Although hate crimes against Muslims have increased across the country following last week’s terrorist attacks, many Northwestern Muslim students said they feel safe as they return to campus, even as Muslim extremists are being named the prime suspects.

“I haven’t come across any problems on campus,” said Ashia Khan, secretary of the Muslim Cultural Student Association. “It’s very reassuring that I haven’t encountered things like that.”

But as the days pass since the Sept. 11 attacks, the number of hate crimes against Muslims, South Asians and Arab Americans across the country has risen.

Several hundred incidents, including vandalism, spitting and assaults, have occurred in the country since the attack, according to the Web site for the Council of American-Islamic Relations.

A Chicago cab driver was assaulted Sunday near the 300 block of Sheridan Road after being followed by a group of 10 to 15 motorcyclists, according to a police report. The two attackers allegedly made derogatory comments based on the cab driver’s appearance and linked him to the recent terrorist attacks, the report said.

“People are obviously really shocked and horrified at the tragedy,” said Matthew Cenzer, program coordinator and research affiliate at NU’s Institute for the Study of Islamic Thought in Africa. “I think there’s a certain degree of fear and anti-Muslim backlash by students here and across the country.”

Although they fear racist sentiment in Chicago and at home, many Muslim students said they feel mostly comfortable at NU.

“Muslims on this campus feel very secure at this point,” said Anees Fazili, vice president of public relations for McSA. “The only real threat we could have is from the outside, but I don’t think it’s a problem, thankfully.”

Since the terrorist attacks, NU’s administration has worked to create an open dialogue with Muslim students to address concerns they may have about religious and racial intolerance, said William Banis, vice president for student affairs.

Banis and his wife attended a McSA ice cream social Saturday for new and returning students.

“As we talked with students through the course of the evening, our impression was that our students feel safe on campus and don’t expect to have any problems within the Northwestern community,” he said. “If they have any concerns, it’s with the reports of backlash against mosques or Arab Americans away from campus.”

Banis said the university isn’t planning any additional safety measures.

He said existing offerings such as the escort and shuttle bus services will keep Muslim students safe. University Police will be especially sensitive to the needs of Muslim and Arab-American students and will offer special support at their events, Banis said.

Although Muslim students said the Evanston Campus seems to offer some security, many also said they have experienced or heard of anti-Muslim incidents off campus, including racial epithets and physical violence.

Speech senior Leila Shahbandar, who covers her head in the Muslim tradition, said that while she was near downtown Chicago, people told her, “We’re going to kill all the Arabs,” and “Go home.”

“In all honesty, really, I’ve tried to not go out as much,” she said. “You try to live your life, but I’m used to doing whatever I want, when I want, like going out to a restaurant at 1 a.m. In Evanston, I feel like I’ll generally be able to lead a normal life, but I think it’s going to take a long, long time elsewhere.”

Cenzer, of the Institute for the Study of Islamic Thought in Africa, said college campuses provide greater peace of mind to Muslims because people are likely to be less ignorant about the religion.

“We have the advantage here of having a well-educated bunch of people knowledgeable about Islam and about the world who won’t act rashly,” he said.

South Asian students also have been the targets of backlash in the United States.

But Amy Shah, public relations chairwoman for the South Asian Students Alliance, said she hasn’t heard of any harassment of South Asian students at NU since the incident.

“We’ve only just gotten to campus,” she said. “I think we’ll probably brainstorm some events to prevent it from happening.”

Meanwhile, NU administrators and groups like McSA, Arab Cultural Society and SASA have been focused on helping incoming freshmen feel safe.

“Our biggest concern is with the freshmen,” McSA’s Fazili said. “They’re in an alien environment as it is.”

McSA, which has in the past hosted events during New Student Week, reached out to new students this week to show them NU’s Muslim community.

“We’ve made an extra effort to make them feel welcome and let them know we’re here to help them,” Khan said.