Weinberg junior Sanjum Sethi drove to Northwestern from his New Jersey home because he was afraid of flying, and he was not wearing his turban because his parents were nervous he would be harassed for being Sikh.

Sethi was one panelist at a forum entitled “Race and Religion in America After September 11, 2001,” held Thursday night in Norris University Center’s Purdue Room. Beki Park, a Weinberg senior and co-organizer of the forum, said she put the panel together to address the concerns of religious students affected by the recent tragedy and to “educate people on campus” about the prejudice that many now face.

Park said logistics forced them to hold the event on Yom Kippuer and that, while the forum was open to Jewish students, “it’s difficult to wait when you face racism.”

Issues confronted in the two-hour discussion, which a variety reactions from the audience of about 45 people, ranged from the increased prejudice towards Muslims and Arab-looking peers to the impact of the media on the tragedy, the issue of religious politics and the problems with blind patriotism.

Sethi, who knows one of the missing World Trade Center victims, said that he is “internally divided” on the issue of patriotism and the anger and fear he feels due to the recent surge in prejudice.

“If we stood together, nobody could knock us down,” said Puneet Singh, a Weinberg senior who is also a Sikh. “How do we expect to build a worldwide coalition when people from all over the world come from America and don’t feel safe?”

She said America didn’t feel like her home anymore after an Arizona Sikh was shot on Sept. 15 because of his appearance. She added that she was angered that the media has not paid more attention to the outbreak of crime against certain religious groups since Sept. 11.

“I don’t care about stocks when people are getting shot,” she said. But she said she had hope. “For every hate crime,” she said, “there have been people reaching out to tell us that we are not alone.”

Mutasim Sunbulli, a Muslim NU graduate active with the Muslim-cultural Student Association, said the media has “fueled an emotional high,” which results in some Americans taking out their anger on Arab Americans. “In all the fervor, sometimes we lose perspective,” he said.

Kamel Aranki, a Weinberg senior and Christian member of the Arab Cultural Society, said that he has felt prejudice even though he is not Muslim. He added that “the Islamic religion is a peaceful religion” and so the terrorists were not true Muslims.

“Never in my life did I expect my religious group, or any religious group, to be persecuted in this country, today and in this time,” said Satwant Dhillion, a McCormick senior and a Sikh. “This has opened up my eyes that we do need to get together — everybody. … We need to understand other people. We need to accept them: cultures, religions, lifestyles, everything. We need to accept and love them as we do our own family.”