According to several news sources, the Muslim community in New Jersey is fearing a backlash over the Fort Dix plot. Following September 11, hundreds of Muslim men were questioned by officials in New Jersey. None were connected with 911.

The New Jersey AP reports that now, Muslims fear a resurgence of anti-Islamic sentiment and incidents of bias.

"If these people did something, then they deserve to be punished to the fullest extent of the law," Sohail Mohammed, a lawyer who represented many of the of detainees after the 2001 attacks told the AP. "But when the government says 'Islamic militants,' it sends a message to the public that Islam and militancy are synonymous. Don't equate actions with religion."

Per the NJ AP, the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee's New Jersey chapter has been in contact with the FBI about the Muslim community's fears. "What we're all afraid of is a new backlash," said Hesham Mahmoud, group spokesman. The Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee issued the following statement: "It seems clear that a potentially deadly attack has been averted. We applaud the FBI for its efforts and repeat the American Muslim community's condemnation and repudiation of all those who would plan or carry out acts of terror while falsely claiming their actions have religious justification."

The six suspects in the plot are Muslim, male, and in their mid-twenties, the same profile as those of the 911 attackers. The affidavit of Eljvir Duka, one of the accused Muslim jihadists, points to what appears to be his religious justification for the planned attack on Fort Dix. He is quoted in The Christian Science Monitor as stating, "and at the end when it comes to defending your religion, when someone is trying [to attack] your religion, your way of life, then you go jihad." [Link]

Federal charges were filed May 8 against six individuals for plotting to attack U.S. troops at Fort Dix, N.J., with assault rifles. Although al Qaeda allegedly inspired the suspects in this attempt to carry out "jihad" in the United States, the suspects bear the hallmarks of amateur jihadists, and probably were not connected to the jihadist network. The case, however, serves as a reminder to U.S. authorities that not all potential militants fit the Middle Eastern profile....

Agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives raided a house the night of May 7 in Cherry Hill, N.J., arresting six men suspected of plotting an attack with assault rifles at the U.S. Army's nearby base at Fort Dix....

Officials identified the six men, all in their 20s, as three brothers, Dritan, Eljvir, and Shain Duka; Serdar Tatar; Agron Abdullahu; and Mohamed Shnewer. All six of the alleged plotters were foreign-born. Abdullahu, born in Turkey, and Tatar, born in Jordan, were naturalized U.S. citizens. Shnewer and the three Duka brothers were ethnic Albanians; at least two of the Albanians entered the United States illegally. U.S. law enforcement sources believe that at least two of the alleged plotters entered the United States illegally via the Texas-Mexico border....

For U.S. counterterrorism authorities, the arrests in New Jersey show that not all militant suspects fit the same profile. The four Albanians are European in appearance, not Middle Eastern. They were able to blend in easily in New Jersey's ethically diverse population of Irish, Polish, Italian, and African-Americans. Other non-Middle Eastern jihadists include Muriel Degauque, a Belgian who traveled to Iraq with her Arab husband to blow herself up as a suicide bomber, and Sulejmen Talovic, a Bosnian Muslim who opened fire on a mall in Utah, killing five shoppers and wounding four others. Their appearance made them difficult to detect. Al Qaeda realizes this, and thus encourages the use of non-Middle Eastern male operatives, especially those of European stock. [Link]

Authorities' description of six suspects charged with plotting an attack on Fort Dix as "Islamic militants" is causing renewed worry among New Jersey's Muslim community.

Hundreds of Muslim men from New Jersey were rounded up and detained by authorities in the months following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, but none were connected to that plot.

Now, Muslims fear a resurgence of anti-Islamic sentiment and incidents of bias.

"If these people did something, then they deserve to be punished to the fullest extent of the law," said Sohail Mohammed, a lawyer who represented scores of detainees after the 2001 attacks. "But when the government says "Islamic militants,' it sends a message to the public that Islam and militancy are synonymous. Don't equate actions with religion."

The Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee's New Jersey chapter participated in a conference call Tuesday with FBI officials to discuss security.

"What we're all afraid of is a new backlash," said Hesham Mahmoud, a spokesman for the group. [Link]