9/11 gave birth to aggressive, unapologetic `New Atheists'

(RNS) In September 2001, Sam Harris was an unknown doctoral student who
didn't believe in God.

But after the World Trade Center crumbled on 9/11, he put his
studies aside to write a book that became an instant best-seller -- and
changed the way atheists, and perhaps Muslims, are perceived in this
country.

Published in 2004, Harris's "The End of Faith" launched the
so-called "New Atheist" movement, a make-no-apologies ideology that
maintains that religion is not just flawed, but evil, and must be
rejected.