As the Federal Bureau of Investigation began to report its findings in the investigation of the past week's tragic events in New York and Washington, Muslim Americans began bracing for reprisals when the FBI confirmed what many had already assumed: The perpetrators of these events, at least those who were involved in the hijacking of the aircraft involved, were Arabs and presumably Muslims.

After the Oklahoma City bombing and during the Persian Gulf War, anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiment often manifested itself in the form of attacks on mosques and small businesses, and in verbal and physical assault on individuals. Islam is viewed as the linking factor.

However, Islam is not a religion that condones violence against others. This can be seen in the strong condemnation of the terrorist actions by Muslim states that are allies and even foes of the United States. The truth is that Islam is an often misunderstood religion by Americans who associate it with the takeover of the American embassy in Tehran in 1979, the civil war in Lebanon in the 1970s and 1980s, the Persian Gulf War and the attacks on the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es-Salaam, Tanzania.

Islam is one of the fastest-growing religions in the United States. According to some recent estimates, more than 7 million Muslims live in the United States, more than any other non-Christian group, including Jews. Throughout the world, there are more than 1 billion Muslims, and four out of every five Muslims are not Arab.

The name "Islam" is derived from an Arabic root that refers to "submission (before God). The same root is used to form the words for "commitment" and "peace."

Islam, like Christianity and Judaism, traces its origins to the prophet Abraham. Muslims believe that the God whose words are repeated in the Koran, the holy scripture of Islam, is the same god of the Torah and the Bible, and that the prophet of Islam, Mohammed, is the last in a line of prophets that includes Moses and Jesus.

Islam was meant to become an all encompassing system that included religion, law and government. The basis of law is the Koran, which is supplemented by the hadith, or the sayings of the prophet Mohammed about particular issues, and the sunnah, or the practices of Mohammed. These sources form the basis of what is called the shari'ah, frequently referred to as "Islamic law."

Despite some popular misconceptions, Islam considers Christians and Jews to be "people of the book," who are afforded a protected status in areas where Muslims rule.

The main tenets of Islam are often referred to as the "five pillars of Islam." The first of these is the simple declaration of faith: There is no other god than the one God, and Mohammed is his prophet. This is followed by prayer: Muslims pray five times each day at prescribed times, facing Mecca as they do so. Friday is the holiest day for Muslims, and the midday, or juma'a, prayer on Friday is when Muslims congregate at the mosque for community prayer.

The third pillar involves fasting during the month of Ramadan. Islam has its own calendar, beginning from the year that Mohammed and his followers fled Mecca for the city of Yathrib (now called Medina) to escape persecution by pagan rulers of Mecca. The Islamic calendar runs on a lunar cycle, meaning that it is shorter than the calendar used by the west. The current year according to the Islamic calendar is 1422. It is believed that the ninth month of the calendar, Ramadan, is the month during which Mohammed received his first revelation from God.

All Muslims are supposed to fast from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, a sacrifice that reminds them of those who are less fortunate, and makes them thankful for what God has provided. Exceptions are made for those who are young, elderly, sick, nursing or traveling. The fourth pillar involves the paying of an alms tax to help the poor and unfortunate, an annual event that usually occurs at the end of Ramadan. The fifth and final pillar of Islam is the hajj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca, which all Muslims who can afford it are required to undertake at least once during their adult lives.

An often misunderstood concept of Islam is that of jihad, sometimes referred to as the "sixth pillar." The Arabic world jihad means "struggle" or "exertion" and refers to any spiritual, moral or physical struggle. For Muslims, jihad means struggle in the cause of God, which can take many forms.

In the personal sphere, efforts such as obtaining an education, trying to quit smoking or controlling ones' temper are forms of jihad. Jihad as a military action is justified in two cases: struggle to defend oneself, or others, from aggression and struggle for freedom of religion and justice. However, under no circumstances is the taking of innocent lives, or even those of a non-combatant military, acceptable. Despite the fact that many horrible acts have been committed in the name of Islam, this does not mean that the majority of Muslim clerics and legal scholars would agree that the actions are just and legitimate.

As the world struggles to come to terms with the horrible acts committed, it is important to remember that the people who committed these acts of terrorism and mass murder are not representative of Muslims or Arabs or Middle Easterners. They are extremists in their own societies, much as individuals such as Jim Jones, David Koresh and Timothy McVeigh are extremists in American society. The large outpouring of support from the Muslim and Middle Eastern communities in the United States is a clear indication that their sentiments are with the victims and their families. This is a time when all of us need to come together for support, and to resist letting out feelings of anger and frustration by attacking innocent Muslims and Middle Easterners simply because of their religious or national background.

Rose is outreach coordinator at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies.