Muslims in Europe have found themselves the focus of unwelcome attention since the attacks in the US. Muslim communities in many European countries have joined the world in condemning the terrorist attacks. The Muslim Council of Britain, for instance, said those responsible "stand outside the pale of civilized values".

Germany has one of the largest Muslim communities in Europe. The chairman of Germany's Central Council of Muslims, Nadeem Elyas, says his group also experienced threats during the Gulf War, but that things are worse now. He says he has received e-mails, phone calls and faxes with serious threats of murder and bombing.

British Muslims are also nervous and angry about harassment and threats after the U.S. terror attacks. Mosques in Birmingham have received abusive phone calls and Muslim residents of the city say they have been harassed in their homes. The Islamia School in West London was forced to close after the attacks after a series of telephone death threats. The school was founded by pop singer Cat Stevens, now known as Yusuf Islam.

In France, sympathy for the victims of the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington has been strong. But French politicians also worry about provoking a backlash within the country's large Muslim community. "In France, we must remain very attentive to the safety of our citizens," says Prime Minister Lionel Jospin. And he stresses the Western world is "not at war against Islam or the Arab and Muslim world".