Smithsonian-linked museum in El-Sayed’s backyard puts America’s post-9/11 response on trial
DEARBORN, MI – Nearly 25 years after the Sept. 11 attacks, a Smithsonian affiliate in Michigan continues to use its 9/11 exhibits and anniversary programming to focus on discrimination and government actions in the attacks' aftermath, while giving less attention to the nearly 3,000 people killed that day, Fox News Digital found.
The Arab American National Museum (AANM) in Dearborn, Michigan, features an exhibit arguing that Arab Americans "suffered two-fold as a result of the tragic events of September 11th," both from the attacks themselves and from what the museum describes as unfair treatment by the U.S. government afterward. Since its founding, the museum has repeatedly hosted programs examining what it describes as discriminatory consequences of the U.S. response to 9/11.
Fox News Digital visited the museum earlier this month, reviewed its exhibits and gift shop, and examined years of anniversary programming and federal funding records.
The AANM has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and is also an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian has been under intense scrutiny from conservative lawmakers in recent months for allegedly allowing political bias to influence its presentation of history.
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One placard criticizes the government’s post-9/11 detention of immigrants investigated for possible terrorist links, noting that "virtually none were charged" in connection with terrorism.
"The Arab American community suffered two-fold as a result of the tragic events of September 11th. As with all Americans, they suffered the horror and grief. However, Arab Americans were unfairly held responsible, yet not a single Arab American was found guilty of any connection to September 11th," it reads.
On Sept. 11, 2001, 19 al Qaeda terrorists hijacked four passenger planes, crashing two into the World Trade Center and one into the Pentagon. Passengers and crew fought back aboard United Flight 93, the fourth plane, prompting the hijackers to crash the plane in Pennsylvania. The attacks killed 2,977 people and triggered the largest investigation in FBI history.
The museum placard also argues that Arabs faced harsher immigration enforcement after the attacks, saying some were "deported for minor visa violations or petty offenses which previously would have been overlooked."
In the 11 months after the attacks, immigration authorities detained 762 noncitizens on immigration charges in connection with the FBI’s terrorism investigation, including for overstaying visas or entering the country illegally, according to a Justice Department inspector general report. The watchdog found that some detainees with no terrorism ties were treated harshly and held under unnecessarily restrictive conditions.
Public opinion also showed a more complicated picture of the post-9/11 backlash. President George W. Bush publicly urged Americans not to blame Muslims for the attacks, and polling later suggested attitudes toward Muslim Americans actually improved in the immediate aftermath. The share of Americans who viewed Muslim Americans favorably rose from 45% in March 2001 to 59% in November, two months after the attacks, according to the Pew Research Center.
Beyond its permanent exhibit, AANM has repeatedly used programming around the 9/11 anniversary to examine discrimination and law-enforcement policies affecting Arab and Muslim communities.
The museum holds a "solidarity" town hall each year, where criticism of the American reaction to 9/11 is often the focus. The online description of the event does not mention the deaths connected to the attacks themselves, but rather "offers a safe space for communities to reflect and engage in dialogue about the harmful prejudices that Arab and Muslim (and anyone perceived to be Arab or Muslim) individuals face on both an individual and systemic level."
One such town hall in 2018 examined "how communities of color have been targeted through the frame of national security and profiled as violent threats."
A year later, the AANM’s annual town, which received support from the National Endowment for the Arts, criticized how "institutions and communities of color have been infiltrated" by law enforcement as well as how leaders of those groups have been "targeted" following 9/11.
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The AANM was founded in 2005, partially in response to the increased scrutiny directed at the Arab American community following the attack on the World Trade Center. In addition to receiving well over half a million dollars in funding from the NEH over its lifetime to support its exhibits and educational programming, the museum also benefited from a $385,000 grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development which helped it expand its physical footprint in 2013. It received further HUD funding, over half a million dollars, between 2017 and 2019 as well as at least $50,000 from the State Department between 2016 and 2017, according to annual reports published by the museum.
Dearborn, where about 54.5% of residents are of Middle Eastern or North African descent, is a key political center in Michigan ahead of one of the country’s most competitive Senate races this year. Socialist-aligned Abdul El-Sayed, who is running for the Senate, drew strong support from the city earlier this month.
The museum’s focus extends beyond its criticism of the U.S. response to 9/11.
On Sept. 10 — the eve of the 25th anniversary of the attacks — the AANM is scheduled to host a screening of "Seeds for Liberation," a film that portrays Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack as part of a decades-long Palestinian "struggle" and places it within a broader history of "anti-imperialist and decolonial movements."
During Fox News Digital’s visit earlier this month, a section of the museum was dedicated to art criticizing Israel's alleged "occupation" of Palestinian land. One piece of art, the word "wall" presented in a stylized print, accuses the Israeli government of perpetuating a system of "apartheid."
The art installation broadly accuses Israel of targeting civilians in military operations, denying basic necessities to Palestinians and unjustly occupying land.
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One placard accompanying a sculpture states that Israel has killed more than 2,000 Palestinian children since Sept. 29, 2000, citing If Americans Knew (IAK).
The placard’s sourcing is itself controversial. Some pro-Palestinian organizations have distanced themselves from IAK over allegations of antisemitism and ties to White supremacists, allegations the group has disputed. IAK also operates a news site that has published articles rejecting the designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization.
Another placard attached to a sculpture pulls a quote from Defense of Children International Palestine (DCIP), which the Israeli government designated as a terrorist organization in 2021. DCIP and human rights groups have disputed the designation.
The museum gift shop also sells Palestinian-themed merchandise, including map-shaped magnets and key chains, coloring books promising to help children "explore Palestinian heritage" and keffiyehs.
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The AANM, Smithsonian, NEA and NEH did not respond to requests for comment after being reached by Fox News Digital on Friday.
Smithsonian affiliates, like the AANM, are independently operated museums that maintain formal partnerships with the Smithsonian, providing them with access to artifact loans, educational resources and consultations from institutional experts.
In recent months, the Smithsonian has faced mounting pressure from Republican lawmakers and the president over allegations that its museums advance left-of-center ideological causes through their exhibits. Officials have threatened funding cuts against the institution if it does not root out what the Trump administration characterizes as anti-American bias.