Muslims Thrust Into Spotlight

When Ali left class, however, she quickly realized something was amiss, that she was the center of attention.

"Conversations dropped, and all eyes were on me," she said.

It wasn't until Ali heard the news -- that Muslim terrorists had brutally attacked America -- that she understood why.

Almost as soon as televisions were broadcasting the all-too-familiar images of planes hitting the World Trade Center towers -- combined with portraits of 19 Islamic extremists accused of the deed -- Muslim culture quickly became the subject of widespread scrutiny.

Since then, more and more people -- whether scholars or broadcast news analysts -- have picked apart Islam, searching for explanations and possible motives, anything to bring closure to that unprecedented day in history.

And with that, students like Ali and others in the Muslim community have had to not only defend their beliefs but attempt to explain a complex religion to a society with a newfound obsession with the Islamic faith.

"On the day it happened, I was sitting in the Great Hall myself, but in the back of my mind, I was already thinking 'We have a lot of work to do,'" said senior Bashar Staitieh, who heads the Muslim Students Association on campus. "The edge is off it now a little though."

Junior Raabia Bhatti remembers the first things that came to the minds of her and her roommate as they watched the acts of terror unravel -- and she knew her culture was going to feel the brunt of a backlash as a result.

"When we heard Muslims (in the news), we heard 'We're going to get attacked,' -- that's what was going on in my mind," she said.

In a way, that's just what happened in the community and across the nation, Bhatti and other Muslim students say. Just a day after the attacks, a flier denouncing Islam was circulated throughout campus and the community. There were stories of Muslim students on other campuses being spit on, harassed or threatened.

But some Muslim students say that in the past year, at least at UNC, people's sentiments toward Islam have been more embracing, more open-minded and less confrontational.

Even after she first found out about the terrorist attacks, Ali said she's never felt unsafe at the University.

"I haven't had any personal attacks on me -- the most I've ever gotten are just stares," she said.

Bhatti echoed Ali's perspective. "On this campus they've been more open than other places."

In fact, UNC is one of the few places where Muslim students, for the most part, have not felt as alienated, Staitieh said. He noted that the MSA has received more offers to speak to other campus groups than ever before.

"We did get pretty lucky," he said.

Although many have used the events of Sept. 11 as a starting point to try to better understand Islam, there still are as many that back away from that idea.

"I still think there are a lot of people that don't want to learn about it," Bhatti said.

Junior Shatil Amin thinks that ignorance about Islam existed well before the terrorist attacks but that it has taken on a new form post-Sept. 11. Now, despite increased exposure of the religion, many people are unwilling to learn, he said.

Amin said that to combat this, people need to go under the surface and seek out the culture's diversity.

One way, he said, is to look beyond how contemporary media portrays Muslims. "If you characterize them as peace-loving people, it's not newsworthy," Amin said.

Muslims in the United States can contend over and over that true followers of Islam don't subscribe to violence -- that the people who attacked New York and Washington, D.C., were religious extremists who grossly misconstrued the Quran -- but the words only go so far, Staitieh said.

"The bottom line is that it is not going to compete with a picture of an airplane hitting a building," Staitieh said. "The advantage I think is we have had people coming up to us and asking questions."

Still, when people point to specific parts of Islam's holy book and ask how terrorists used them to justify their actions, Muslims on campus struggle to give answers.

Junior Fareed Hussain said he has had to answer the question countless times. "You say, 'See things in context;' that's what you say," he said. "The Quran is for all times and for all people."

Amin said the problem lies in people trying to oversimplify a less than black-and-white issue. "I think the most important thing is, you don't characterize religion, you don't judge religion," he said.

Staitieh said it is difficult to see how people's perceptions of Islam will develop down the road. "I at least still have the perspective that we need to watch ourselves a bit. If I were to get on an airplane, I would trim my beard."

But today, these Muslim students said they and their peers are not going to stay out of the public eye in fear of backlash -- instead, they will join others at the noon vigil in Polk Place or simply be on campus for anyone who might have questions about their faith.

Bhatti said that's the only way to deal with everything. "I think we should have to teach but not to prove ourselves."

By Daniel Thigpen, University Editor