THE KILLING of the Fort Hood soldiers by Major Nidal Hasan has set people in America's six-million strong Muslim community on edge, fearing a possible backlash against them.
Leading Islamic groups were quick to condemn the killings, with the largest Muslim civil rights group, the Council on American-Muslim Relations, declaring: "No political or religious ideology could ever justify or excuse such wanton and indiscriminat
e violence. American Muslims stand with our fellow citizens in offering both prayers for the victims."
Ibrahim Ramy of the Muslim American Foundation called on the government to protect Muslims from a backlash: "We reject the idea that this incident is motivated by a terrorist ideology of a religious community."
The attack comes as the council tries to persuade other Americans that Muslims in the United States do not identify with terrorism. "Most Americans were introduced to our faith on 9/11, watching a plane hitting a building," said council spokesman Corey Saylor. "Its an educational process. That will take years."
Just how many years is a moot point. Japanese Americans were seen as traitors following the shock of the attack on Pearl Harbor in the Second World War. "For Japanese Americans it took decades," said Mr Saylor.
The council's solution has been to promote education programmes designed to spread the word that US Muslims do not agree with extremist ideologies.
There has been little support among American Muslims for radical organisations and, to date, few racist attacks against Muslims are recorded.
US president Barack Obama's speech in Cairo earlier this year, in which he called on all Americans to recognise Muslims as fully integrated into the United States, eased tensions, but the council wants the president to do more.
"We're still waiting for him to visit an American mosque," said Mr Saylor.
