Source: Los Angeles Times
On November 13, 2005 the Los Angeles Times ran an opinion piece by Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, on concerns over "home-grown terrorists." Al-Marayati writes, "As the death toll rises from the suicide bombings in Amman, Jordan, and as France, Britain and other European states confront home-grown Muslim violence, it is not surprising that Americans are beginning to wonder: Is the U.S. immune? The question has been raised occasionally during the five years since 9/11. Could it happen here? What are the thoughts and feelings of the 3 million to 6 million Muslims in the United States?... The reason we're not likely to see riots in the U.S. like those in France is that Muslims here are very different from European Muslims. Here, Muslims are more readily integrated... Muslims in the U.S. are more affluent than in many parts of the world. We contribute about $90 billion to the U.S. economy every year. Many of us have graduate degrees and have succeeded in science, the arts and business. The U.S. is home. Let that be clear to the extremists abroad and Muslim haters here. Although there are few social or economic biases against Muslim Americans, there remain political biases that contribute to a psychological ghetto mentality. And despite our best efforts to contribute positively to public life in the United States, Muslim Americans continue to be vulnerable to discrimination and criminal hate and racism."