How 9/11 Changed Life ...

Like any Muslim, 9/11 has changed my outlook on how I should live my life especially living here in the U.S.  Why? Because it seems that actions of a few extremists have tarnished the face of my religion, Islam, in a way that the rest of its followers are left to apologize for something that is not associated with my faith; and its followers neither associate with nor want to be part of it. It seems like paying for somebody else’s mistakes.

Being a peace-loving person of the society and belonging to community which bears the motto “love for all and hatred for none,” having the task to defend my religion at all times seems like a burden.

I think this incident had the most impact on air travel. I remember my husband and I had made plans to visit Florida on the 19th of September, prior to this tragedy. Of course, I did not want to go through with it due to fear of a similar terrorist attack. But my husband convinced me to do it in wake of higher security at all airports. The trip went fine but it was the first time that he had to take off his belt and shoes for security purposes. And now it’s a norm apart from other scanning machines introduced to help with security concerns.

After being on an 18-hour flight with a 9-month old child on my way back from Pakistan, the immigration officer at San Francisco airport deported me since I did not have the relevant H4 visa stamped on my passport. He was right: I had the H4 approval letter and not the visa itself, but I did have a valid five-year multiple entry visa which could have saved me the trouble.

Unfortunately, after a long hearing, I was told that had I been into this situation before 9/11, they would have let me in. So barely awake, I had to make another 18-hour journey back to Pakistan to get the visa stamped to be allowed re-entry to the U.S.

My mother-in-law found herself in a situation where her bio might have been likened to a "person of interest" for the security personnel. She was supposed to visit us in California but missed her flight since the security people kept on asking her questions relating to some information they possessed. The next day she came earlier than usual and got stuck in the same mess only to be the last person to board the plane and was finally able to reach us.

Like many other Muslims, our names ring a bell with all security people at the airports and most of the times we are not able to do curbside check-ins. So it seems unfair that we are not able to make use of that service because of our association with a specific faith. As a practicing Muslim woman who observes the Islamically mandated dress code, I have to go through additional screening as well.

On one level, I appreciate all the actions our government has taken to ensure safer air travel, but the travel time has drastically increased due to long lines at security checkpoints. Traveling with smaller kids with strollers and diaper bags has turned into a hassle too.

I am glad that bin Laden is gone but hopeful that at the 10th anniversary of 9/11, we will work towards better understanding of each others’ faiths in order to live peacefully and to rid of unwanted suspicion.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, of which I am a member, is honoring all lives lost 10 years ago by having a blood drive campaign “Muslims for Life” in an attempt to save 30,000 lives to prove Islam’s claim of sanctity for life. For more information, please check out our campaign website www.muslimsforlife.org