jennifer bryan
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documents and had overstayed their visitors’ visas. Clearly, many of these women were dealing
with a complex mix of emotions. They feared being physically assaulted; they were angry at the
perpetrators of such violent crimes; they worried that their undocumented immigration status
would be found out and felt guilty about not having papers; and they were ashamed if their
bodies were uncovered. At the same time, they were grateful to Allah, the good people who
helped them, and the chance to stay in America.
Compounding the trauma and fear of physical assaults in public, many Muslim women
were also coming to terms with their own feelings of sadness, grief and anger over the attack on
the World Trade Center. In one case, when I asked an Egyptian Muslim woman, who had lived
in Jersey City for two years about her experiences after 9/11, she paused for a few seconds to
hold back tears. Then composing herself, she began in a strong but emotional voice:
It’s hard. When you feel it, when you see it. I was cry. Every week I go to the
World Trade Center. I love this place. Love this place. Every week I go Monday
or Tuesday because that’s my day off. I go to the World Trade Center and I get
my fish on Canal Street. I love this place. …
After expressing her sadness over the attack on the World Trade Center, I asked if she
experienced any backlash after 9/11. She continued:
…One day I was on the bus and this lady tried to touch my cover from my head.
She tried to pull off my cover. She told me: “You people, you killed my
daughter” and something like this. … I guess, she’s sad. I believe that. I believe
her. I give her time like that because she’s going to do it. …
This woman had been wearing a cover for the past twenty years and had never gone out
in public without it. As a former elementary school teacher, and one of the few Egyptian women
who had learned how to read Arabic, she took great pride in being able to teach Muslim girls
about the importance of covering. Yet, when faced with the emotions of a woman who was
grieving for her daughter and the symbolic association of Muslims (and Islamic clothing) with
the devastation on 9/11, she allowed the woman “time” to yell at her and pull at her cover. Later
on she made a difficult decision to take off her cover to avoid future conflicts. She explained:
…I ran home and I told my husband I want to take my cover off because it’s so
sad when you do this stuff, when you see this stuff. I don’t like anybody to
bother me on the street and I don’t like to bother anybody. He told me: ‘OK you
take your cover off.’ At least for a little while I’ll do this.
When I asked how she felt about taking off her cover, she said:
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