A quarter of a century after the attacks of September 11, 2001, Muslims living in the United States continue to bear the weight of the stigma associated with those Al Qaeda attacks against the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. According to a recent survey, more than 40% of the country's population holds an unfavorable opinion of their Muslim compatriots.
In detail, 43% of American adults consider Muslims "less patriotic" than the rest of the citizenry, while 42% believe that this religious minority exerts "somewhat or very negative" influence on American society, according to the study conducted by the Pew Research Center.
Among the reasons put forward by those expressing these views are the attacks of 9/11, including the crash of the plane in Pennsylvania and the nearly 3,000 fatalities. "Do you remember the Twin Towers?" or "The fear of another terrorist attack like 9/11" are some of the responses collected among those who show a negative view of Muslim citizens.
The image of Islam in the United States deteriorated drastically after the attacks by the jihadist organization, and since then, distrust has continued to consolidate among a population that, for the most part, remembers precisely where they were or what they were doing when the news of the attacks broke, perpetrated early in the morning —93% of those over 10 years old on 9/11.
In March 2002, 25% of American adults already pointed to Islam as a religion more prone than others to incite violence "among" its followers. That percentage has fluctuated since then between 38 and 52% until reaching just over half of the population, at 51%, according to a Pew Research survey conducted earlier this year.
This latest survey, which also analyzes opinions on Islam and Muslims according to the political orientation of voters, shows a clear gap: the percentage of Republicans and independents close to this party who associate Islam and violence far exceeds that of Democrats and Democratic sympathizers, with 76% versus 29%.
Political polarization around Islam
This distance between both ideological blocks was much smaller in the months following 9/11, when the figures stood at 32 versus 23%. Pew Research links this smaller initial difference to a "communication campaign" by then-President George Bush, who publicly defended that Islam is a "religion of peace."
"Terror does not represent the true faith of Islam (...) The United States has millions of Muslims among its citizens, and the contribution they make to our country is extremely valuable. There are doctors, lawyers, law professors, military personnel, entrepreneurs, merchants, fathers, and mothers. And they deserve to be treated with respect. In the midst of anger and emotion, we American citizens must treat each other with respect," he declared during a visit to the Islamic Center of Washington on September 17, 2001.
For the Pew Research Center, opinions about Islam "have politically polarized," as they are now "more negative and more partisan" than in the months immediately following the Al Qaeda attacks.
This association between Islam and violence has been reflected, among other aspects, in the rise of hate crimes against the Muslim community in the United States. Reports reached record numbers in 2001, with nearly 500 cases compared to about 30 recorded the previous year, according to data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Although in the following years the statistics have never returned to the levels of the year of 9/11, reports of hate crimes against Muslims have varied significantly, moving between around 100 cases and just over 300 in 2016. In 2025, there were 205 reports of incidents directed against this minority, which comprises between 3.5 and 7 million people, approximately 1.1% of the country's population.
To this picture is added the increase in the feeling, among Muslims themselves, of being discriminated against because of their faith. The proportion of those who perceive discriminatory treatment has risen from 52% at the end of 2001 to nearly 60% in 2026, according to various studies by Pew Research.
This perception is even more intense among younger Muslims residing in the United States. A 2017 survey by this research center reveals that more than half of respondents aged 18 to 40 (53%) reported having experienced discrimination, compared to 40% of those over 41 years old.
Despite this persistent stigma, the Muslim community has gained public presence in the political and social life of the country. Among the examples of this greater visibility are the mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, or Abdul El Sayed, recently elected by the Democratic Party in Michigan as its candidate for the Senate in the midterm elections.