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Young and Muslim in NYC

By Jamshid Mousavinezhad | amNY.com

Five years ago 12-year-old Tahara Miah was sitting in a Lower East Side classroom when "wham," the 9/11 terror attacks rocked the world -- her world and her city.

"I was scared to death," she recalled. "I was worried about my parents and what was going to happen to us downtown. I actually saw the buildings collapse from the window of the school."

Up until then, the most difficult part of Tahara's life as a Muslim youngster growing up in the city was coming-of-age issues such as wearing a headscarf and being allowed to date.

After it was revealed that Muslim extremists were behind the unimaginable attacks that left more than 3,000 dead, Tahara said she and many of her friends were stunned.

"When I found out that Muslim extremists had caused the disaster I was heartbroken," the now 17-year-old said. "The definition of Islam is peace, and this was so violent and destructive that I couldn't fathom that Muslim people could do something like this."

At an age when "you'd just rather stay home isolated people said horrible things and we got stares... yeah, it hurt," she said, recalling the days following 9/11. Fidgeting with her black headscarf, the thoughtful Bangladeshi-born teen said she was apprehensive about returning to Riis Upper School.

When classes resumed, however, she and other students -- "who knew I was a kind girl, that I wasn't a terrorist" -- mourned together. It made her feel "at home, and [that] people cared about me."

As the fifth anniversary of 9/11 approaches, Tahara and nine other city Muslim-American teens interviewed over several months said that while they have been impacted by 9/11, the war in Iraq and the global battle against terrorism, it does not define their lives.

The most important thing in life is "respecting my religion and my family, followed by my friends," said Saddam Attareb, who lives in Harlem. What anyone else says "doesn't really matter to me".

Next: Facing Down Prejudice