9781422281161

10 T HE S TRUGGLE FOR I DENTITY : I SLAM AND THE W EST

Islamic Society of Baltimore. “You’re right where you belong. You’re part of America too. You’re not Muslim or American. You’re Muslim and American.” President Obama had previously visited mosques in other countries— most notably delivering a speech addressed to the Muslim world from Cairo, Egypt, in June 2009— but had not previously visited a mosque in the United States, the Associated Press reported. But Obama’s mosque visit, and his remarks about Islam and its place in American life, had a noteworthy precedent. A few days after the September 11, 2001, terror- ist attacks, in which Muslim terrorists crashed airplanes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, causing about 3,000 deaths, then- President George W. Bush had visited the Islamic Center in Washington, D.C. Bush declared that the United States would fight against terrorism, but tried to clearly explain that the United States was not at war with Muslims, but only with people willing to use terror as a political tool. In the wake of the September 11 attacks, it was obvious that many devout Muslims, both US citizens and people who live in other parts of the world, were just as shocked and saddened by the attacks as non-Muslims. “The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam,” Bush had said. “That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace.” In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, some people asked how it was possible for one religion to be the source of such remarkably dif- ferent attitudes and actions. Others wondered why Muslims would use terror to try to achieve their aims, why there is anger against the United States and other Western nations throughout the Islamic world, and whether there could ever be peace between Muslims and non-Muslims. devout— having deep religious feeling or commitment. Muslim— one who submits to God’s will and undertakes the performance of the Five Pillars of Islamic faith. Words to Understand in This Chapter