The 9/11 terror attack and its aftermath made the world suspicious of Muslims, but the Arab Spring has provided a new perspective. Christian Peregin asks Maltese Muslims how the 9/11 decade has shaped their lives.
Muslim convert Mario Farrugia Borg has spent the past decade having to explain to fellow Maltese that Islam does not encourage terrorism or extremism. He even wrote a short book in Maltese after 9/11 to debunk these and other myths about his religion.
The Arab Spring did not change how we view Islam, but how people, particularly the Maltese, view Arabs... the Arabs are now seen as heroes
Although perceptions have changed throughout the years, he still feels Islam will continue to be associated with the terror attacks.
Watching the events unfold on television in 2001, he was horrified to find out the perpetrators used Islam to justify their actions.
“As someone who practices Islam faithfully, I knew this was a grave misunderstanding of the religion,” he says.
Mr Farrugia Borg was just as angry when Norwegian terrorist Anders Breivik was labelled a Christian fundamentalist. “I know Jesus Christ never preached violence... just as the prophet Mohammed did not.”
He forms part of the World Islamic Call Society which has a regular stand at the November Book Fair. In 2001, it suddenly attracted lots of interest as a result of 9/11; more books were sold and more questions were asked.
“Some people asked if I agreed with what happened, as if I could agree. I thought, ‘What do you think I am?’”
Although he rarely felt under threat in Malta, he noticed even the Maltese started to fear the largely peaceful religion. Today tensions have started to dissipate, but each 9/11 anniversary brings with it a sense of anxiety. At work, he is still sometimes the butt of terrorism “jokes”.
“Before they caught Osama bin Laden I remember colleagues asking me if I knew where he was. They were joking and I didn’t take offence. But it shows that the terrorist attacks will always be associated with Islam.”
So has the Arab Spring had an impact?
Mr Farrugia Borg points out that the revolutions of recent months were inspired by the economic situations in the various countries and had little to do with religion.
“The Arab Spring did not change how we view Islam, but how people, particularly the Maltese, view Arabs,” he says.
“The Arabs are now seen as heroes. The more I talk to people, the more I realise how their support is genuine, especially towards Libyans. The Maltese want them to succeed, find democracy and have a good standard of living.”
Because of Malta’s geographical position, the Maltese tend to mistakenly think all Muslims are Arabs, even though, as he points out, only 20 per cent actually are.
So what lessons should we learn from the past decade? “Where there is injustice there will never be peace,” Mr Farrugia Borg says.
While he fully condemns the terrorists and their horrendous acts, he feels America is barking up the wrong tree by focusing on individuals like bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, rather than getting to the root of the problem.
He says to kill an organisation like Al Qaeda, countries like America need to pre-empt their actions and remove their reason for being. One way would be to take a less hypocritical approach to the injustices committed by Israel.
Meanwhile, Maltese-Palestinian Sanaa El Nahhal, who gained fame in 2009 when she singlehandedly collected and transported aid to Gaza, is upbeat about the changes she has witnessed throughout the decade.
She came to Malta in 1989 at a time when few Maltese had much knowledge about or interest in Islam. Back then she integrated easily, but did not wear the hijab.
When she put it on, however, people immediately saw her as a foreigner they could not speak to. But this inspired her to take a more proactive approach and answer the questions many were asking.
Now she sees much more interest in multiculturalism and the events she organises to promote integration are well-attended.
She says the Maltese are very interested in learning more about Islam, particularly the role of women and the different interpretation of marriage.
While the 9/11 attacks made people look with suspicion at Islam, the Arab Spring has confirmed that everyone is human, she says.
“I think people noticed that even if change is slow, everyone is human and eventually things that need to change will change. We all aspire to have better lives, we all have love to give... it doesn’t matter if we are Muslims or Catholics.”
She is particularly pleased with the renewed interest in the Arab world thanks to the importance given by news channels to the revolutions. “Before, many Maltese saw Arabs as ignorant people coming from backward countries. Now they know they are human. Some are good, some are bad, their countries are beautiful...”
According to social anthropologist Ranier Fsadni, Muslims were among the victims of 9/11, since their religion was caricatured as a religion of hate, but the evidence showed that many Muslims adapted well to life in the West.
The terror attacks, he said, sparked the growth of an “Islam Explained” industry in the media, which was further strengthened during the Arab Spring.
“Some of it has a basis in scholarship, and this has furthered understanding, but some is superficial and sensationalist which has increased polarisation.”