MPAC Remembers 9/11 at 25 Years and Stands in Solidarity with Interfaith Groups at the Capitol
Twenty-five years ago, 2,977 people lost their lives in the attacks of September 11, 2001.
They were parents, children, spouses, friends, coworkers, neighbors, and fellow Americans. Among them were 441 first responders who never made it home.
As American Muslims, we share in that grief.
We remember every life lost at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. We honor the first responders who ran toward danger to save others. And we stand with the families who continue to carry that loss 25 years later.
Around 60 American Muslims were also killed that day.
And in the days and years that followed, the consequences of 9/11 extended far beyond the attacks themselves. Muslims, Arabs, South Asians, Sikhs, and others perceived to be Muslim or Middle Eastern faced hate-fueled violence, threats, vandalism, and discrimination. The Department of Justice has investigated more than 800 such incidents since 9/11.
Yet there was another story unfolding alongside that backlash.
In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, Americans came together to reject the idea that an entire faith should be blamed for the actions of terrorists. President George W. Bush visited the Islamic Center of Washington, D.C., just days after 9/11 and publicly distinguished Islam and American Muslims from the terrorists who carried out the attacks.
That distinction still matters.
Because 25 years later, new Pew Research Center data shows that 51% of Americans now say Islam is more likely than other religions to encourage violence. Six months after 9/11, that number was 25%. Pew also found that 43% of Americans say Muslims are less patriotic than other Americans, while 42% say Muslim Americans are having a negative impact on the country.
The fear that followed 9/11 has not simply disappeared. In some ways, it has become embedded in our public discourse. But it does not define who we are.
That is why this week, the Muslim Public Affairs Council’s Sameer Hossain joined a press conference hosted by Shoulder to Shoulder campaign to amplify a letter titled: Anti-Muslim Bigotry from Elected Officials Must End Now signed by over 200 faith leaders and 60 interfaith organizations across the country.
Sign the letter now: We’re Calling on Allies to Stand With American Muslims!
MPAC Joins Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign and Interfaith Organizations at the United Methodist Building on September 9, 2026.
Their solidarity reflects something we cannot afford to forget: our destinies are tied together.
Those who attacked America on 9/11 sought to divide us. We cannot allow their legacy to be a country where one community's grief becomes another community's suspicion.
Twenty-five years after 9/11, that work remains unfinished. At MPAC, we will continue to counter Islamophobia, antisemitism, anti-Christian hate, anti-Sikh hate, anti-Hindu hate, and all forms of hatred that seek to divide our communities.
