And yet after 9/11, and really, ever since, anyone who dared to suggest that 9/11 had anything to do with Islam was excoriated as an “Islamophobe” and ostracized accordingly. We were told that all Muslims with the possible exception of a tiny minority of extremists absolutely and definitively rejected terrorism, and found 9/11 horrifying. And now will either “moderate Muslims” or leftists excoriate Ridhwan Sebkhaoui as an “Islamophobe” or misunderstander of Islam? Don’t hold your breath.
“New York Islamic Scholar Ridhwan Sebkhaoui: 9/11 Was The Single Biggest Moment In American Muslim History That Shed Light On Islam; We Need To Take Advantage Of Such Opportunities,” MEMRI, September 11, 2026:
New York Islamic scholar Ridhwan Sebkhaoui said in a September 11, 2026 sermon at the Al-Hidaya Center in Latham, New York, that despite the deaths and negative impact of the 9/11 attacks, they were the single biggest moment in American Muslim history because they “shed light” on Islam and resulted in many people eventually embracing Islam….
Ridhwan Sebkhaoui: “Despite all of the negative that came from 9/11, despite so many who died, so many who were affected, it was the single biggest moment in American Muslim history that shed light on Islam. And as a result, so many looked to Islam and embraced Islam. You guys can look into this.
“So many people – there are stories on YouTube – there is a story of one, I forget his name, he was very much against Islam. He went to the mosque, I think this is in Tennessee, he wanted to kill Muslims in that mosque. And he was welcomed with, alhamdulillah – again, remember, most Americans they need that kindness from us – he was welcomed with a brother and a sister that told him, ‘Please come sit down. Please have some food.’ Right, we have great food, alhamdulillah. They served him some food. And he sat, and he listened, and he went back home, and he reflected. And he came back and he listened more, and he accepted Islam. And now he is the imam in that mosque. Allahu Akbar.
[…]
“Moments like these are opportunities. They are opportunities that we need to take advantage of when they come. And we are presently living in an opportunity right now. As I just started off with, if the percentage of those that are fearful of Muslims now is higher than it was after 9/11, I definitely have an opportunity. It will be difficult. It may be hard, I have to take advantage of that opportunity.”
Wellington says
The descriptive, “American Muslim history,” has in and of itself unintended wrongs and warnings written all over it.
Islam had nothing to do with creating or building America, assertions to the contrary by rogues like Obama notwithstanding, and to the extent that Islam in the future has anything to do with America, and at this point in time it unfortunately looks like it will, then to that very extent will it be the case that it will be an unending struggle to retain American freedoms against a faith that is a mortal enemy of freedom.
Islam can contribute nothing to America unless it be that it is finally revealed as inimical to America and thus serves as a valuable lesson not to admire or endorse what should never be admired or endorsed.