The events of September 11, 2001, are burned into the memories of every American there to experience it. When we think back, flashes of images so terrifying that just the thought brings goosebumps and the same painful feelings of loss and fear come flooding back. On that beautiful, Tuesday morning, hijackers plowed jetliners into both of the World Trade Center’s towers causing them to crumble an hour and a half later when, “A Hellish storm of ash glass, smoke and leaping victims…” rained down upon the streets of Manhattan. Following the Tower’s attacks, two more acts of terror followed across the northeast part of the country. A third airliner flew into the Pentagon in our nation’s capital and then a fourth airliner crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. We didn’t know what was going on, we didn’t know who was to blame, all we knew was that many, many lives were lost and we were a nation traumatized. The death toll of the events of September 11th is said to have surpassed that of Pearl Harbor. Over 2,600 people died at the World Trade Center, 125 at the Pentagon in addition to the 256 passengers that died aboard the four planes. Along with death, there were countless injuries, not to mention the psychological impact upon survivors and witnesses. Families of people working in the attacked buildings sat glued to their television’s waiting to hear the name of their loved ones reported dead on the news. Schools remained open to house the children that were suddenly orphaned and no longer had anyone to go home to.

These acts were carried out by nineteen young men with origins in the Middle East who were acting on behalf of the Islamist extremist group known as al Qaeda . The acts these men committed are disturbing without a doubt but became even more so when it was discovered that many of them had been in our country for more than a year, living among us. These men acted under the orchestration of their leader, Osama bin Laden, who, in 1998, released a public declaration he believed it was God’s word that every Muslim should make killing Americans a priority. Bin Laden was never bashful about his hatred of America and it is only natural that any American would share this hatred toward such a deeply evil individual. In the context of this horrific event, one of the worst attacks on American soil in history, we know who is at fault and this organization along with its leader are entirely to blame for their despicable inhumane actions. With that being said, in recent years our eyes have become generalized to where the blame falls for this painful piece of American History.

Since the events of 9/11, sixteen years ago, we have lost sight of who is true to blame and have begun placing hatred upon an entire religion instead of considering the specific extremist section that is truly at fault. It is not a surprise that we hear the word “Muslim” now and feel fear and it is not a surprise that we are still angry over these events but we must be sure to place blame where blame is due and avoid the vilification of an entire religion. This is not to say we are not absolutely entitled to feel the fear, pain and anger that tend to emerge when we take this day to remember a tragedy. However, we know who is truly at fault and that is the Islamist extremist group al Qaeda and their leader, who planned this event, Osama bin Laden. We must remember that within any religion there are those who take ideas to extremes, there are those who use religion as a cape to disguise ulterior motives, and there are those that harm others in the name of religion. In our own country, there are Christian extremist groups following Dominion Theology who believe it is acceptable to murder people who refuse to conform to Christianity in the name of “saving” their souls. These groups also commit acts of violent terror in which people die but do we hate all Christians because of these minority groups? The answer, of course, is no and we say, “No,” because we’re educated about Christianity. We are familiar with the true ideals and we know that these individuals have taken the religion and manipulated it to accommodate a darker agenda. This is the same for Muslims and Al Qaeda.

Muslims make up about 24% of the global religious population and in the countries that have a majority Muslim population, most agree that acts of violence, such as suicide bombings, in the name of Islam, are rarely or never justified (92% of Indonesian-Muslims and 91% of Iraqi-Muslims), according to the Pew Research Center. In addition, Muslim-Americans, who make up about 1% of our country’s population, are proud to be American, 92% of the Muslim-American population say so. It is justified that were are fearful, that we are apprehensive and angry but while we take this day to remember those lost in the events of September 11, 2001, it is important that we place the blame in the right place. It is simply ignorant to blame the entire Islamic religion, to discriminate, to express hatred toward every Muslim we come across. The most important aspect of this day of remembrance is just that, to honor and keep alive the memories of the thousands of lives lost in these acts of terror. Those responsible for these acts are being fought against diligently every day. Their leaders are being executed and their violent ideas are being silenced. On this somber day, we must remember to keep our hearts filled with pride to be American, love for the memories of those lost, empathy for those who witnessed and compassion for those living in America who receive blame for acts they neither supported nor participated in. The most beautiful thing about this country is the massive variety of human beings that are capable of existing in one nation. Remember that today and make an effort to spend the time honoring the lives lost in the events and since, in the War On Terror. Direct hatred to those that deserve it and do not generalize your blame. May God bless the souls of the fallen and may we continue to remember this painful day as the day that led America into the fight against evil. May we emerge victoriously.