How a Court Secretly Evolved, Extending U.S. Spies' Reach |work=The New York Times |date=March 11, 2014 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/12/us/how-a-courts-secret-evolution-extended-spies-reach.html |access-date=March 13, 2014 |archive-date=March 12, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140312220916/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/12/us/how-a-courts-secret-evolution-extended-spies-reach.html |url-status=live }}</ref> ==== Hate crimes ==== {{See also|Islamophobic incidents|Persecution of Muslims}} Six days after the attacks, President Bush made a public appearance at [[Islamic Center of Washington|Washington, D.C.'s largest Islamic Center]] and acknowledged the "incredibly valuable contribution" that millions of [[Islam in the United States|American Muslims]] made to their country and called for them "to be treated with respect".<ref>{{cite news |last=Freedman |first=Samuel G. |title=Six Days After 9/11, Another Anniversary Worth Honoring |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/08/us/on-religion-six-days-after-9-11-another-anniversary-worth-honoring.html |work=The New York Times |date=September 7, 2012 |access-date=March 12, 2015 |archive-date=November 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191106125316/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/08/us/on-religion-six-days-after-9-11-another-anniversary-worth-honoring.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Numerous incidents of [[harassment]] and [[hate crime]]s against [[Muslims]] and [[South Asian ethnic groups|South Asians]] were reported in the days following the attacks.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.nyc.gov/html/cchr/html/report.html |title=New York City Commission on Human Rights |publisher=Nyc.gov |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040203071912/http://www.nyc.gov/html/cchr/html/report.html |archive-date=February 3, 2004 |access-date=May 29, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/post9-11-us-policies-created-atmosphere-of-fear-for-south-asians/836936|title=Post-9/11, US policies created atmosphere of fear for South Asians|website=The Indian Express|date=August 25, 2011|access-date=October 23, 2011|archive-date=May 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526183307/http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/post9-11-us-policies-created-atmosphere-of-fear-for-south-asians/836936|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Hate">{{cite news |title=Hate crime reports up in wake of terrorist attacks |publisher=CNN|date=September 17, 2001 |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/09/16/gen.hate.crimes |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051127025019/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/09/16/gen.hate.crimes/ |archive-date=November 27, 2005 |access-date=May 29, 2014}}</ref> [[Sikh]]s were also subject to targeting due to the use of [[turban]]s in the [[Sikh faith]], which are stereotypically associated with Muslims. There were reports of attacks on mosques and other religious buildings (including the firebombing of a [[Hindu temple]]), and assaults on individuals, including one murder: [[Murder of Balbir Singh Sodhi|Balbir Singh Sodhi]], a Sikh mistaken for a Muslim, who was fatally shot on September 15, 2001, in [[Mesa, Arizona]].<ref name="Hate" /> Two dozen members of Osama bin Laden's family were urgently evacuated out of the country on a private charter plane under FBI supervision three days after the attacks.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bin-laden-family-evacuated/|title=Bin Laden Family Evacuated|publisher=CBS News|access-date=January 30, 2019|archive-date=April 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411091619/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bin-laden-family-evacuated/|url-status=live}}</ref> According to an academic study, people perceived to be [[Ethnic groups in the Middle East|Middle Eastern]] were as likely to be victims of hate crimes as followers of [[Islam]] during this time. The study also found a similar increase in hate crimes against people who may have been perceived as Muslims, [[Arabs]], and others thought to be of Middle Eastern origin.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=[[Ball State University]] |url=http://www.bsu.edu/news/article/0,1370,-1019-12850,00.html |title=Many minority groups were victims of hate crimes after 9-11 |date=October 9, 2003 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211050839/http://www.bsu.edu/news/article/0%2C1370%2C-1019-12850%2C00.html |archive-date=December 11, 2008 |access-date=May 29, 2014}}</ref> A report by the South Asian American advocacy group known as South Asian Americans Leading Together documented media coverage of 645 bias incidents against Americans of South Asian or Middle Eastern descent between September 11 and 17, 2001. Various crimes such as vandalism, arson, assault, shootings, harassment, and threats in numerous places were documented.<ref>{{cite web |title=American Backlash: Terrorist Bring War Home in More Ways Than One |url=http://www.saalt.org/attachments/1/American%20Backlash%20report.pdf |access-date=May 29, 2014 |year=2003 |publisher=SAALT |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203140832/http://static.911digitalarchive.org/REPOSITORY/OTHER_OBJECTS/6object.pdf |archive-date=December 3, 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Thayil |first=Jeet|date=October 12, 2001 |title=645 racial incidents reported in week after September 11 |newspaper=[[India Abroad]] |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-79281024.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511211812/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-79281024.html |archive-date=May 11, 2011}}</ref> Women wearing [[hijab]] were also targeted.<ref name="HRW not enemy">{{Cite web |title=We Are Not the Enemy: Hate Crimes Against Arabs, Muslims, and Those Perceived to be Arab or Muslim after September 11 |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/usahate/usa1102-04.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522192143/https://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/usahate/usa1102-04.htm |archive-date=May 22, 2022 |date=November 2002 |access-date=June 7, 2022 |publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]]}}</ref> ==== Discrimination and racial profiling ==== {{Further|Detentions following the September 11 attacks|Islamophobia in the United States|Flying while Muslim}} {{See also|Airport racial profiling in the United States}} A poll of [[Arab Americans|Arab-Americans]], conducted in May 2002, found that 20% had personally experienced discrimination since September 11. A July 2002 poll of Muslim Americans found that 48% believed their lives had changed for the worse since September 11, and 57% had experienced an act of bias or discrimination.<ref name="HRW not enemy" /> Following the September 11 attacks, many [[Pakistani Americans]] identified themselves as [[Indian people|Indians]] to avoid potential discrimination and obtain jobs (Pakistan was created as a result of the [[partition of India]] in 1947).<ref>{{cite news |title=Pakistanis pose as Indians after NY bomb scare |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-timessquare-backlash/pakistanis-pose-as-indians-after-ny-bomb-scare-idUSTRE64655Y20100507 |publisher=[[Reuters]] |access-date=March 23, 2020 |date=May 7, 2010 |archive-date=January 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114111303/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-timessquare-backlash/pakistanis-pose-as-indians-after-ny-bomb-scare-idUSTRE64655Y20100507 |url-status=live }}</ref> By May 2002, there were 488 complaints of [[Employment discrimination in the United States|employment discrimination]] reported to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). 301 of those were complaints from people fired from their jobs. Similarly, by June 2002, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) had investigated 111 September 11th-related complaints from airline passengers purporting that their religious or ethnic appearance caused them to be singled out at security screenings. DOT investigated an additional 31 complaints from people who alleged they were completely blocked from boarding aeroplanes on the same grounds.<ref name="HRW not enemy" /> ==== Muslim American response ==== {{See also|Muslim attitudes towards terrorism|Peace in Islamic philosophy}} Muslim organizations in the United States were swift to condemn the attacks and called "upon [[Muslim Americans]] to come forward with their skills and resources to help alleviate the sufferings of the affected people and their families".<ref>{{cite web |last=American Muslim Leaders |title=Muslim Americans Condemn Attack |publisher=ISNA |url=http://www.islamicity.com/articles/Articles.asp?ref=AM0109-335 |access-date=September 4, 2011 |archive-date=December 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225172342/https://www.islamicity.org/?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> These organizations included the [[Islamic Society of North America]], American Muslim Alliance, [[American Muslim Council]], [[Council on American-Islamic Relations]], [[Islamic Circle of North America]], and the Shari'a Scholars Association of North America. Along with monetary donations, many Islamic organizations launched blood drives and provided medical assistance, food, and shelter for victims.<ref>{{cite news|last=Beaulieu |first=Dan |title=Muslim groups around world condemn the killing of innocents |publisher=Agence France Presse |language=en |date=September 12, 2001}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Davis |first=Joyce M. |title=Muslims condemn attacks, insist Islam not violent against innocents |agency=Knight Ridder Washington Bureau |date=September 13, 2001}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Witham |first=Larry |title=Muslim groups decry attacks; No cause justifies the 'immoral' act, U.S. councils say |work=The Washington Times |date=September 12, 2001}}</ref> ==== Interfaith efforts ==== Curiosity about Islam increased after the attacks. As a result, many mosques and Islamic centres began holding open houses and participating in outreach efforts to educate non-Muslims about the faith. In the first 10 years after the attacks, [[Interfaith dialogue|interfaith]] community service increased from 8 to 20 percent and the percentage of U.S. congregations involved in interfaith worship doubled from 7 to 14 percent.<ref>{{Cite news|date=September 8, 2011|title=From fear of Islam to outreach: how 9/11 prompted interfaith efforts|work=The Christian Science Monitor|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2011/0908/From-fear-of-Islam-to-outreach-how-9-11-prompted-interfaith-efforts|access-date=August 27, 2021|issn=0882-7729|archive-date=August 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827153610/https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2011/0908/From-fear-of-Islam-to-outreach-how-9-11-prompted-interfaith-efforts|url-status=live}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. 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