Amjad Taufique was twice called to the Islamic Center of Cartersville to find vandals had thrown rocks scrawled with words like "Muslim scum" and "Muslim death" through the windows.
Before they left one time, they tossed in a container filled with a smelly liquid. Those incidents didn't occur immediately after 9/11. They happened in March and April -- nearly a decade later.
"It told me that there's still a lot of ignorance about Islam and Muslims," said Taufique, a spokesman for the mosque, whose congregation numbers about 50 people. "There are a lot of people who may perceive Islam as a religion of hatred and violence."
The vandalism also reinforced Taufique's belief that Muslims still have a lot of work to do.
Muslims, he said, can't "just sit in a cocoon and not get involved in the community. We have to let our neighbors and colleagues know what American Muslims are about and what Islam is about."
A decade after the 9/11 attacks, many Muslims in metro Atlanta say they experience bias because of their faith.
Azadeh N. Shahshahani, director of the National Security/Immigrants' Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia, frequently fields calls from Muslims who have been harassed by police, added to the no-fly list or found their quest for citizenship delayed.
"It's the new normal," said Shahshahani. "And we're not even hearing about everything that is happening."
Others said they worry about federal government spies in their mosques, bullying of their children in school and other forms of intimidation.
It doesn't seem to matter that Muslims also died in the 9/11 attacks. Or that, to many Muslims, the terrorists who hijacked the planes also hijacked their faith.
Soumaya Khalifa, who covers her hair, comes face-to-face with the post- 9/11 world each time she boards a plane. Khalifa, an intercultural and human resources consultant and executive director of the Islamic Speakers Bureau of Atlanta, feels she's the subject of greater scrutiny when going through security.
"Oh, my God, I've had so many pat downs, it's unbelievable," said Khalifa, who lives in Peachtree City.
In a recent survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, 44 percent of Americans said U.S. policies single out Muslims for increased surveillance and monitoring. Of those, more than four in ten said that inequality doesn't trouble them much, if at all.
That worries people like Lisa Valentine, of Douglasville, who was jailed in Douglas County after refusing to remove her hijab -- or head scarf -- to accompany her nephew to traffic court. Valentine sued and in July 2009 the Georgia Judicial Council adopted a policy clarifying that religious head coverings can be worn in Georgia courthouses.
Wearing the hijab "is part of who I am," Valentine said. "I lost all sense of security."
For two years, Lilburn officials were pitted against the congregation of Dar-E-Abbas, which wanted to expand its worship center at Lawrenceville Highway and Hood Road. The U.S. Department of Justice filed a complaint, alleging that Lilburn violated federal law by twice rejecting the request. The plan was finally approved.
That is one of dozens of documented cases of community opposition to proposed mosques and Islamic centers around the nation, including the so-called "Ground Zero" mosque.
A decade after 9/11, however, many Muslims, including Khalifa are ready to move on. She hesitated recently when asked to participate in a 9/11 remembrance event because "I don't want to carry the burden any more for stupid people doing stupid things."
Across the nation and in metro Atlanta, several Muslims organizations, Islamic centers and mosques are stepping up efforts to become more engaged. Taufique wants to see more Muslims educate non-Muslims about the faith and get involved in projects such as food banks and shelters.
The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations is urging Muslims to organize community service projects on Sunday. A billboard campaign in Detroit and other cities the contributions American Muslims have made to society.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA recently launched the nationwide "Muslims for Life" blood drive. Organizers, in partnership with the American Red Cross and other organizations, hope to collect 10,000 units of blood during September. (www.muslimsforlife.org)
Hazeem Pudhiapura, president of the Atlanta Chapter of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, feels 9/11 gave him something to prove. "I feel this is nation where you can be a true Muslim and a great American," he said. "It does not go into conflict at all."
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