WASHINGTON: Around New York City in the weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, as an eerie quiet settled over ground zero, South Asian and Arab men started vanishing.
Soon, more than 1,000 were arrested in sweeps across the metropolitan area and nationwide. Most were charged only with overstaying visas and deported back to their home countries. But before that happened, many were held in detention for months, with little outside contact.
Twenty years later, in the aftermath of all the remembrances and memorials to the events of 9/11, little attention has been paid to the fate of these men and their families, collateral damage of a horrific terrorist act and the hysteria it spawned.
Fahd Ahmed, executive director of the immigrant advocacy group Desis Rising Up and Moving, said after the attacks, his group “started getting calls from women saying, ‘Last night, law enforcement busted into our apartment and took my husband and my brother.’ Children calling us and saying, ‘My father left for work four days ago and he hasn’t come home, and we haven’t heard anything.’”
“There were people who were just disappearing from our communities,” he says, “and nobody knew what was happening to them or where they were going.”
They were, according to the 9/11 Commission report, arrested as “special interest” detainees. Immigration hearings were closed, detainee communication was limited and bond was denied until the detainees were cleared of terrorist connections. Identities were kept secret.
A review conducted by the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General said its policy meant a significant percentage of the detainees stayed for months despite immigration officials questioning the legality of the prolonged detentions and even though there were no indications they were connected to terrorism.
Although many of those who were held had come into the US illegally or overstayed visas, it was unlikely they would have been pursued if not for the attack investigation, the report said.
The “blunderbuss approach” of rounding up Muslims and presuming there would be terrorists among them was “pure racism and xenophobia in operation,” says Rachel Meeropol, senior staff attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights, who filed a lawsuit in 2002 on behalf of several of the men and continues to fight for additional plaintiffs to this day.
Yasser Ebrahim, an original plaintiff in the lawsuit, was at a shop in his New York neighborhood and noticed people intently watching the television. “I saw these images on the screen, and for a moment there was like some kind of a movie or something,” he says. “I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.”
He had been in the United States since 1992 and enjoyed his life. “I loved everything about America,” he said by Zoom from Egypt.
On Sept. 30, 2001. Federal agents showed up at his door in Brooklyn, New York. Ebrahim thought the immigration matter would be straightened out quickly, or he would be deported. He remained in custody until the following June.
For three months, his family did not know what happened to him or his brother. Even then there was little outside communication. And some officers at the facility in Brooklyn were physically and verbally abusive. It was months before he saw his brother. “There was the general feeling that we’re going to be here forever,” he says.
Ebrahim’s brother was deported first.
When Ebrahim was finally allowed to leave, he was given clothes several sizes too big and placed on a plane but without being told the destination. The plane went to Greece and after spending a night in the custody of Greek authorities, he boarded a flight for Cairo.
In 2009 he and four others, including his brother, reached a $1.26 million settlement on the lawsuit. Though not an apology, he says, “we thought it was sort of admitting that something wrong was done to us.”
Umair Anser, was 14 and living in Bayonne, New Jersey, when he and math classmates watched the twin towers fall on a classroom television.
Less than a month later he came from school and found a nearly catatonic mom and a ransacked home. His father, Anser Mehmood, was gone, along with the family’s computers.
“We didn’t know where our father was for the next three months,” Anser said.
When the family did see him again, it was a different man. “He was so weak … I couldn’t see my dad like that,” Anser said.
With their father gone, there was no financial support for the family. Anser and his brothers were bullied at school; neighbors harassed them at home. It became untenable and the family returned to Pakistan, leaving Mehmood behind, in jail.
Mehmood eventually pleaded guilty to working with an unauthorized Social Security number and was sentenced to eight months in prison. He was transferred to Passaic County Jail before finally being deported to Pakistan on May 10, 2002, where the family now lives.
Joshua Dratel, co-chair of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’ national security committee, says the detentions are a foundational piece of something troubling — an acceptance of more invasive law enforcement for protection from terrorists.
Searches at airports, in buildings, even on subways: “These are things that were once exceptional and extraordinary, and now the exception has become the norm. I think that has put us in a position of vulnerability to more of it and a more malevolent version of it.”
Shirin Sinnar, a law professor at Stanford University, says the extreme measures taken after 9/11 have been normalized to the point that “now we don’t even talk about them. They’ve just become part of the kinds of surveillance and deprivation of rights and profiling that we expect to see.”
The positive, she says: More people seem willing to challenge that.
To a degree, that is true. Attitudes have trended toward people being more wary of the government’s counterterrorism efforts.
But a recent poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that a majority of Americans, 54 percent, still believe it is sometimes necessary to sacrifice rights and freedom to fight terrorism.
The long-running lawsuit in which additional plaintiffs were added after the first five were awarded a settlement has continued. It has ricocheted through the court system with mixed results, including a 2017 stop at the Supreme Court. Last month, a federal district court judge in Brooklyn dismissed the lawsuit.
Meeropol says the initial settlement was proof that the plaintiffs had a compelling case. She says no decision has been made yet on an appeal. That leaves a striking fact: Nearly 20 years later, no individuals have been held accountable for how the detainees were treated, she says.
Ebrahim, now 49, and owner of a company that provides outsource service, including coding, to other companies, said now, he would consider bringing his teenage son to New York City to see sights and sounds that he found “charming.”
But, he has advice for US citizens: “Never twist the Constitution again. What makes America America is the freedom, and the Constitution.”
Muslims recall questionable detentions that followed 9/11
https://arab.news/2xznc
Muslims recall questionable detentions that followed 9/11

- Over 1,000 Arabs and South Asians disappeared and were later deported from the US after the 9/11 attacks
- A senior lawyer said the detentions were 'pure racism and xenophobia in operation'
Ex-servicemen to be re-deployed as security guards in Kashmir, says Indian govt

- Around 4,000 veterans have been "identified" as non-combatant volunteers
SRINAGAR, India: Military veterans will be redeployed as security guards in Indian Kashmir, New Delhi said on Saturday.
The government of Jammu and Kashmir approved a "proposal for mobilising ex-servicemen to safeguard vital infrastructure across the union territory," according to a government press release.
Around 4,000 veterans have been "identified" as non-combatant volunteers, out of which 435 have licensed personal weapons, it said.
This will help by "significantly enhancing the capacity to respond effectively to localised security situations," the government added.
Veterans will work in "static guard" roles, focusing on "presence-based deterrence and local coordination."
India already has an estimated half a million soldiers permanently deployed in its part of Kashmir.
A similar veteran volunteer program took place with 2,500 veterans during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the government.
Philippines records surge in tourists from Middle East

- Philippines has been recognized as an emerging Muslim-friendly destination in recent years
- Last year, it launched a beach for Muslim women travelers in top resort island Boracay
MANILA: The Philippines has recorded significant growth in tourists from the Middle East, the Department of Tourism said on Sunday, following various campaigns to attract more travelers from the region.
Tourism is a key sector for the Philippines, and its government has lately been trying to attract more visitors from the Middle East by creating Muslim-friendly destinations and ensuring that they have access to halal products and services.
Those efforts, part of the Philippines’ move to diversify its economy away from dependency in the declining Chinese market, have led to a surge in international tourism arrivals from countries in the Middle East and the Gulf Cooperation Council, Philippine Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco said.
“We are targeting markets such as the Middle East and the GCC, as well as India,” she said in a statement.
“Because of our efforts to diversify, we are seeing, for example, from the Middle East and the GCC, an average of no less than 500 to 800 percent growth rate in terms of international tourism arrivals.”
The Philippines’ tourism sector has been recovering since the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced most tourism destinations in the country to shut down and resulted in a decline of foreign arrivals by more than 80 percent compared to 2019 numbers.
As tourism started to rebound, the Middle Eastern market was among the ones showing “promising signs of recovery” last year, a Department of Tourism report said.
The UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain are among the countries showing a positive recovery rate, “signifying a steady return of visitors from the Gulf region,” according to the report.
In 2024, the Philippines was recognized as an Emerging Muslim-friendly non-Organization of Islamic Cooperation Destination by the Mastercard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index.
The index is an annual report benchmarking destinations in the Muslim travel market.
The archipelagic country known for its white-sand beaches, diving spots and rich culture, also won the award in 2023 and has since boosted efforts to attract visitors from the Middle East.
Last year, it launched a beach for Muslim women travelers in Boracay, the country’s top resort island and one of the world’s most popular.
The Department of Tourism also partnered with Emirates Airlines in April to jointly promote the Philippines, targeting the Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and European markets.
“The beauty of coming to the Philippines is that it is a very diversified destination. We are able to cater to any type of traveler, whether you are a solo traveler, a couple, (or) a family,” Frasco said.
“With the number of islands that we have and the readiness of these destinations, then we are excited to welcome people of all nationalities.”
British politician urges UK to act on Israel as Gaza faces ‘cruel destitution’

- Liberal Democrat Layla Moran, of Palestinian descent, said a critical tone had yet to translate into meaningful policy change
LONDON: A British politician of Palestinian descent has called on the UK government to back its tougher rhetoric on Israel with tangible action, warning that people in Gaza are facing “unbearably cruel levels of destitution.”
Liberal Democrat Layla Moran said that although ministers had recently adopted a more critical tone, this had yet to translate into meaningful policy change, The Guardian reported on Sunday.
“I remain frustrated that while the government’s words and tone have changed, in terms of concrete actions, not much has changed,” she said.
Her comments come amid growing international pressure over Israel’s expanded military campaign in Gaza and its restriction of humanitarian aid.
On Wednesday, Hamish Falconer, minister for the Middle East, described Israel’s aid blockade as “appalling,” “cruel,” and “indefensible.”
Foreign Secretary David Lammy also confirmed that the UK was in discussions with France and Saudi Arabia about recognizing a Palestinian state, ahead of a planned international conference in Paris in June.
Moran urged the UK to move forward with recognition, arguing it would “safeguard Palestinian interests and also send a very clear signal to Israel that there are consequences to their actions.”
She also criticized the government for continuing to allow trade from illegal Israeli settlements and for supplying arms to Israel, adding: “They’re still arming Israel when they shouldn’t be.”
Mogadishu suicide bomber kills at least 10 at army recruitment drive

- Dozens of abandoned shoes and the remains of the suicide bomber were visible at the scene
- Medical staff at military hospital said they received 30 injured people from the blast and 6 of them died immediately
MOGADISHU: At least 10 people were killed on Sunday after a suicide bomber targeted a queue of young recruits registering at the Damanyo military base in the Somali capital Mogadishu, witnesses told Reuters.
Teenagers were lining up at the base’s gate when the attacker detonated their explosives, they said.
A military captain who gave his name as Suleiman described the attack as he had seen it unfold.
“I was on the other side of the road. A speeding tuk-tuk stopped, a man alighted, ran into the queue, and then blew himself up. I saw 10 people dead, including recruits and passers-by. The death toll may rise,” he said.
Dozens of abandoned shoes and the remains of the suicide bomber were visible at the scene.
Another witness, Abdisalan Mohamed, said he had seen “hundreds of teenagers at the gate as we passed by in a bus.”
“Abruptly, a deafening blast occurred, and the area was covered by dense smoke. We could not see the details of casualties,” he said.
Medical staff at the military hospital told Reuters they had received 30 injured people from the blast and that six of them had died immediately.
Government forces quickly cordoned off the entire area.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack and government officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
The attack echoed a similar incident in 2023 when a suicide bomber killed 25 soldiers at the Jale Siyad base, located opposite the Damanyo facility.
Sunday’s attack followed the assassination on Saturday of Col. Abdirahmaan Hujaale, commander of battalion 26, in the Hiiran region, amid local reports of Al-Shabab militant infiltration into government and security forces.
Building fire kills 17, injures others in southern India

- Fires are common in India, where building laws and safety norms are often flouted by builders and residents
HYDERABAD, India: At least 17 people were killed and several injured in a fire that broke out at a building near the historic Charminar monument in southern Hyderabad city, officials said Sunday.
Several people were found unconscious and rushed to various hospitals, according to local media. They said the building housed a jewelry store at ground level and residential space above.
“The accident happened due to a short circuit and many people have died,” federal minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader G Kishan Reddy told reporters at the site of the accident.
Director general of Telangana fire services Y Nagi Reddy told reporters that 21 people were in the three-story building when the fire started on the ground floor early on Sunday.
“17 people, who were shifted to the hospital in an unconscious state, could not survive. The staircase was very narrow, which made escape difficult. There was only one exit, and the fire had blocked it,” he said.
The fire was brought under control.
Prime minister Narendra Modi announced financial compensation for the victims’ families and said in a post on X that he was “deeply anguished by the loss of lives.”
Fires are common in India, where building laws and safety norms are often flouted by builders and residents.