9/11 Terrorist Attacks

The charging planes demolished the towers, as millions of people gazed at the rubble collapsing to the ground. Consequently, bodies were flying as the tower had its last stand. Screaming can be heard from a distance, as reporters were recording all the details. The nation was at a stand-still. After intensive investigating, the miscreants were found to be of Middle Eastern descent. After the event of 9/11, perpetrated by people of Middle Eastern heritage, many police departments adopted a prejudiced view of Middle Easterners, stripping away their civil rights.
When terrorist attacks were becoming more common, as police departments such as the NYPD developed a plan to prevent similar events from happening again. To begin with, the New York Police

Department kept an eye on Muslims by creating a new unit. In the article, “I’m a Muslim, Not a Terrorist. So Why Did the NYPD Spy on Me for Years?” the author states, “Entire congregations were targeted.

Entire Muslim communities - from bookstores to restaurants - were monitored” (Elshinawy 1). The major goal of the counterterrorism unit of the NYPD was to discover any information relating to future terrorist plots or activities. One of their suggestions was to send undercover policemen who were of Muslim or Arab descent into various locations that Middle Easterners often visited. The purpose of this was to obtain whatever information they could secure from those people’s activities. No location was abandoned, using demographic to detect these areas. Not only did they target public locations, but they invaded the privacy of other people. The article states, “The police had been following me everywhere … even infiltrated my wedding, videotaping everyone who attended” (Elshinawy 1). There is some reasoning for minimal levels of guidance to prevent future attacks in the United States. Contrary to that, police departments are extending the idea of an investigation to another level, because of the desperation for information. There is a necessity for safety

precautions, but these measures were extraordinary. They went to one practice that they presumed was useful; racial profiling. When they got their list of people who they deemed dangerous, they bombarded their lives secretly. Moreover, they would be recorded going into everyday locations and were watched when going into mosques. The creation of the NYPD’s counterterrorism unit allowed them to investigate any suspicious men that were connected to the Middle East. This unit’s investigation expanded from more than the streets of New York but entered into the classroom.
The NYPD also kept an eye on schools around New York, as they believed that students may be getting involved in terrorist acts.

The NYPD determined that if the streets of NY have “terrorist” roaming the streets, that influence may reach to the classrooms of colleges. The article, “NYPD monitored Muslim students” state's, “Police worried about which Muslim scholars were influencing these students and feared that extracurricular activities such as paintball outings could be used as terrorist training” (Hawley 1). Given to how much of an issue NYPD had with Muslim’s in public places, it seems to go farther than that. Schools such as Yale and prestigious Ivy leagues have been examined by the NYPD. They wanted to know if any Muslims attend those schools. They sent “spies” to write names of students and counted the number of times they prayed. The schools didn’t know about the program, dividing some students about the issue. The article states, “City College criticized the surveillance and said it was unaware that the NYPD was watching students” (Hawley 1). In City College, no one has been arrested for terrorism in four years. It begs the question of why the police department didn’t tell them about the investigation. Students such as Ali Ahmed, who attended the college, doesn’t blame the officers and understands them as well. He comprehended that the officers were afraid of having any other terrorist events from reoccurring. But, many students believe that the investigation is a

violation of privacy. Briefly, schools were another prime location that is targeted by the NYPD. The police department where close-minded when it came to Middle Easterners, as they came to the U.S. for a reason.
Middle Easterners fear the NYPD, but they came to the U.S. to live the “American Dream”. The issue of racial profiling in New York has singled out people, intimidating them in the process. The article states, “Those practices turned innocent people into suspects, making us feel isolated and afraid of the police” (Elshinawy 1). People, such as Mohammad were paranoid when they discovered the investigation. When he would be preaching at mosques, he would watch his words so that he wouldn’t sound like he’s supporting terrorism. Nevertheless, the NYPD attempted to use Mohammad’s charity work, his work at mosques and his father against him. They wanted him to look like a terrorist. The actual use of the charity was to help low-income children, and stated that his father is not radicalized, nor was he himself involved. Middle Easterners want to live life in the United States and don’t want to worry about these issues. The article states, “Muslim students want to have their own lives, their own privacy and enjoy the same freedoms and opportunities that everybody else has” (Hawley 1). People who come from places such as Iraq, Pakistan or Iran want to escape the issue of violence and poverty from their countries. The United States is a place where people can freely live, and live up to the “American Dream”. Hence, they didn’t expect the racial profiling to occur at all.
In summarization, the officers perspective of preconception against Middle Easterners were an aftershock of 9/11. The expectations of the unknown investigation were high at the time, as terrorist crimes were ascending. There is a division among people of Middle Easterner heritage and officers. In spite of this, there is a solution to at least diminish this issue. The United States created travel bans to Middle Eastern countries, but this will not help at all. What the United States and these police departments need to do is to address the situation. Furthermore, they must create a connection between these two groups, and make an attempt to slim down the list of people who are dangerous.