World Religions › Contemporary › Islamic revival and political Islam
September 11 attacks
September 11, 2001· Event· Judaism, Christianity & Islam
Historical recordConfirmed by archaeology, outside sources or contemporary records.
Coordinated suicide hijackings by al-Qaeda that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001.
See it on the World Religions map →What it is
Nineteen hijackers, 15 of them Saudi, seized four airliners. Two struck the World Trade Center towers, which collapsed; one hit the Pentagon; the fourth crashed in a Pennsylvania field after passengers fought back. Al-Qaeda's leader, Osama bin Laden, justified the attacks by citing US troops in Saudi Arabia, US support for Israel and sanctions on Iraq, framed in his extremist reading of jihad. Most Muslim leaders and scholars worldwide condemned the attacks as contrary to Islam.
Why it matters
They led to US-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, reshaped security and immigration rules worldwide, and made Islam a central topic of Western debate, alongside rising anti-Muslim prejudice.
Sources and history
The 9/11 Commission Report (2004), flight and phone records, bin Laden's own videotaped claims of responsibility, and documents seized when US forces killed him in Pakistan in 2011.
Questions and debates
Some questions remain open, such as how far individual Saudi officials helped the hijackers, explored in Congress's '28 pages' released in 2016 and an FBI report declassified in 2021.
Connections (2)
▸September 11 attacks were carried out by an extremist fringe of Islamic revival and political IslamHistorical record
The connection
Al-Qaeda belonged to the small jihadist wing of Islamism, born in the 1980s war against the Soviets in Afghanistan and drawing on Qutb and militant Salafi ideas. The vast majority of Muslims and many Islamist parties condemned the attacks, but in the West they made 'political Islam' a security concern, sometimes blurring all Islamist movements together.
When and where
Afghanistan under Taliban protection; Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri; the 1998 declaration of war on Americans; planner Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
Historical evidence
Bin Laden's own statements, including a 2004 video claiming responsibility; the 9/11 Commission Report; and al-Qaeda documents seized in 2011.
Questions and debates
Scholars such as Olivier Roy and Gilles Kepel debate whether jihadism is radicalized Islam or radicals using Islam, and how much politics drives it.
▸September 11 attacks spurred new efforts in Interfaith dialogueMostly agreed by scholars
The connection
After the attacks, as anti-Muslim incidents surged, churches, synagogues and mosques held joint vigils, open houses and study groups. New organizations formed, such as Eboo Patel's Interfaith Youth Core in 2002, and many cities created interfaith councils to counter prejudice and build ties with Muslim neighbors.
When and where
US and worldwide from late 2001; Eboo Patel in Chicago, 2002; local clergy councils in many cities.
How do we know?
FBI data show anti-Muslim hate crimes jumping from 28 in 2000 to 481 in 2001; organizational records document the new groups.
Questions and debates
Whether these efforts changed attitudes broadly or mostly reached people already open is debated, as polls show persistent anti-Muslim prejudice.