Following the attacks of Sept. 11, many persons of color in general — and Muslims in particular — became targets of discrimination, violence, and racial profiling. Many were detained by law enforcement agencies, even though most of them had nothing whatever to do with the attacks.
Racial profiling occurs when officials target a certain group of people of color, ethnicity, nationality, name or religion. While racial profiling existed prior to 9/11, the recent attacks have sparked a controversy over its effectiveness in preventing future terrorist attacks.
Jennifer Di Maglia, 20, an American of Syrian and European descent believes that racial profiling still exists and is primarily directed at people of Middle Eastern, North African, Southeast Asian descent — or for that matter, anybody who is Muslim. "However, racial profiling went on for decades before Sept. 11. Persons of color, presumably other than white, were targets of police discrimination, harassment, and other civil liberty violations," she said.
Erica Lopez, 19, an American of Puerto Rican descent and a Christian, added, "It worsened after the attacks. Now they’re focusing on everybody. However, they will never forget the black man."
Joseph Daswani, 19, an American of Indian and Trinidadian ancestry and a Christian, said, "There are a lot of ignorant people out there who categorize you because of where you come from."
May Awkal, 20, a Lebanese-American Muslim, believes that racial profiling is happening more than ever. "All people who ‘look’ Middle Eastern or Muslim are subject to harassment," she said.
Amna Hussein, 20, a Pakistani-American Muslim, found a note on the door of her room in the dorm that said: "Go back to where you belong." She was shocked and couldn’t believe how ignorant some people were.
Erica Lopez recalled walking home soon after 9/11 and being confronted by a man who appeared drunk. "He was saying, ‘I’ll be dammed if you think y’all can come into this country and destroy it.’" Even though Lopez is Puerto Rican-American, the man seemed to think she looked like a Middle Easterner.
Zahra Swaleh, 20, a Muslim student from Tanzania, described an experience at Boston’s Logan Airport as "uncomfortable and extremely degrading." The incident occurred last October.
Swaleh was forced to take her shoes off and her laptop was searched as well. "I stood out from the crowd which was predominately white; I was the only one who was randomly selected from the whole crowd."
There has always been controversy over racial profiling in law enforcement, but in the aftermath of 9/11, the debate whether the US government should constitutionally protect racial profiling has increased.
Guilerma Arce, 20, a Haitian American Christian, said, "With the US government making racial profiling law, it will continue to heighten racial tension which is already at levels that are intolerable."
On the other hand, Arce said, "Racial profiling can occur as long as it is regulated." She believes that it should be conducted in a respectable manner, without yelling, physical violence, or any use of derogatory terms. "Unfortunately, that’s not always the case," she added.
Di Maglia strongly disagreed. "It’s immoral and unreliable," she said. "Terrorists come in all shapes, sizes, colors, nationalities, and religions." Lopez added that even if racial profiling were constitutionally protected, "They will not target white Americans. They’re going to look for minorities. Look at those who run for Congress; it’s obvious who is most likely to be harassed for just about anything."
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(Fatima Ageel is a Saudi student.)
