Snellville Remembers 9/11: Samira Ahmed

Samira Ahmed, a woman featured previously on the Snellville Patch for her remarkable journey to the United States, opened up about her experiences following 9/11. 

“As a Muslim woman, I heard things from people here and there,” Ahmed recalled.  “I heard that all Muslims are terrorists.” 

After the initial shock of the planes hitting the World Trade Center, Ahmed felt the same sense of sadness and anxiety that every other American faced.  When learning that the 9/11 mastermind, Mohammed Atta, had trained as a pilot in Gwinnett County, she was very concerned. 

Over time, however, she began to experience things that others perhaps did not – the distrust of others.  

“It was a month or so after 9/11,” she said.  “I was at the mall with my friend and these people were looking at me like something was wrong with me.  I asked my friend why everyone was looking at me… she said, duh, you are Muslim wearing the hijab (traditional Muslim headcovering)! 

“For a while I felt like, don’t cover my hair, because I heard a lot of crazy things about what was happening to Muslims.  I was afraid to cover my hair for a while, but at the same time I felt like nobody had any right to do anything to me.” 

Ahmed’s children experienced varying degrees of suspicion as well.  When her son was learning about the Middle East in school, a friend asked him what his religion was.  When he replied that he was Muslim, his friend asked, “Do you have a bomb?” 

Ahmed’s daughter, who also wears the hijab, was bagging groceries at Publix one evening when a man grew hostile toward her.  He said that his son was in Iraq, and he didn’t want a Muslim bagging his groceries.  The Ahmeds are from Ethiopia, so her daughter, Aziza, was confused by the correlation.    

“When people say something about Islam because of 9/11,” Ahmed said, “I always try to explain we are not all terrorists.  We are against it, we don’t support it, we don’t like it.  I feel so bad for the people that were killed that day.  A lot of people’s lives changed.  I don’t want anyone to believe all Muslims are terrorists.  I don’t even call those people Muslims because a Muslim person doesn’t believe in taking anyone’s life. 

“As a Muslim woman it’s my duty to let those people know that what they see in the media is not all about Islam.  I don’t put all Americans together because of Timothy McVey.  When [American] men kill their wives or kids, I don’t put them all together like that.” 

According to Ahmed, no religion condones taking another’s life.  

“We are all human beings,” she said.