25 years after 9/11, Muslim and Sikh Americans are still counting hate

Sikhs, whose faith began in Punjab, absorbed much of the violence directed at Muslims because of their visible turbans and beards.

Image via Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, U.S. Navy

On Sept. 11, 2001, smoke poured from the World Trade Center’s North Tower for 17 minutes. Most Americans watching assumed they were looking at an accident.

That was a misreading of course, and although the confusion only lasted that morning, the suspicion that replaced it has persisted f…