Though evidence suggests more Americans want to understand Islam, an uneasy and sometimes hostile climate has developed for Muslims living in the United States one year after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to the chair of the religious studies department at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Professor Fred Denny, who has studied Islam in the United States and abroad since the 1960s, said he's observed both positive and negative reactions since the attacks.
"I see real efforts at understanding Islam and appreciating Muslims, through publications and Web sites. I see calls for restraint and empathy," Denny said. "But on the other side of the coin, I'm seeing more negative comments and antagonistic attitudes by Americans than I ever have."
Denny cited incidents of violence against Muslims, including a recent case in which Florida police said a search of a doctor's home turned up guns, explosives and a list of nearby Islamic schools, mosques and centers. The doctor was charged with illegally possessing bombs and planning to attack Muslim targets.听听
"Muslims, I think, feel more afraid, more wary of their environment," Denny said. He noted that increased media coverage of violence toward Muslims since the terror attacks might perpetuate the misperception that hatred didn't exist before Sept. 11.
"In some cases, I think we're seeing negative feelings that people hadn't expressed before the terrorist attacks. Now they feel able to speak or act out," he said.
Denny has urged restraint and respect for the peaceful Muslim culture, but his efforts have sometimes been misinterpreted.
"I've had some real criticisms of my calls for understanding," he said. "Some view it as naivet茅 or weakness. When generalizations are made about one group's attitude toward another, people can forget balance and rationality."
E-mail lists, Internet newsgroups and reports from colleagues have all corroborated Denny's first-hand observations of attitudes toward Islam in the United States, he said. "The atmosphere for American Muslims - with both positive and violently negative aspects - is very real."
At CU-Boulder, Denny said the climate has pushed Muslim students to be proactive in averting hatred and violence and creating understanding and respect. "There has been an increase in activity by our Muslim students. They're doing a lot of public things," he said.
Interest levels have certainly risen on campus, where enrollment has doubled in this fall's Western World Religions course. The class examines Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It was last offered in spring 2001. Now, it's been expanded to two sections of 90 students each, both with waitlists.听
There have been changes and additions to courses within CU-Boulder's International Affairs program since Sept. 11, according to history professor and program Director Robert Schulzinger. "Many courses have been altered to include specific sections about terrorism and Sept. 11 and its aftermath," he said.听
Journalism Professor Meg Moritz said in response to the attacks, newsgathering classes at CU-Boulder now have expanded "trauma training" components. Originally included after the 1999 Columbine tragedy, the training is intended to better prepare students to cover stories involving violence, crime or horrific deaths.
The changes reflect normal course updates, officials said, and didn't indicate a major shift since Sept. 11. "For relevant courses, the faculty are making additions or revisions as they do normally to keep courses up-to-date," said Richard Nishikawa, assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. "I would give this (topic) another few years, while the consequences of Sept. 11 play out, before you will see new courses appearing."
Denny said for now, he doesn't plan any new course or curriculum additions in the religious studies department to specifically address the aftermath of Sept. 11. He is scheduled to teach a junior-level Islam course in spring 2003.