9/11 + 25

Today we recognize and remember the horrific events of September 11, 2001 on the 25th anniversary of that fateful day.

There is not a person who was alive on that day, beyond the youngest children, who do not remember where they were or what they were doing when they got the news of the attacks.

I remember it as if it was yesterday and I also recall how subdued and quiet it was in the days and weeks after 9/11. It was almost as if everyone was in a state of shock.

The quiet extended to the skies as for several days after 9/11 as all civilian aircraft were grounded so there were none of the familiar background sounds of a passing jet or airplane.

Mrs. BeeLine and I were invited to spend a night at a friend's lake house outside of Pittsburgh two weeks after 9/11. Our host had been fishing on the lake when the jet that ultimately crashed in Shanksville, PA flew very low over him as the passengers battled with the terrorists on board.

We attended a play at a small community theater during our visit not far from Shanksville and I remember how quiet the audience was before the performance and at intermission. There was no small talk and no laughter. It was as if everyone was waiting for the next shoe (or plane) to drop.

I flew from Pittsburgh to Portland, Maine about six weeks after 9/11. 

I remember how quiet the airport was as I walked to my gate. 

There also could not have been more than 10 passengers on the flight. 

When I arrived in Portland I walked through the same airport that the 19 Muslim terrorists had as they began their day before boarding flights to Boston, Newark and Dulles.

2,977 victims died on 9/11 in New York City, at the Pentagon and in that field in Shanksville after those terrorists got on their connecting flights and made the planes killing missiles.

If we did not know it before, 9/11 revealed the true fanaticism of elements of the Muslim religion and the wide gulf in our values.

We have continued to deal with that reality for most of the last 25 years including most directly over the last six months in Iran.

With all that in mind, what I find most interesting are the changes we have seen in the United States over the 25 years since 9/11.

New York City had a population that included 177,000 Muslims in 2001.

It now has over 1 million Muslims residing in the city.

New York City's mayor is now a Muslim socialist.

Many of Zohran Mamdani's supporters have anti-American views in addition to being anti-semitic and anti-Israel.

Another Muslim socialist is currently running for the U.S. Senate in Michigan.

There are two high profile House Democrats who are Muslim---Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rashid Tlaib (D-MI)--who are known for anti-American rants from time to time.

The Muslim population in the United States has grown from an estimated 1.8 million in 2001 to 2.4 million in 2007 to 5.5 million in 2026.

Source: Pew Research Center

That increase in population is reflected in the number of mosques in the United States.

There are now over 3,150 mosques in the United States.

There were 50 in 1950.

All Muslims are obviously not Islamic extremists like those who flew those planes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the field in Shanksville. This was stated over and over in the days after 9/11 to combat any Islamophobia.

However, what causes a young man to fly a plane into a building, strap on a suicide vest or take an automatic weapon into an opera house with the intent to kill or maim shouting "Allahu Akbar"?

Ten years ago I came across an interesting paper by Dr. Tawfik Hamid, "The Cause of Jihadist Terrorism and How to Combat It" in a publication by the Air Force Research Laboratory (credit to Viable Opposition for pointing me to this) that attempts to explain this question.

Dr. Hamid knows something about this subject because at one time he was an Islamic extremist himself in his native Egypt.

The radical Islam we see today has its roots in what is called the "Salafi Movement" within Islam. Its followers believe in taking a very fundamental approach to Islam. They believe that Islam has strayed from its roots and has become decadent over the years. 

They reject any religious innovation and support the implementation of sharia law. One of the key signs of spreading Salafism is for the women to wear the hijab, a key part in the imposition of sharia law.

Interestingly, Hamid sees the wearing of the hijab as an important indicator of increased radicalism in a Muslim community. This is how he describes how this takes hold.

The process begins with the propagation of Salafi jihadist ideology within a community. Increasing numbers of women begin to wear the hijab, which is both a symptom of Salafi proliferation and a catalyst for Islamism (see, e.g.,Mahmood, 2005). In turn, the proliferation of militant Salafism and the hijab contribute to the idea of passive terrorism, which occurs when moderate segments of the population decline to speak against or actively resist terrorism. 

The chart below shows the process of radicalization as well as the reinforcing cycle that continues to make the problem worse as time goes on. Hamid makes the point that while only a small percentage of Muslims become active terrorists, there are a very large number of what he calls "passive terrorists" who support the ideals of the cause but will never become violent.

However, it is a numbers game. The more adherents of Islam who follow the fundamentalist view of Salafism, the greater chance that a few more will become violent extremists. The first step in combating jihadist terrorism is to reduce the number of "passive terrorists" as Hamid calls them.

The solution to all of this is exceedingly complex. "No single, magical solution for defeating Islamism" exists according to Hamid.

However, Hamid sees a critical first step that can be taken is to weaken what he calls the "hijab phenomenon" .

Weakening the hijab phenomenon is pivotal to stopping the growth of Islamism at the ideological level. Wearing the hijab is discussed as a cultural phenomenon, rather than an individual choice, as many Muslim women are peaceful people (Hamid, 2007, pp.120-121). I have observed that, over the last few decades, terrorism was preceded by an increase in the prevalence of the hijab. In Sunni Muslim areas such as Kurdistan in Iraq, most women did not wear the hijab; these areas experienced fewer acts of terrorism than areas where the hijab was common, such as Al-Anbar Province.  

If it is a numbers game as Dr. Hamid suggests, we are losing badly.

25 years ago it was rare to see a woman wearing a hijab in the United States.

Today it is a everyday occurrence in many cities around the United States.

The Governor of New York was even wearing a hijab speaking two weeks before the 25th anniversary of 9/11.

Who would have ever thought 25 years ago that this is where we would be in 2026?

While it is true that Muslim extremists are a distinct minority it is rare that other Muslims criticize or call out the extremists.

Are mainstream Muslims afraid to do so or are there many more "passive terrorists" out there than we know?

Although there may be very few Muslims willing to be active terrorists we do know that substantial numbers in the United States favor the implementation of sharia law.

A 2024 survey showed that 39% of Muslims in the United States would support the implementation of sharia law.

In that sharia law is completely at odds with the traditional values of the American people and incompatible with the U.S. Constitution, this should give anyone pause in looking where we are in another 25 years.

One of the most interesting questions I have pondered in these pages over the years is why is it that over the last 50 years Christianity has gotten more liberal and tolerant and Islam has gotten more conservative and less tolerant?

It is a puzzling paradox as conventional thinking suggests that as societies age and mature they tend to become more progressive. For example, they advance from a primitive, barbaric system of justice to a system that recognizes individual rights and equal justice. They become less authoritarian and more flexible.

It will be interesting to see what happens over the next 25 years in the United States.

What will 9/11 + 50 look like?

Will Muslims in America become more tolerant, flexible and less accepting of strict Islam?

Will Muslims more willingly assimilate into American society?

Or will Christians, Jews and other religions in the United States become less tolerant and more forgiving in the face of attempts by Muslims to impose itself on the rest of society?

The 25 years since 9/11 suggests that the road ahead promises plenty of problems based on current trends.