While Sept. 11 is a time for the nation to reflect on those who lost their lives in the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil, it is also a time when many Muslim Americans find it necessary to keep a very low profile. Nationwide, Muslims and Arab-Americans tell of the hate-stares, insults and physical assaults they continue to face in the eight-year aftermath of the attacks that left 2,993 people dead. A new poll conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life supports their concerns. It found that 38 percent of Americans believe Islam is more likely than other faiths to encourage violence. Charlotte, N.C., resident Nancy Rokayak, 45, of who is an easy target because she covers her hair in public, told The Associated Press that she gets “a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach every year. I feel on 9/11 others look at me and blame me for the events that took place.” The Egyptian-born ultrasound tech said she makes sure she is wearing a red, white and blue flag pin every Sept. 11 and makes sure she doesn’t wander too far from home. She isn’t alone. Sarah Sayeed, 41, who lives in the Bronx, also sticks close to home when the anniversary of the attacks arrives. “There’s still a sense of ‘Should I go anywhere? Should I say anything?’ There’s kind of that anxiety,” she also told AP. Sayeed, who was born in India and came to the U.S. at age 8, said she must “force myself to go out.” On Sept. 11, 2001 – the day 19 Arab hijackers intentionally crashed two airliners into the Twin Towers of the New York City’s World Trade Center and the Pentagon just outside of Washington, D.C. – Sayeed rushed to her son’s Islamic day school so they could both return home, she told the news agency. When she got to the school, other women warned her to take off her headscarf, or hijab, for her own safety. She said that she now attends an interfaith prayer event each Sept. 11. Abdul-Matin, 32, told AP that he avoids TV news on the anniversary “if it’s too much of this drumbeating or warmongering, if the focus is on `what they did to us.’” What many Americans fail to acknowledge, many Muslims say, is that those who perpetrated these evil crimes against the United States are not true Muslims at all. It’s like calling a mass murderer a Christian just because he went to church. A true Muslim, or Christian, they say, is one who lives by the principles established by the Mohammed or Jesus Christ, which call for peace and unity.

Somali Pirates Attack Another U.S. Ship

Almost a week after successfully attacking the U.S. ship the Maersk Alabama, Somali pirates attacked another U.S. vessel Tuesday using rocket-propelled grenades and weapons, reports the BBC. This time, however, they were not able to actually get onboard. The Liberty Sun was carrying food aid near the coast of Somalia when it was attacked. An email from one of the crew members to his mother detailed the incident. “We are under attack by pirates, we are being hit by rockets, also bullets,” the email from 26-year-old Thomas Urbik read, reports The Associated Press. Read the rest.

Nigerian Muslims Arrested After Attacking Easter Parade A parade on Easter Monday turned violent when Muslim youths and Christians clashed, resulting in 120 people being arrested, police say. Churches were also set ablaze, and Christians were attacked in the towns of Gwada and Minna, making it necessary for police to enter the town to restore order, reports the BBC. Many of the injured had to be rushed to the hospital. While the west African nation is closely divided between Christians and Muslims, the two groups usually coexist peacefully. There are times, though, when the groups have violent clashes, more often than not due to a “competition for resources” and not religious intolerance reports the BBC.

Black College Gets Water, Reopens
Historically Black Morris Brown College is back in business after paying $100,000 toward its water bill to the city of Atlanta. The 127-year-old campus had asked the court to order the city to turn its water back on, saying it would never be able to meet its financial obligations with the doors closed. On Friday, Superior Court Judge Henry Newkirk ruled that the college had one more chance to deal with the $380,000 bill it owed the Atlanta Department of Watershed Management, some of which dated back four years. Read the rest here.

Airline Apologizes for Booting Muslim Passengers
AirTran Airways, which kicked nine Muslims off a New Year’s Day flight to Florida, apologized to the passengers and announced that it would reimburse them for tickets they purchased for another airliner. They were booted after other passengers reported hearing a suspicious remark about airplane security. “We apologize to all of the passengers — to the nine who had to undergo extensive interviews from the authorities and to the 95 who ultimately made the flight,” the statement said. “Nobody on Flight 175 reached their destination on time on New Year’s Day, and we regret it.” The group of Muslims had just sat down when they approached by federal air marshals and escorted off the plane, as passengers glared at them suspiciously, The Associated Press reports. Read the rest here.

Black Muslims meet in Detroit

When most people think about Black Muslims, Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam is the first thing that comes to mind. But it’s the Muslim American Society and its leader, Imam Warith Deen Mohammed, that is widely believed to have the largest following among African Americans. This past weekend, thousands of Black Muslims converged on Detroit for an annual convention, which met in Michigan for the first time in more than 10 years. Metro Detroit has one of the largest Muslim populations in America . Mohammed is the son of the Elijah Muhammad, the longtime leader of the Nation of Islam, who died in 1975. After his father died, Mohammed took over the Black Nationalist organization and retooled group’s message, downplaying racial separatism and preaching orthodox Islam. “He’s a superb leader,” said Nadir Ahmad, 58, of Detroit , told The Detroit Free Press “He has a sober message of good morals, but also a commonsense approach to life and religion.” Ahmad said Mohammed “has always called for cooperation between faiths.”