jennifer bryan
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Compounding this problem, many Muslims pay for safe deposit boxes to store money
and belongings in banks because Islam prohibits collecting interest in bank accounts. However,
to use a safe deposit box requires face-to-face interaction with bank employees, which since 9/11
can be very difficult. An Egyptian American woman told me:
The worst is when I go to the bank. They look at me like I am the most dirty,
filthy thing they’ve ever seen in their life. Always I am showered. I am dressed. I
am patient. I am polite. But they look at me like I am an evil, evil person.
One of the most astonishing aspects of this woman’s humiliation in the bank was that she
had been going to this bank at the same time every Tuesday for the past seven years. Before
9/11, she was friendly with the bank teller and looked forward to the weekly visits. Since 9/11,
the bank tellers looked at her as a loathsome outcast. Still, every Monday night she ironed her
clothes with care and prepared her bath so as to minimize any chance of humiliation on Tuesday.
Incidents on the Road
A number of people I interviewed spoke of being stopped by police on the road and of
unfair treatment because they were “Arab from Jersey City.” A twenty-eight year old Arab
American man, who had not practiced Islam since the age of eight, attributed his experience of
racial profiling to his last name and his Jersey City address:
I was pulled over in Atlantic City with my mother and sister in the car…As soon
as she [the policewoman] saw my last name and address, she asked me to get out
of the car. Then I was arrested. I wasn’t read my rights. They asked me where I
was born and questions like that. Then they threw me in a cell by myself for 4
hours. I had no phone call or anything…Now I know the routine. They saw my
name and address and ran a FBI background check, cause it takes about 4 hours
for that to go through. Then when they found nothing, they let me go with no
paperwork or anything. Now I’m a citizen here and I’m usually very vocal. But
I didn’t say anything because at the time they were detaining people like crazy
because they passed that bill in Congress…Now I don’t look Arab and I don’t
dress Arab. So for me, my problems are when they see my name and address.
Those two things right there--especially being from Jersey City—that does it for
me…Now, it’s to the point where I don’t even use my Jersey City ID…It’s just
easier that way.
This man’s experiences indicate that even the most Americanized Arab Muslims have
become targets of racial profiling because of their names and affiliation with Jersey City. In the
wake of the Patriot Act and new federal initiatives and directives specifically singling out Arab
nationals for scrutiny, and legitimizing racial profiling of Arabs, this man made a decision most
Convention