Perceptions of the 9/11 Attacks and Their Effects

The September 11 attacks on the United States of America led to a rise in different perceptions of the media. The perceptions of the media were passed to the citizens of the nation. The attacks that involved the bombing of two buildings in the United States of America are believed to be a terrorist initiated program. It was the biggest attack that the nation has ever faced. The attack caused deaths of several people in the nation. It is believed that Al-Qaeda, which is a terror group, was responsible for hijacking the planes that were used to bomb the buildings. The essay will broadly discuss the perception that the Western media had from this incident. The perceptions mainly see Muslims and the Islamic religion as the prime actors of terrorism.

The September 11 incident marked a new era in United States of America but not in the Muslim world (Rabasa, p50).It is said that a large proportion of Muslims became horrified of the killings, but others mostly the Arabs found some happiness in it. Those that found some satisfaction on the attack argued that America had felt the pain that it had always been inflicting to other Nations, particularly the Islamic countries. The Western media hence was left to condemn the Muslims for the attacks (Rabasa, p50).The Arabs viewed the attack as criminal and anti-Islamic. There was the rejection of the claim that those involved were Muslims or Arabs. It is based on the argument that Muslims can never commit mass killings. The operation was also seen as too complex that the Muslims in the United States of America could not have been involved.

According to Dudziak (2), many people felt that the world had entered a new era of terror and nothing would ever be the same again. It appeared to be a line that had been drawn between what was happening in the world before the attack and what would happen after the attack. The attack changed the way Islam was being understood (Dudziak, p5).It impacted the relationship between the Islam and the West. Whoever appeared to be a Muslim to Americans faced harassment in the cities of America. There were several deaths in the cities attributed to anti-Muslim violence. The attack also changed the American politics and constitution. The American government initialized new policies that could only apply to non-citizens (Dudziak, p6).It made the construction of citizenship to be very important. Many people went for the American citizenship for their security and safety. United States of America focused on the use of military tribunals to prosecute terrorists. The Western media thought that America was being attacked because it was being hated. They said that the hatred was because of their wealth, their freedom, and their liberty (Dudziak, p12).

The September 11 tragedy led to the United States of America launching a campaign to counter terrorism. Several Islamic countries joined the United States in the campaign as a way to disapprove the perception made by the media (Rabasa, p51). In the campaign to fight terrorism, United States of America deployed troops in the Islamic countries to train their forces in the war against terrorism. The war on terrorism also had an effect on the politics of the Muslim countries. Gaps between different types of Muslims were formed. There were those that supported the war and saw it as a good thing. Another group saw this campaign as a way of discrediting the Islamic opposition (Rabasa, p51).The global war that came as a result of the September 11 attacks activated the Islamic militants. Some Islamic nations though condemned the war on terrorism and believed that Americans were fighting against Islamic.

Media has portrayed Islam as intolerant and violent. The attack led to the Muslim Americans being discriminated and subjected to negative attitudes which have had effects on the society as a whole. The assumption that America was attacked by Muslims on September 11 was used to justify the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (Griffin, 1). The assumption also perceives that Islam is a violent religion, and hence Muslims remains guilty of the attack until proven innocent. Muslims reported that media coverage led to the non-Muslims challenging the identity of Muslims. Some people who were non-Muslims converted into Muslim for some reasons.

The immediate response by America on the attack resulted to several Islamic nations being affected. First, as a way of striking back, America caused war in Iraq which had several implications in the Nation. The war had an effect on Iraq’s future developments, effects on the Greater Middle East, and effects on the Muslim world (Rabasa, p52).The emergence of armed resistance by the Iraqi coalition forces and the government resulted in citizen casualties and destruction of infrastructure. Reconstruction was delayed and the basic services not restored. This has made the long-term objectives of both the America and Iraq more problematic. The spectacular violence in Iraq has led to many citizens in the country opposing an Islamic government. United States of America went ahead to lead in the overthrow of Saddam in Iraq.

The resultant war on terrorism had an impact on American life. Laws and plans to fight terrorism were passed and implemented respectively. There was an adaptation to changes in daily life by the Americans (Bardes, p258).Security in the airports was improved and tightened. Mailing, shipping and banking were controlled by new regulations. Another immediate change in the American life after the attack was; new laws were passed to constrain privacy rights. United States became much concerned with terrorism due to continued attacks by terrorists in other nations (Bardes, p258).

Immediately the Islamic terror group, the Al-Qaeda, was identified as the players of the attacks, the United States dislodged the terrorist group. With the support of the United Nations; United States of America launched the first bombing attacks in Afghanistan. Afghanistan was the Al-Qaeda’s base (Bardes, p258).Many members of the terror group were killed. The operation was a success because the public supported the government to their best. The continued attacks helped the Afghans form a democratic government. The events of September 11 attacks increased the level of awareness in the world in respect to terrorism. The incident shook the American public than never before (Zeugman, p13).People had their opinions on the attack. Some were worried that they or a family member would be a victim of terror attacks. Others thought that it was very likely for the attacks to happen again somewhere else in the country

In conclusion, this terror attacks affected the public and the government greatly. The citizens lost faith in their federal government. A gap between the Christians and the Muslims was created. Muslims were viewed as the main cause of terrorism and the words Muslims and terrorists became synonyms. After the attacks, there were many effects that were felt both in the country and in other countries mostly the Islamic nations. There were changes that happened immediately in the American government system and some other changes that happened after some time. These changes and effects are felt up to date.

Works Cited

Bardes, Barbara: Measuring the American Minds. Rowman &Littlefield, 2012.Print.

Zeugman, Cora: The Trade-off between Civil Liberties and Security in the United States andGermany after 9/11/01, 2008.Print.

Dudziak, Mary: September 11 in History: A Watershed Moment? Duke University Press, 2003.Print.

Rabasa, Angel: The Muslim World after 9/11.Rand Corporation, 2004.Print.