New York Times Columnist Paul Krugman Ripped For Claiming No ‘Mass Outbreak of Anti-Muslim Sentiment’ After 9/11: ‘My Mosque Burned Down’

Charlie NashSep 11th, 2020, 11:44 am
 

Neilson Barnard/New York Times/Getty Images

New York Times opinion columnist Paul Krugman found himself at the center of controversy after claiming there was no “mass outbreak of anti-Muslim sentiment and violence” following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

On the 19th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on Friday, Krugman tweeted, “Overall, Americans took 9/11 pretty calmly. Notably, there wasn’t a mass outbreak of anti-Muslim sentiment and violence, which could all too easily have happened. And while GW Bush was a terrible president, to his credit he tried to calm prejudice, not feed it.”

“Daily behavior wasn’t drastically affected,” he continued, adding, “True, for a while people were afraid to fly: my wife and I took a lovely trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands a couple of months later, because air fares and hotel rooms were so cheap. But life returned to normal fairly fast.”

Critics, including Arab-Americans and Muslims, accused Krugman of revisionism, pointing out that there was a significant increase in persecution against even Arab Christians.

“My mosque burned down,” declared Zara Rahim, an ex-staffer to former President Barack Obama, while other users spoke of being targeted for wearing a hijab.

“Every Arab-American kid I knew growing up, including me, remembers being called a terrorist at school, even jokingly, and being ashamed of our language/culture,” recalled Syrian-American Catholic journalist Marlo Safi. “My brother has been called one in public by adults when he was a child. Christian, Muslim, didn’t matter.”

Tags: