NCJ Number
207240
Date Published
June 2002
Length
15 pages
Annotation
Based on interviews with Muslims in Maine, as well as those who might be mistaken by some to be Muslims, this report examines the impact on Maine's Muslim community after the September 11th terrorist attacks, followed by suggestions for strategies to make Muslims safer in Maine.
Abstract
From January through April of 2002, some 6 months after the September 11th attacks, four outreach coordinators under the auspices of The Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence conducted confidential interviews with 40 Muslims in Maine who were from a variety of backgrounds and native nations. The outreach coordinators were from various sectors of the Muslim community in Maine. A significant proportion of those interviewed had either personally experienced or knew of a family member or friend who had experienced bias-motivated harassment, threats, or violence in the days and weeks after September 11th. Muslim women, who could be identified as Muslim by their traditional head covering, were particularly vulnerable to targeting for harassment and intimidation. Anxiety exists in the Muslim community not only because of harassment from people in the course of their daily lives but also because of the Federal Government's heightened enforcement of immigration law and broadened law enforcement attention to Muslims. There is also fear of another terrorist attack on Americans, which might further intensify attacks on Muslims in America. Maine's Responding to September 11th Project is working to address the problems identified in this report through a variety of projects and strategies. These include public service announcements, community meetings, training, information on hate-crime reporting, and planning for a rapid response to curtail attacks on Muslims in the event of another terrorist incident.