By Abukar Arman

Twenty-five years after the morning that redefined the modern world, the attacks of September 11, 2001, remain less of a closed chapter than an enduring enigma. While the official narrative points to 19 al‑Qaida hijackers, the unanswered questions, the collective punishment of Muslim communities, the weaponization of patriotism to silence enquiries, the geopolitical aftershocks that reshaped the world order, and the ongoing secrecy surrounding classified documents demand a critical reexamination of that day’s legacy.

Meanwhile, new reports, documentaries, and books that challenge the old narrative continue to appear in public space. Families of victims and independent researchers continue to question whether the full truth about the attackers’ support network has ever come to light. Key documents from the FBI’s investigation remain classified, withheld under the guise of national security. This sustained secrecy fuels justified perception of cover‑up.

Demand for Investigation

Last year, journalist Tucker Carlson released a documentary series—The 9/11 Files—that tore apart the official narrative. His stated objective was to push for a new, independent 9/11 commission, one “not committed to protecting politicians.” He accused U.S. intelligence agencies and the George W. Bush administration of deliberately withholding critical information from investigators and the public.

One of the people that Mr. Carlson interviewed was former FBI official Mark Rossini who worked at the CIA’s “Alec Station.” He revealed that U.S. authorities had tracked two hijackers as they travelled from Dubai through Malaysia into the United States. An FBI report was blocked from circulation by CIA officials; authorities knew the suspects had arrived in Los Angeles, yet no alert was issued.

Brett Eagleson, who lost his father on 9/11, told Carlson: “Our government has failed us, just as they failed us 20 years ago… they’re pouring salt on our wounds.” Former Congressman Weldon went further on Carlson’s show, saying: “The 9/11 Commission itself was a cover‑up from the start.”

These kinds of claims can no longer be dismissed as conspiracy theories. After all, no one yet explained the “five dancing Israelis” who were arrested on 9/11 for filming the towers’ collapse and allegedly celebrating.

Community Under Siege

The most tangible and tragic legacy of 9/11 is the collective punishment inflicted upon Muslim communities worldwide. Within days of the attacks, President Bush declared a “Global War on Terrorism,” and within a few weeks the Senate passed the USA PATRIOT Act—the most draconian domestic law in U.S. history. There was no thorough debate to scrutinize that infamous bill, yet it passed in a 98-1 vote. Against that background, a ‘counterterrorism’ dragnet that, in the eyes of many, blurred the line between al‑Qaida and the global Muslim population was immediately activated.

Especially in the West, Muslims became ‘legitimate targets’ of suspicion. Their identities were conflated with terrorism. This backlash was not spontaneous but fueled by a “perfect storm” of Zionist driven Islamophobia and right-wing driven xenophobia that had been brewing for decades. In the following years, many Muslims in the U.S. were incarcerated, renditioned, deported lost jobs, got ostracized, and faced surge in hate crimes. In that period, the more active a Muslim person was, the more likely he became targeted. I was one of those Muslims.

Guilty till Proven Innocent

In 2001, at a time when many Imams were pressured off the pulpit, I became one of a few local Muslim volunteers who were invited to fill the vacuum and start giving sermon on Fridays- a role that I am honored to say: I keep it to this day. So, my sermons were not limited to spiritual topics. As in my writings, I talked about Islamophobia, injustice, corruption, oppression, Zionism, US foreign policy and the neocon madness known as global war on terrorism. And that was enough to put me in the crosshairs of the usual suspects- FrontPage Magazine, Little Green Footballs, Jihad Watch, and the Middle East Forum. It started with periodic bullying emails and public accusations that peaked in 2007.

In July of that same year, on a Saturday afternoon while driving with family, I received a phone call from an anxious friend. He told me that I was the topic of discussion in a local conservative radio program named Radio Deli hosted by Dirk Thompson. His guest was a man named Patrick Poole, a right-wing/neocon operative who used to present himself as a “counterterrorism expert.” The 3-hour program was all about me- how I was a “terrorist sympathizer” who supported Hamas and al-Shabaab. The following Saturday, that same program invited the same guest and dedicated the entire show to implicating me as a ticking bomb.

Shortly after, Patrick Poole published a series of articles in FrontPage Magazine—the online arm of a Zionist, conservative organization named Freedom Center that was founded by the late David Horowitz. Every witch-hunt article they published reverberated within their network fear-mongering media. So, in due course, their orchestrated vicious accusations had severe consequences on me. I lost my job with the Columbus Public Schools, but that was not of much value to the Islamophobic network and their funders. They were after my membership of the Criminal Justice Planning Board– a board with oversight authority over all homeland security programs of Franklin County. That Board included all 20 elected officials in that county and two civilians- one African American and one immigrant who were appointed by the 3 County Commissioners.

Capitalizing on that climate of fear, Poole and his wide network started a letter campaign.  Each member of said board was flooded with letters condemning me and demanding my immediate removal and threatening well-financed campaigns to defeat each one of them in the next election should he or she fail to deliver.  

At our next meeting, I was part of the agenda. Kathy Crandall, Director of the Franklin County Office of Homeland Security who sat across from me stated this on record: ‘Since a board member said Abukar must be investigated, my office has no choice but to conduct an investigation, though we have done one on him for his second nomination only a few months ago.’

Long story short, another investigation was conducted on me. The conclusion was reported in a front-page article titled Investigation Clears A Hilliard Man that was published by the Columbus Dispatch. “We did a background check and found no criminal or terrorist connections. Mr. Arman was not a person of interest,” said Don Brown—the County Administrator—to the Dispatch. That was great, but the damage was already done. I had to resign from the Franklin County Criminal Justice Board. Also, the Columbus Police Academy aborted a training program that I and a CAIR colleague used to provide to the graduating police cadets on how to engage Muslims with respect and not deny them their constitutional rights.     

Muzzling Scrutiny

In the decade of 2007-2017, though I had dozens of articles already published in various media outlets, any Google search on my name or one of my articles was likely to lead the searcher to various misleading articles or commentaries aimed to sustain the vicious campaign against me. In contrast, today, while the malicious articles and commentaries have subsided, the campaign to keep me in the dark continues to this day.

Since October 7, 2023, due to my long stance on Palestine, the social media platform X has placed me in an algorithmic dungeon that froze my followers on 147K for the first 2 years of the genocide. Now my numbers are reduced to 143K with periodical loss of followers. That said, my story was no different than the stories of a numerous other vocal Muslims who were targeted as I have been. Many, like Dr. Sami Al-Arian, had to endure much worse experiences.

Endless End

Poole who made a career out of his ruthless campaign to spread Islamophobia and accuse Muslims as sleeping cells and ticking bombs has died a violent death on May 15, 2026. Poole barricaded himself inside a home after stabbing two people to death. Arkansas State Police and SWAT personnel responded to the scene. When law-enforcement made it into the house and officers attempted to arrest Poole, he resisted. During a struggle, he attempted to grab an officer’s gun, leading a second deputy to fatally shoot him. A prosecutor later ruled the shooting justified.

In the meantime, the neocon lust for perpetual wars that serve the Zionist project continue. The campaign to wreck certain Muslim countries for exploitation and for paving the way for the Greater Israel project continue. That project that started at Afghanistan, followed by Iraq, Somalia, Libya, Yemen, Sudan, Syria, Lebanon, has now fell into a deep ditch in Iran. These endless U.S. wars for Israel have only proven this unintended consequence- a dominance creep that brought the empire to its knees diplomatically, economically, and militarily.   

Abukar Arman
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Arman is a Somali political analyst, writer and former Somalia Special Envoy to the United States. Arman writes extensively on Somalia and international political affairs