jennifer bryan
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Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), and hostility and hate crimes by neighbors and
employers, paradoxically, Muslims in Jersey City have not attempted to “blend” into American
life and hide their “Muslimness.” On the contrary, they have embraced a more traditional
adherence to religious practices of Islam, striving to represent what they call “the true” Islam.
The analysis in this paper is part of a broader project examining the impact of September
11
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on social interactions among diverse groups in Jersey City. Here, I draw on two years of
ethnographic research (September 2001 to September 2003) to discuss some of the most urgent
social effects of 9/11 on Muslims in Jersey City. My aim is to identify the critical challenges
facing Muslims, to document the ways Muslims have responded to these challenges, and to
consider the implications for community life and intergroup relations.
Setting the Stage: Introducing Jersey City
As a case study, Jersey City presents an important opportunity to evaluate the impact of
9/11 on Muslims. It is impossible to appreciate the scale of this impact without considering
several unique characteristics of Jersey City: its close proximity to Manhattan; its diverse
population, including large numbers of Arab Muslim immigrants; and its history linking Jersey
City residents to the planning of the 1993 World Trade Center attack.
Jersey City is located in Hudson County, along the Hudson River in northeast New
Jersey. It is about two miles west of Manhattan, separated by a short stretch of the Hudson
River. On a normal day, the commute from Jersey City to lower Manhattan is less than ten
minutes; it is easily accessible by PATH train or car through the Holland Tunnel, as well as by
ferry across the Hudson River. For many decades, Jersey City’s close proximity to New York
City has made it an important stop for commuters and tourists on their way to Manhattan. In
fact, Jersey City is so widely recognized for its crystal clear view of the lower Manhattan skyline
that before 9/11 movie producers often chose Jersey City’s waterfront as the ideal place to
photograph and film the World Trade Center.
While Jersey City suffered tremendous economic losses with the decline in
manufacturing during the postindustrial 1970s and 1980s,
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its waterfront view and easy access to
Manhattan rendered it a prime site for massive revitalization and gentrification in the 1990s.
Today Jersey City’s newly developed Harborside Financial Center, nicknamed “Wall Street
West,” is home to corporate giants like Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.
Indeed, to the casual observer, it is often difficult to discern which silver skyscrapers stand in
Convention