Source: The Washington Post
On September 11, 2003 The Washington Post reported: "When members of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society observe the second anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks with a banquet tonight at their Sterling mosque, the guests of honor will be representatives from the local Christian and Jewish communities.
'We would like to show our gratitude for the love they showed us' in the early days after the attacks, said Mohamed Magid, the mosque's imam, or prayer leader.
But the 3,000-member congregation will also be discussing the huge challenges Muslims continue to face in the tragedy's aftermath, the Sudanese-born Magid said. 'We are worried about laws that say that Muslims can be put in jail without knowing why, and no one should tell you why,' he said.
The mixture of optimism and apprehension at Magid's mosque is typical of the general mood among local Muslim Americans. Two years after terrorists flew jetliners into the Pentagon and World Trade Center, Muslims in the Washington area are increasingly discouraged about the effect the attacks have had on their civil liberties. But there is also a belief that their community will continue to draw support from many Americans of other faiths -- and that this support, coupled with Muslims' growing involvement in U.S. political and civic affairs, will eventually lead to positive outcomes."