Several scholars convened to discuss the causes and consequences of Islamophobia. For example, Ahmed Younis, Director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, noted that "American Muslim identity was among the casualties of the September 11 terrorist attacks." These attacks, according to Younis, "gave a boost to anti-Muslim voices in the United States."

John Voll, Director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, stated that the existence of terrorist groups such as al-Qaida threaten moderate Muslims in the sense that all Muslims, particularly the militants, may be increasingly "viewed as an anti-American security threat" and thus viewed with suspicion and disfavor.

Paul Rosenzweig of the Heritage Foundation argued that while "Islam has been hijacked... that is, in part, because moderate Islamists have allowed it to be hijacked. They don't speak out often enough or clearly enough in opposition to the radicals." Younis countered, noting that "The American Muslim community has been extremely vocal in its condemnation of terrorism and extremism as an element of Islam."

Voll stated that "American Muslims need more unity among their ranks of African Americans, south Asian immigrants and Middle Eastern immigrants." (As we previously remarked in a related discussion, however, it may not be likely that other minority communities, particularly African-Americans, want to associate with Arabs, Muslims, and South Asians, even though there may be a similarity of experiences.)