Muslim Americans today

These recent episodes symbolise the dilemma of American Muslims in post-9/11 America. Six years after the terrorist attacks, American Muslims remain under siege with institutionalised profiling, discrimination, high publicity trials, raids on Muslim charities and the defaming of mainstream Muslim organisations. Muslim Americans have experienced a large volume of negative reprisals from sectors of the American public in the form of violent hate crimes, defamatory speech, attacks on hijab-wearing Muslim women and discrimination and harassment in the work place. American Muslims were shocked to find their bank accounts closed for no other reason but their faith.

There is a rising tide of Islamaphobia, intensified by the war in Iraq and US government measures at home. Americans' attitudes about Islam and Muslims are fuelled mainly by political rhetoric and media reports that focus almost solely on the negative image of Islam and Muslims. The vilification of Islam and Muslims has been relentless among segments of the media and political classes since 9/11. Six years after 9/11, attacking Islam and Muslims remains fashionable sport for radio, television and print media. Unfortunately, the events of 9/ 11 were used to greatly magnify hostility towards Muslims and cloak it in pseudo-patriotism. Alarmingly, Muslim- bashing has become socially acceptable in the United States.