Teaching about 9/11: A Muslim mother's plea to educators

A Muslim mother says her daughter’s fifth-grade social studies class helped spark a painful reaction when the teacher showed the children a video about the Sept. 11 attacks, now 25 years ago. She recalls her daughter coming home visibly distressed and, after learning that attackers who had identified as Muslims committed the tragedy, later telling her, “I feel betrayed.” The mother links the moment to her own experience with Islamophobia in classrooms and to her daughter’s early decision to wear the hijab in fourth grade. She describes Islam as a source of comfort and identity for her family, including after a fatal car accident.