NJ Muslim Group Decries 9/11 Attacks–And The Hate Crimes That Followed

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Tariq Amanullah was inside the South Tower of the World Trade Center when terrorists flew an airplane into the building on Sept. 11, 2001. After the second plane struck, the father of two – a vice president at Fiduciary Trust – called his wife to say he was wrapping up and would be down soon.

He didn’t return home.

Amanullah, an immigrant from Pakistan, was among nearly 3,000 people whose lives were stolen on 9/11, including an estimated 60 Muslim Americans. His death – and those of the other victims – was mourned by the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization on Friday, the 25^th anniversary of the attacks.

According to the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ), Amanullah was a “humble, soft-spoken man with a distinctive smile” – and an eager desire to help his community. Amanullah was treasurer of Islamic Circle of North America's (ICNA) New Jersey Chapter, and a founding member of 877-Why-Islam hotline.

Amanullah was also the founder of Muslim Family Day at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson. And in fact, his colleagues' last memory of him is from that very event – the Great Muslim Adventure Day – held just two days before he was killed.

The stories of Amanullah and other Muslim Americans are important to remember, CAIR-NJ said Friday.

“While the Muslim community lost loved ones on that day, our community writ large carried the blame of the attack,” the nonprofit said. “Among the 60 Muslims reportedly killed in the attacks were first responders, service staff, and professionals. Yet as American Muslim families grieved their loved ones, some of them endured backlash from individuals looking to blame the entire Muslim community for a crime they had nothing to do with.”

Anti-Muslim hate crimes jumped from 28 in 2000 to 481 in 2001, according to FBI data: a 17-fold spike.

The numbers have not fallen back to what they were nearly a quarter-century later, CAIR-NJ said.

“On this 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on our nation, we remember the 2,977 men, women and children who were murdered by Al-Qaeda on that day, including 750 of our neighbors from New Jersey,” CAIR-NJ executive director Selaedin Maksut said.

“Twenty-five years after the 9/11 attacks sparked a wave of hate crimes against American Muslims and people perceived to be Muslim, including Sikhs, that hate is on the rise again,” Maksut said.

“We must honor the legacy of those who were killed on Sep. 11, 2001 by respecting and uplifting each other, and standing against all forms of injustice,” Maksut urged. “Today we honor the lives lost, we remember the legacy of the first responders and all the ordinary people whose acts of service saved so many lives, and we work to live by their example.”

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