Celebrations of the September 11, 2001 attacks


The September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack occasioned spontaneous outbreaks of
public celebration in a number of Arab Muslim communities. Press and
television coverage of these celebrations were met with shock and outrage in
the U.S. Observers in other nations often contrasted them with what they
believe to be a justified distrust and antipathy to American hegemony.

There were reports of celebrations on the West Bank, and at the time there
was an urban legend that the footage of some Palestinians celebrating the
attacks was faked, and that it was actually footage from the invasion of
Kuwait. This was proven false shortly afterwards, and the media widely
circulated that fact.

However, US media did not widely circulate European media reports (by the
renowned German weeklies Spiegel and Stern, by the German public TV magazine
Panorama and by the Swedish Dagens Nyheter) that while the footage was
indeed correctly dated, reporters had at least in part staged the scene. One
woman was quoted saying that she was offered a piece of pie for celebrating
in front of the camera. It is unclear whether it was explained to the woman
what she was supposedly celebrating. The Panorama TV report which
analyzed the full video footage noted (translated):

     A closer look at the complete film material which was not broadcast
     shows that the street around the celebration is quiet. Only in front of
     the camera there are a few excited children. The woman, who is
     remembered for her cheering, shortly afterwards moves along quietly. A
     man in a white T-shirt is conspicuous. He incites the children, and
     keeps fetching new people. The woman who just left the picture says
     today that she was offered cake if she celebrates on camera, and that
     she was appalled when she saw the pictures on television.

Moderate Palestinians and the Palestinian leadership quickly distanced
themselves from any celebrations. A few days after the attacks Yasser Arafat
symbolically donated blood for victims of the attacks.

[PalestinianWoman.jpg]
This woman said she was offered a piece of cake for celebrating in front of
the camera. While this picture shows someone handing her the cake, the
version which was widely distributed did not. (Fair use of AP photo)

Reports concerning five Israelis employed by the company Urban Moving
Systems who photographed or videotaped the burning towers while smiling and
dancing received relatively little media attention. The men were later detained
and deported. According to ABCNEWS, the FBI believed Urban Moving Systems
may have been a cover operation for Israeli intelligence.