The shadow of the September 11 attacks 25 years later

Much has changed since the 9/11 terror attacks 25 years ago. Almost 3,000 people died that day making it the deadliest terrorist attack in history. Each one of those people had family members--parents, children, siblings. Each life lost that day undoubtedly rippled out into waves of grief, anger and confusion, changing innumerable lives. But the country changed as well. Surveillance measures were heightened and Islamophobia surged. Four days after the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, Balbir Singh Sodhi, a Sikh man, was murdered while working at the Chevron gas station he owned in Mesa, Arizona. When the murderer was arrested, he reportedly told police that he was seeking revenge for the 9/11 attacks, which were carried out by Muslim extremist group al Qaeda.While Muslims and other religious minorities have become more respected in the United States, religious discrimination and xenophobia persist. Communities in Albuquerque recently tried to block construction of a new mosque. The Department of Homeland Security faced backlash this week for posting an image depicting an Indian man with the caption, "Get off our roads, you don't know how to drive Mr. Singh."