Educating Against Extremism

In an even more dramatic case, a 24-year-old who grew up in Falls Church, Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, has been accused in an al Qaeda plot to assassinate President Bush. He has pleaded not guilty.

The Muslim American Society has vigorously defended Abu Ali. Asked whether that contradicted his group's new campaign against extremism, Bray said no. His organization, he said, was concerned that Abu Ali's rights had been violated since he had been held in a Saudi prison for more than a year without charges.

Nonetheless, Bray acknowledged he might not have been outspoken enough in the past about Muslims espousing extremist views.

"It's not criminal. But it's not acceptable," Bray said. If Muslims preach intolerance, he added, "we have a responsibility to debate that person, make that opinion unpopular."

Several area Muslim leaders said they've been doing that since long before the London bombings. But now they are warning even more explicitly about any ideologies that glorify violence or portray non-Muslims as "infidels."

At the All Dulles Area Muslim Society in Sterling, that message underpinned a weekly Koran class one recent night. Sheikh Rashid Lamptey, a slight Ghanaian in gold-trimmed robes, gave a spirited lecture to about two dozen rapt men and women, most in their twenties and thirties. They were a snapshot of the local Muslim community: immigrants and U.S.-born converts, their upturned faces reflecting roots in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

"Every human soul, from China, Germany, Africa . . . you name it -- that human soul comes from God," Lamptey said in a soft, lilting voice. "Every soul -- shamanism, Hinduism, Christianity -- what matters is that soul comes from God. That calls us to respect every soul."

Hating people, he added, "is not part of our religion."

Concern about young Muslims extends well beyond the mosque.

One major group, the Islamic Society of North America, is planning a special session on fighting terrorism and extremism at its annual convention in Chicago next month. The issue is also a central theme at a parallel youth conference, expected to draw thousands of people.

Among those attending will be members of a new national group focused on Muslim youth, which was formed in the wake of the London bombings. The group, which is unnamed, consists of Muslim students across the country, including a few young Muslims working on Capitol Hill.

Amin Al-Sarraf, 21, a George Washington University student, is a leader of the new group. The grandson of Iraqi and Palestinian immigrants, he works part time at the Capitol Hill offices of the Muslim Public Affairs Council.

In his navy suit and crisp, pinstriped shirt, he looks like any other ambitious young Hill staffer. But he said many second-generation Muslims aren't sure whether to assimilate into the broader society -- leaving them vulnerable to an extremist message.

"Are we Muslim? Are we American? A lot of [Muslim] people see this as a zero-sum game," Al-Sarraf said.

The problem, he said, is many young Muslims are unmoored from their immigrant parents' identities. But, as members of a religious minority who often refrain from drinking alcohol and dating, Muslim youth struggle to figure out how they fit into U.S. culture.

"We don't really have a strong identity as ourselves. When someone [radical] tells us something, we can sway that way," Al-Sarraf said.

His group wants to increase civic participation among young Muslims and urge them to more critically examine extremist religious views.

"There's a sense among a lot of people we need to take charge of our own future," he said.