The lives of Arab Americans drastically changed after the events of 9/11. They had lived relatively under the radar of  American masses up to this point. Most people did not have an opinion of them, neither good nor bad. Suddenly, they were thrust into the spotlight for something they had no connection to at all. Fear became prevalent and this fear brought out paranoia and prejudice. Overnight, ethnic and religious profiling of Arab Americans became the norm. It was something that was expected. That’s not to say that it had not existed before this point in time but it reached its boiling point after the events of 9/11. People’s lives were torn apart. There were those who were wrongfully imprisoned with little evidence or explanation for something they were not associated with. They are detained at airports and questioned beyond belief and padded and prodded for some sort of weapon. And they must endure all this outright disrespect and profiling because if they were to speak up it would just make things worse. It could be perceived that they are hindering/obstructing the law. Arab Americans were lied to, cheated, and manipulated. Immigration offices would tell them there was an “issue” with their paperwork and then they would detain them for months. In some cases they were deported out of America. Mustafa Bayoumi wrote his book How Does it Feel to be the Problem? to share the stories of the Arab American youths in Brooklyn after 2001. Bayoumi reflects,“I know what it is like to be Arab and Muslim today, but what is it like, I wondered, to be young, Arab, and Muslim in the age of terror? Today's young Arab Americans often live uncomfortably between expectations.” No matter our religion or ethnicity we all have blood pumping through our veins and we all deserve a chance instead of being proclaimed and treated guilty for others actions.

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