On 9/11/01, I was a 19-year-old college sophomore. I am among the last generations who was an adult prior to 9/11, and observed the changes our world and country went through since. As we now pass the quarter century mark this week, I’m privileged to share an episode of a docu-series by my good friend Dr. Simran Jeet Singh, a Sikh American scholar of Islam. I hope that, in addition to reading my words below, you first watch his excellent episode. Let’s Address This.
We start with a story. This is part of the UNDIVIDED Series. UNDIVIDED is an American documentary series featuring bestselling author and religion scholar Simran Jeet Singh on a cross-country journey to discover how the fight for freedom has shaped and been shaped by our diverse religious communities throughout American history.
Lesson 1: Perspective in mourning
On 9/11 we mourn 2977 fellow Americans. Innocent people viciously ripped away from us by terrorists and extremists. We pray for the 2977 departed, we remember them, and we cherish their memories. And too often the conversation stops there. But there is so much more we must remember.
In the 25 years since we lost, by conservative estimates, another 6,000 Americans to polluted air caused by 9/11. And recently revealed documents demonstrate that the Giuliani administration knew of the poisonous air, and let people breath it in anyway. Will Rudy Giuliani ever face accountability for enabling this mass suffering?
We’ve also lost roughly 10,000 American soldiers. Depending on various estimates, hundreds of thousands to millions of Afghan and Iraq civilians were killed in the two subsequent wars after 9/11. Our government wasted more than $8 Trillion on the "war on terror"—a shocking $250 million a day for more than two decades. And we are no safer or closer to peace or justice today, than we were back then. We could have paid for student debt four times over, guaranteed universal healthcare 100 times over, ended homelessness, ended poverty, invested in major infrastructure and high speed rail, make massive climate moves, invested in affordable housing, and so much more. But instead, our elected officials spent it on war and destruction and we have absolutely nothing to show for it except the worst wealth and income inequality in more than a century, and a global instability that rivaled the years prior to World War II.
In the days and weeks after 9/11, Rep Barbara Lee stood with moral courage to oppose the war, and she was right. History has tragically proven her more right than I believe even she might have imagined. After 24 long, painful years, my prayer is that our future policies are not built on invasion and war, but on justice and diplomacy, on accountability and transparency. On our Constitutional promise of due process and human rights.
Lesson 2: Perspective in history
Uninformed memes like the one below have begun popping up recently, dangerously whitewashing post 9/11 America by falsely calling us a "unified" country on 9/12.
If even after 25 years you think the weeks or months after 9/11 were days of unity, you have not been paying attention to the BIPOC people and Muslims in America. The people in your life who feared for our safety and suffered a massive spike in hate crimes for something we had nothing to do with.
Yes, the myth of "unity" means ignoring the massive spike in anti-Muslim, anti-Hindu, anti-Sikh, and anti-Arab hate crimes post 9/11. It means ignoring the Patriot Act (which even some Democrats in Congress still recklessly vote for), the NYPD’s illegal warrantless spying on American citizens who are Muslim, the dozens of states who tried to pass "anti-Shariah" bills, Guantanamo Bay, CIA torture, indiscriminate drone strikes, & the Muslim Ban—all which denied the justice our Constitution promises.
These are all connected.
The "unity" was if you unquestionably supported what George W. Bush called "a crusade," that “God told him” to wage. Otherwise, you were unpatriotic. "You're either with us, or you're with the terrorists," Bush famously said—whitewashing objections to killing of hundreds of thousands of Afghan and Iraqi civilians. And if you’re surprised about the ‘sudden’ rise of Christian nationalism today, remember that George Bush laid the groundwork with his sociopathic claims that God told him to invade Iraq and mass murder people.
Instead, the unity we actually need is unity built on justice, as our Constitution requires. On ensuring we do not scapegoat innocent people, but always uphold due process for all people—especially when it's hard.
If we can't uphold justice when it's hard, it was never justice we upheld.
Lesson 3: Perspective on the future
Revisionist history of "unity" undermines the lived experiences of BIPOC people and Muslims. Let's instead reflect on our past errors, and ensure a future nation built on justice. The reality is that anti-Muslim hate crimes are still at record highs. The continued dehumanization and genocide of Palestinians, funded by U.S. tax dollars demonstrates that the lessons of mass death in Afghanistan and Iraq have gone unheeded. And Islamophobia remains an acceptable form of bigotry in American politics today.
And as I’ve written recently, even the Department of Justice tragically demonstrates a double standard in how they respond to the murder and kidnapping of American citizens—condemning and prosecuting crimes committed by Hamas, but ignoring those crimes against American citizens committed by Netanyahu.
The future also requires we do right by those who continue to suffer from 9/11 in the United States. Building on what the 9/11 files document earlier with poisonous air, how many people realize that more FDNY members have died from World Trade Center illnesses than killed on 9/11? Our nation’s lack of guaranteed universal healthcare as a human right is a perpetual atrocity inflicted upon our populace.
Conclusion
On 9/11/01 I was a 19-year-old college sophomore, unsure of what the future held, and no platform from which to speak. On 9/11/25 I am a 43-year-old father of three, husband of 17 years, and human rights lawyer with a platform committed to justice. And that is a platform I intend to continue to grow, with your support, to advance our fight for justice and humanity.
As we see increasing volatility in our nation and in our world, I am reminded that the path forward requires us to make important, thoughtful choices grounded in empathy, unity, and justice. Indeed, if we want to ensure we learn from the lessons of history, our future must be grounded in absolute justice.
That means rejecting double standards in legal accountability, rejecting discriminatory legislation against marginalized communities, and rejecting anti-Muslim bigotry and Islamophobia. Today we mourn those lost over the last 24 years. The people lost, the opportunities lost, and the rights lost. And the best way to honor what we lost, is to ensure we truly uphold justice for the next 24 years, and beyond, to demand true justice for all. True love of humanity requires it. Just remember, love isn't a word, it's meaningful action for justice.
And that is something we must Never Forget.
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The week after 9/11 I was a nurse on the labor and delivery unit. A pregnant woman and her husband came under my care. They were tense but became more relaxed. The husband spoke English and told me he was relieved I treated his wife like she was my sister, and that we all worship the same God. I’m glad I could give them safety for the birth of their child.
I wish we had someone like you in the U.K.! You are a voice of reason and sanity in a world growing uglier every day. (Former 55-year California resident.)