When the planes struck the towers of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, they also struck at the hearts of mankind. A cataclysm of such magnitude represents not only a transgression of man against his fellow man, but more importantly, a transgression of man against God.

How can an act condemned by all people of sound mind and intellect be rationalized under a faith accepted by one-fifth of the Earth’s population?

Because many have associated this act of terrorism with the Islamic faith, the crime committed on that catastrophic day has torn apart not only the lives and homes of the victims, but also a nation.

But one may ask, how has this torn apart our nation, when we have never witnessed such wondrous displays of patriotism and solidarity among the constituents of this country?

While the majority of our nation has bonded, working to ameliorate the condition of those afflicted by this flagrant act of terrorism, a segment of this nation which more than 8 million people identify with has been ostracized, alienated, condemned and harassed. Muslims, along with people of Arab descent, have been categorized as the enemy — as Islamic fundamentalists and terrorists.

Many of our ignorant fellow Americans have attempted to display their own patriotism and camaraderie at the cost of defacing, defaming and attacking others. But anyone with the ability to reason must realize that harboring ill will against innocent people, and blaming an act of a specific group of criminals on one “culture,” does not promote any American cause.

To call the crimes that have been committed against Muslims and Arab Americans “hate crimes” is to use a misnomer; in fact, they are motivated by ignorance. While terrorism has been called the scourge of our modern world, ignorance proves itself to be a far more lethal scourge, time and time again.

It is ignorance that leads us to disparage and abuse an entire people and culture for the maliciousness of a few. It is ignorance that leads us to believe that Muslims are foreigners, when Islam is the fastest growing religion in the United States, and has thousands of indigenous American followers. It is ignorance that leads us to believe that the Islamic culture must be eradicated in order to rid the world of violence, when it is, in fact, the Islamic culture that has contributed more to society than perhaps any other. Muslims are the inheritors of a rich cultural legacy that most people would be baffled by if only they studied it.

I do not believe that Islam, or Muslims, have made any new enemies in the wake of this momentous tragedy. Rather, it is the vulnerability of all people during this time that causes prejudices that were once dormant in the hearts and minds of people to surface on their tongues and in their actions.

Here at Northwestern, we have not witnessed any open displays of intolerance. Students and faculty on campus have shown support for Muslims and Arabs, and recent events have piqued their interest in learning more about Islam as a faith.

It saddens me, however, that it takes a tragedy of this magnitude to alert us to our ignorance of other people’s faiths and cultures. I have noticed that more people on campus have been making an effort to smile back at me as I walk down the street, or say hello to me when I sit down next to them in class. While this is indeed comforting, was I not deserving of these acts of kindness before? Do people make an effort to be extra courteous just so that I don’t suspect them of being prejudiced? Do they try to be outwardly pleasant so that they ease their hearts from the fear that a deeper prejudice actually lurks within them?

As an American Muslim, I realize that I will feel like a member of this society not when people stop shouting things at me because of the way that I dress, for silence does not necessarily indicate acceptance. I will only become a true American when I am seen as one in the hearts of other Americans; when the ignorance that is now revealed by some will be silenced not only on their tongues, but also, more importantly, within their hearts.

Waging a war against terrorism is futile unless we wage an equally effective war against ignorance.

Deanna Othman is a Weinberg senior. She can be reached at [email protected].