Islamic organizations have been exerting a great deal of effort towards fostering solidarity within the American Muslim community and defending their members' civil rights as Americans.

Yet the backlash from the events on September 11 represents a new challenge for the community far beyond the capacity of these organizations.

Each individual member of the community, as well as the community as a whole, should feel a sense of responsibility toward trying to ensure that the community is treated just as any other community in the United States is. They must seek to ensure that policy-makers and leaders safeguard the civil rights of ALL persons living on American soil. 

Goal-centered actions, which have reasonably wider social implications, are imperative. Fellow Americans must be engaged and the true essence of the Islamic faith must be illustrated to society.

Now is the time to bridge the cultural gap between Muslims in the West and their fellow Westerners of other faiths. It is also time to reshape the map of the Islamic presence in the U.S. and Europe.

Muslims have played important roles in forming the histories of the countries in which they live. They have been active and productive members of the social fabric, but there remains much to be done.

Regardless of Muslims' contributions to society, there remains a warped view of what Islam truly is.

Islam should not be the occasional concern of governments needing someone to blame. It is the religion of millions of Western citizens, and 1.5 billion people worldwide. It is about to become the second largest faith in the U.S. and Europe and already is the second largest faith in the world. New generations of Muslims from all ethnicities and racial backgrounds are striving to make a difference in their countries, many of whom have never known any other homeland.

Muslims must have an active presence in society, from the White House to schools, and from their neighborhoods to the global community.

In the recent past, Muslims might have been reluctant to take part in political activity, lobby for general causes, or actively set out to inform the public of their religious beliefs beyond the spectrum of rituals. But in the shadow of the attacks on the U.S., the mere existence of Muslims is threatened by a hateful backlash and an accelerating hostility towards Islam as a whole.

While granting much lip service to ideological notions of "equality and respect for all faiths and cultures," the media's long-standing rhetoric has been one of a campaign of disinformation that has colored the world's view of Islam and Muslims.

Unfortunately, the dominant Islamic rhetoric will not be able to deal with the crucial challenges that Muslims are facing today.

The time has come for all parties, Muslim and otherwise, to revise their position and concepts of prejudice and self-centeredness.

Although the global community is still trying to deal with mixed feelings of shock, grief and anger, they are ready, more than ever, to listen to voices promoting a re-conciliation of Islam and the West.

Concern over foreign policy decisions and civil liberties have pushed much of America towards revising their position on the role the U.S. plays in world politics, not to mention in its new war against "terrorism" and a vague "evil enemy".

Millions of people are seizing the moment to reflect, and Muslims should do the same in order to redirect their effort towards integration. Muslims must be present in the public arena, civil society and within the leadership of the U.S., for it is their country as well.

Muslims must reform their understanding of the role of Islam in a changing world. Effort is required in advocating Islam as a worldview and a religion that enriches the understanding of the human condition. They should step out in defense of human rights, the rule of law, accountability, and transparency of all governmental bodies. Encapsulation and isolation are no longer acceptable.

Recent events have shown that Muslims have paid a heavy price for their lack of presence in the public arena. It is time to act and not to seek one's personal security by staying on the sidelines. Nor is it acceptable to change one's religious convictions or Islamic social behavior in response to intimidation. Those who do not take action will suffer, sooner or later, the bitter consequences of their passivity either by being exposed to more assaults, or by losing a great deal of their civil liberties and freedom - if not by unfair national security measures then de facto through increasing discrimination.

Politics of presence should substitute the culture of fear and hostility.

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