Are the portrayals of Muslim Americans by some elected officials and members of the media accurate? Are non-Muslim Americans the only victims of extremism? Should Muslim Americans be obligated to apologize for the actions of a few that distort the true meaning of the Qur’an?

Though eleven years have lapsed since the fall of the Twin Towers, American Muslims still seem to have targets on their backs.

On May 3, 2012, CAIR-Chicago hosted author and political expert M. Salahuddin Khan, who presented a speech entitled, “America, Afghanistan and Pakistan: Pathology of a Relationship.”

Marking ten years since Guantanamo Bay’s opening, The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has released a report called, “Guantanamo by the Numbers”, describing the cost of running the camp and the treatment of detainees.

The film “follows a predominately Arab-American high school football team from a working-class Detroit suburb as they practice for their big cross-town rivalry game during the last ten days of Ramadan, revealing a community holding onto its Islamic faith while they struggle for acceptance in post 9/11 America.“  Watch a  trailer for the movie here: http://fordsonthemovie.com/trailer.php

Two Muslim American movies discuss one message: the negative impact of 9/11 on Muslims in America. They use two different approaches: Fordson focuses on a Muslim community’s unity, while Mooz-lum focuses on one individual’s struggle.

Gerald Hankerson, CAIR-Chicago’s Outreach Coordinator, spoke about civil rights and social justice at the 9/11 Primer, a civic engagement event created by HumanThread, held at the Meridian Stage in Pilsen.

Terms like “radical Islam” reflect negatively on a peaceful religion. The terrorists who recognize themselves as Muslims are not true followers of the religion as Islam condemns the killing of innocents. Therefore, the term “Islam” should be avoided in the discourse of terrorism and 9/11.

“For Amina Sharif, communication director of the Chicago branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the mainstream interest in Islam and Muslims began after September 11, but the negative feelings were always there.

“For Sharif much of the blame lies with the media and popular culture in the US, which she says is often “orientalist and slanted” in its depiction of Muslims and Islam.”

See our recent media coverage here.