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Balance sheet of events since 9/11 is mostly negative for the Muslim world

SHAFAQNA-It is hard to forget the day the whole world changed. Events since September 11, 2001 have dramatically altered the political environment in the Muslim [1] world. No wonder, then, that the balance sheet of events since 2001 is mostly negative and frightening for the whole world.

The September 11th attacks came as a series of four well organized terrorist attacks, planned by the Al-Qaeda [2], targeting the US [3].

The attacks began on Tuesday, September 11 in 2001 and killed approximately 2,996 people, injured more than 6,000, and destroyed property and infrastructure worth more than $10 billion.

The economic loss totaled about $3 trillion in damage to property, lives lost, lost production of goods and services, and loss of stock market wealth.

In less than two hours the two 110-story towers had collapsed and the debris and fires destroying or collapsing all other structures in the compound.

In response, the US launched War on Terror, with the Taliban as their primary target since they had harbored the al-Qaeda terrorist group, worldatlas.

-9/11  was the beginning of a terrible chaos in the Middle East

9/11 was not just a tragedy, it was the beginning of a terrible chaos we are still suffering from in the Middle East.

Events since September 11, 2001 have dramatically altered the political environment in the Muslim world, a vast and diverse region comprising the band of countries with significant Muslim populations that stretches from western Africa to the southern Philippines, as well as Muslim communities and diasporas scattered throughout the world, jstor.

The root causes, political symptoms, and operational capabilities of al-Qaeda and ISIL-style terrorism in their Arab-Asian heartlands have expanded steadily in the past 17 years, aljazeera told.

-The collective wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria

According to Cnbc ,The collective wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria have cost U.S. taxpayers more than $1.5 trillion since Sept. 11, 2001, according to a Defense Department report.

The United States went to war against Iraq [4] in 2003, based in part on the assertion — later debunked — that Al Qaeda had ties to dictator Saddam Hussein.

The insurgency gave birth to Al Qaeda in Iraq, a local affiliate that pioneered the use of terrorist attacks on Shiite Muslims.

In its 2007 “surge,” the U.S., in concert with pro-government militias, largely defeated Al Qaeda in Iraq. But by 2010, the group was “fundamentally the same” as it had been before the boost in troops, according to Gen.

The 2011 uprisings in neighboring Syria gave the group the breathing space it needed. Two years later it emerged as Islamic State in Iraq and Syria [5], also known as ISIS, and split from Al Qaeda’s central leadership.

It also launched an audacious offensive that saw large swaths of Iraq fall into the hands of the jihadists. Although Islamic State has since lost most of its territory, it remains a threat.

-Yemen: Al Qaeda was soon considered the group’s most dangerous branch

Al Qaeda was active in Yemen [6] even before Sept. 11: It orchestrated the October 2000 bombing of the U.S. destroyer Cole in the port of Aden. After the World Trade Center twin tower attacks, Bush hailed Yemen’s then president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, as a vital partner in the U.S.-declared war on terrorism.

Saleh received what he called “limitless” U.S. support to fight the jihadists. He in turn gave the U.S. a free hand to conduct attacks against the group’s operatives, including controversial drone strikes, which began in 2002.

But by January 2009, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (known as AQAP) had emerged and was soon considered the group’s most dangerous branch.

-Syria: Al Nusra Front, Al Qaeda’s branch

On Dec. 23, 2011, a car bomb struck a residential neighborhood of Damascus, Syria, that was home to the State Security Directorate.

The building was all but destroyed. Drivers unfortunate enough to be near the explosion were burned alive. A second car bomb detonated soon after. All told, 44 people were killed.

That attack marked the debut of Al Nusra Front, Al Qaeda’s branch in Syria.

-Libya: former group leader Abdel-Hakim Belhaj with significant role in Libya’s chaotic politics

Officially, there is no Al Qaeda group in Libya [7]. Its affiliate, the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, was disbanded in 2011; its members renounced violence but distinguished themselves as relatively disciplined rebels once the revolution against Libyan strongman Moammar Kadafi kicked off.

Since then, some, such as former group leader Abdel-Hakim Belhaj, who fought with Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan and was renditioned by the U.S. after 2001, have become powerful leaders, with a significant role in Libya’s chaotic politics.

Al Qaeda has enjoyed a resurgence

But while the U.S., other Western nations and the United Arab Emirates have focused almost exclusively on dislodging Islamic State from its bastions in the north and northeast, Al Qaeda has enjoyed a resurgence, according to an report from the United Nations.

– In recent years, Anti-Shi’ism has increased

In recent years, with the financial support of Saudi Arabia, Anti-Shi’ism [8] has increased dramatically throughout the world and includes the demolition of Shia [9] Shrines in Saudi Arabia; attacks on Shia homes in Bahrain; the mass killing of Shia in Pakistan; road bombs in Shia-populated areas of Syria and Iraq; targeted attacks on Shia and Alawies in Damascus; and the destruction of Shia homes in Indonesia and pressure on Shia in Malaysia[JS2] to convert.

– Since the Arab Spring, Shia have been threatened

The most modern and disappointing example of Anti-Shi’ism can be witnessed in the Media coverage, or lack thereof, of Shia suffering.

Since the Arab Spring, Shia have been threatened by extremists, thousands have been murdered and injured, many Shia women and children have been arrested and tortured, and historical sites have been demolished and desecrated.

Read more from shafaqna:

September 11 conspirator Moussaoui says Saudi royals backed al Qaeda [10]

9/11 Truth: The Mysterious Collapse of WTC Seven [11]

What Really Happened on 9/11. Post-mortem of the “Official Story” [12]

After the 9/11, the curiosity of many Americans to know more about Islam has led them to embrace the faith [13]