``I remember the four words that repeatedly scrolled across my mind after the first plane crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City.
Our fear, and the collective breath or brace for the hateful backlash that ensued, symbolize the existential tightrope that defines Muslim American identity today.``. \'Please don\'t be Muslims, please don\'t be Muslims.\' The four words I whispered to myself on 9/11 reverberated through the mind of every Muslim American that day, and every day after.... ``I remember the four words that repeatedly scrolled across my mind after the first plane crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City