For nine years after the attacks of Sept. 11, many American Muslims made concerted efforts to build relationships with non-Muslims, to make it clear they abhor terrorism, to educate people about Islam and to participate in interfaith service projects. They took satisfaction in the observations by many scholars that Muslims in America were more successful and assimilated than Muslims in Europe.<\/p>\n
Now, many of those same Muslims say that all of those years of work are being rapidly undone by the fierce opposition to a Muslim cultural center near ground zero that has unleashed a torrent of anti-Muslim sentiments and a spate of vandalism. The knifing of a Muslim cab driver in New York City has also alarmed many American Muslims.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe worry: Will we ever be really completely accepted in American society?\u201d\u009d said Dr. Ferhan Asghar, an orthopedic spine surgeon in Cincinnati and the father of two young girls. \u201cIn no other country could we have such freedoms \u201d\u201d that\u2019s why so many Muslims choose to make this country their own. But we do wonder whether it will get to the point where people don\u2019t want Muslims here anymore.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n