If you’ve tuned into any media lately, online or otherwise, you’ve been constantly reminded of the 20th anniversary of the series of attacks on 9/11. It’s a sobering reminder that likely triggers memories of where you were and what you did that day and the days following. Even 20 years later, it remains an indelible, horrifying, and tragic experience that has affected every one of us who experienced it — often in very different ways.
Now, a seven part podcast series produced by a new Portland studio called Rifelion takes a look at what the attack and the years following have meant for the Muslim populations in the United States. As told from the perspective of Shahjehan Khan — which translates to English as “King of the World” — who was a Boston teenager at the time of the attacks.
September 11th, 2001, starts out like any other school day, then the first plane hits the World Trade Center at the end of first-period calculus. The attacks continue to unfold as teachers frantically try to access the internet and reassure students, when they themselves are anything but. Direct ties to his community, extended family, and Logan Airport are discovered, and we review everything the nation knew by that evening. The association between Islam and terrorism indelibly solidifies, and Shahjehan experiences the single most defining moment of his young adult life—an indication of the forthcoming massive impacts for American Muslims.
Two episodes are currently available.
For more information or to subscribe, visit “King of the World.”
