Editor’s note: This is the final story in a three-part series about being Muslim in America.

A Muslim graduate of Iowa State said she is still subject to random searches 99 percent of the time she travels by plane with her family.

“Spending five extra minutes . isn’t the end of the world,” said Sali Mahgoub, 2005 ISU graduate in dietetics, who was born in Sudan.

Although she said she can see why those of Arab-looking descent are targeted, she said she can’t excuse it.

“Because of an unfortunate event, that does not justify some of the stuff that my friends and family have been through,” Mahgoub said.

People from regions outside the Middle East, such as Africa and South America, have been drawn into racial profiling.

“It’s sad that a lot more people are being pulled into this,” she said.

Heba Kamal’s family was at the Chicago O’Hare airport in December 2005 and was refused service when they reached the check-in counter. Kamal, a sophomore in elementary education, was not present at the time.

She said there was no question whether this had been done intentionally.

“My mom told me by the way he looked at them and left them so abruptly, they knew [he] didn’t want to serve them,” she said.

When Kamel Harrata, supervisor of mass spectrometry at Iowa State, flies, he expects to be searched every time. Harrata, who is originally from Morocco, said he sees this as a necessary precaution that makes him feel safer.

What bothers him is that his safety might be compromised because not everyone is searched.

“It scares me if they only search some and not others,” Harrata said.

He said he would like every single person to be searched. The next person to board a plane might be a potential threat, regardless of his or her color or background, he said.

Imam Taha Tawil of the Mother Mosque of North America in Cedar Rapids said when he and his family travel, they receive more attention than other people at the airport.

“There is an extra eye,” Tawil said.

It doesn’t bother him, though.

“Let them look. We also look,” he said.

Tawil thinks certain measures such as more cameras, profiling and security are necessary to better protect all citizens.

“What’s wrong with it if it is all for our protection?” he said. “To be alert and aware is much better than sleeping and being naive.”

While agreeing with many domestic policies, Tawil said America should work to improve its international image and relationships.

He is worried his children might face more intolerance when they travel abroad, but not because they are Muslim.

“It will come a time . when they reach high school [that] maybe they will be targeted as Americans,” Tawil said.

Muslims are still working toward distinguishing the actions of a few from the whole group.

“If one Muslim does something, we’re going to be finger pointed,” Harrata said.

Yet, actions committed by Jews, Christians or whites are not seen as representative of their groups.

The Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 was originally thought to have been committed by Muslim extremists. A Jordanian-American was detained by British immigration authorities and later released when it was found that he was not someone who fit the profile. Ultimately, the crime was committed by Timothy McVeigh, a white Christian.

Harrata, who said he had feared that Muslim extremists were responsible for the bombing, said he admitted being relieved when he found out that they weren’t.

Then he became angry, wondering if Muslims would be blamed for the next attack.

“Why are we hostage to this?” he said.

McVeigh was not seen as representative of all white Christians.

“I think most people did not think that at all,” Kamal said.

Tawil referred to the example of the four Marines who were charged with raping one Iraqi and killing her and three of her relatives.

“Should we say that this is the act of the United States Marines?” Tawil said.

Tom Dostart, who experienced the Sept. 11 attacks across the plaza from the World Trade Center, said despite his thought that the actions had been committed by Islamic extremists, he never associated them with the entire Islam faith.

“I think that in many faiths there are small groups of extremists,” Dostart said, “but I think they constitute a small, sickening group.”

The day of the events, he did not think the hijackers were picky about who they hurt.

“I really felt that the terrorists were trying to kill all of us there, indiscriminately,” he said. “They were there to kill anyone they could.”

Although Muslim leaders have publicly condemned the attacks, Kamal said people don’t believe them because of what they’ve seen on the media.

“Muslims are frustrated because they don’t know what else to do,” she said.

Beth Sermet, an Ames resident and Muslim, said the Muslim community did speak out, listing the memorial services, full-page ads and public comments from imams from across the world.

“I just don’t think people listened,” Sermet said. “I just don’t think they were ready to listen.”

Sermet said she is concerned with Muslims being seen as “the other.” The other can become the enemy – persecuted and discriminated against, she said.

“We don’t want to be the other,” Sermet said. “We want to be among.”

Muslims want to see America succeed, Harrata said. They live and work here, too.

“You want this country to prosper, because if this country prospers, you prosper,” he said.

Tawil stressed that Muslims have as much stake in this country as anyone else.

“Our names and faces are also embodied in America,” Tawil said. “We love this country.”