[Serious]Muslims of Reddit, how much did your life change after 9/11?

I used to be a hardcore true believer until I left Islamic elementary school, long before 9/11. However, I never advertised my loss of faith any more than I did my loss of belief in Santa Claus, it was just something I out grew. If anything, I'd say the biggest change that the attacks had on me was opening my eyes to how ideologies that seemed benign, even silly, could be truly dangerous under certain conditions. I started looking at other aspects of life through that perspective, realizing that even the most beautiful and ideal notions such and love and hope can make people justify horrible actions, and that reason, and understanding is all we can really do to keep ourselves from falling into those cycles of fear and violence. Beyond that, I was lucky to have never really felt persecuted, and the handful of times I was ever called a terrorist were by my asshole friends who were obviously pulling my leg, and who I'm certain would have my back if anyone did the same thing with malicious intent.

On the other hand, both my parents were working in Manhattan on that day, my mother on 5th Avenue, and my father on Wall Street, a few blocks from Ground Zero. We didn't hear from him until three days later due to the lock down. My family were always friendly with everyone in our neighborhood and they never mentioned any bad experiences they might have had. However, I always got the distinct impression that in months following the attacks, they lost something that was fundamental to their confidence in American life. For most Americans, the threat was only terrorism. However, for American Muslims, after the stories began to circulate and the suspicions began to spread, not only did they have to worry about foreign terrorists, but also other Americans blindly seeking retribution, and what about that other Muslim guy who lived down the block? He always seemed inexplicably reclusive, and a little too fervent in his belief, could he also be up to something?

/r/AskReddit Thread