DMV Community Resistance Archives

Saba Ahmed is a Muslim woman who works in the financial industry. She reflects on her experience of 9/11 and what emotions that raised for her and for her community. Her memory of her workplace conflicts after 9/11 shapes how she identifies publicly and how much of her faith she chooses to share with others. Ultimately, Saba wants people to know and learn about Muslims beyond the media portrayal of Islam.

In this interview, Lebanese-American anti-war activist Ramzi (Alexandria, VA) discusses his involvement in anti-war organizing in the DC area, reactions to 9/11 within the national anti-war community, and lessons learned from transnational organizing in the United States and the Middle East. He underscores the importance of understanding different contexts and positionality as organizers, the idea of dehumanization as a key cause of Islamophobia and war, and how individuals -- even a small local grocer in Alexandria, VA -- can contribute to seemingly larger-than-life causes.

Karim Amin has lived and worked in West Baltimore his whole life. He is proud and grateful to be in service to his community through various roles and projects, including arts programming, youth education, multimedia storytelling, and mutual-aid service. Karim observes that his childhood masjid community was a place of safety and support for himself and others growing up. Karim learns that service is a practice of faith. His relief service across the US and in Haiti has helped him connect with God, others, and the overlapping intersections of systemic violence.

Jamal is a teacher in his 70s from the east side of Manhattan. His interview took place on November 11, 2021 via Zoom. The questions of the interview focused on his experience as a Muslim before and after 9/11, his community organizing, how his relationship with his faith changed due to 9/11, and his vision for what freedom and justice looks like in the future. He spoke about a broad range of topics, prominently his experience on the day and the days following 9/11, the adversity many Muslims faced as a result of the impacts of 9/11, and how he now aspires to help young people think for themselves.

Yassir is an 85-year old Iraqi man living in Virginia. His interview took place on November 30th, 2021. The conversation largely centered around Yassir’s past experiences with discrimination from a variety of people and institutions, ranging from the CIA to the media to neighborhood teens. The questions were asked with this in mind, focusing the conversation on specific instances of Islamophobia and Yassir’s attitude and feelings towards them.

Tausi tells us about her experiences as both a healthcare provider and advocate for women’s and children’s health. She speaks about how Islamophobia can manifest interpersonally in the exam room, and the importance of education to combat violence against Muslims.

In this interview, Taalibah Hassan (Prince William County, VA) discusses her interfaith work in the broader Northern Virginia area, focusing on the importance of facilitating conversations in combating Islamophobia and her role in doing so both before and after 9/11.

This interview was about the experiences of Ali Faruk from before 9/11, around the time of 9/11, and afterward. Ali discusses his earliest memories with Islamophobia as well as how that played out in his college life. He then mentions his work in advocacy and community organizing in the Muslim communities of Prince William County. Many of the realities of the impact 9/11 had on that community were brought to light in this interview.

In this interview, David Mohamed recounts his life experiences from a young boy in the Muslim community in Chicago until his wrongful imprisonment in relation to September 11th. Early on, Mohammad establishes the idea of community: How being raised in a black Muslim Community under the leadership of Imam Warithuddeen David allowed him to become intimately aware of community in the development and betterment of self.

This interview discusses Islamophobia its impact on different Muslim communities (especially discussed is the different experiences of Black vs Immigrant communities). It also brings up various responses to 9/11 to highlight which strategies may work well when trying to heal or educate others as well as to call out harmful community responses that were conducted right after the event. For example, music was a great medium for Khalil to connect with both those in his community and outside of it.