Staff Reports
On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, three stories collided and the city ended up in a basic fight over facts. The New York Times ran a big package about post‑9/11 “Islamophobia” in New York. President Donald Trump spoke at the Pentagon and tied the 9/11 legacy to the U.S. campaign against Iran. And Michael Goodwin fired back in the New York Post, calling the Times’ framing a smear and pointing to NYPD hate‑crime numbers to prove his point. The result was predictable: the left howled, the right pushed back, and readers were left sorting through competing narratives.
What happened on the ground
The Times’ feature traced post‑9/11 policing, surveillance and social backlash against Muslim New Yorkers and said those experiences helped shape political organizing in the community — even noting the election of Mayor Zohran Mamdani. At the Pentagon, President Donald Trump honored the victims and warned that “we will never, ever forget,” using the moment to cast today’s fight with Iran as part of the same struggle against state sponsors of terror. Michael Goodwin’s column called out both moves as politically motivated and accused the media of twisting the anniversary to score partisan points.
The numbers matter — and they don’t always fit the narrative
Facts aren’t flashy, but they’re stubborn. The NYPD’s confirmed hate‑crime data for the first half of 2026 shows confirmed incidents in the mid‑200s and that more than half were anti‑Jewish — roughly 55% by the department’s count. Confirmed anti‑Muslim hate crimes were far fewer in number. That distinction between “reported incidents” and “confirmed hate crimes” matters because some commentators toss around raw reports as if they were settled facts. Goodwin’s point — that the Times’ sweeping headline ignored those numbers — is worth debating on the merits, not dismissed as bad faith.
Linking 9/11 to today’s threats is not outrageous
Some outlets acted offended when the President and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth drew a line from Sept. 11 to the Iran campaign. That reaction is theater. The history is clear: Iran has financed and armed groups that attack Americans and allies, and its leaders have urged harm against the U.S. Saying the nation still faces enemies who want to inflict harm is not exploitation of a memorial — it’s sober national security talk. If remembering 9/11 leads leaders to keep Americans safe, the memory is being honored, not abused.
Conclusion — demand honest coverage, not selective outrage
Anniversaries should be a time to remember and to learn. That should include honest reporting about past law‑enforcement excesses where they occurred and straight, clear facts about who is being targeted today. Media organizations should avoid picking a side of convenience and calling it history. Michael Goodwin’s column was loud and partisan — like most opinion pages — but it also raised a simple question: if you’re going to run a theme about “Islamophobia,” don’t ignore the city’s own hate‑crime figures. Readers deserve less drama and more clarity on both security and civil‑rights issues.
