The terror attacks on the World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001, changed the way we think about politics, society and safety as the world entered the 21st century.

But as the world learned the identities of the attackers, the response affected one community much more acutely: Muslims.

The media coverage of the 2001 attack and other subsequent incidents in our region, including the Lindt Cafe siege in Sydney’s Martin Place in December 2014, increased the feeling among many in the Muslim community that they are not welcome or safe in the Australian cities that they call home.

So, in this increasingly tense climate, how does it feel to navigate the city as a young Muslim?

Dallas Rogers spoke with Western Sydney University PhD candidate Rhonda Itaoui about her research examining the Islamophobia young Muslims experience in Australia. She also explores her own experiences as a young Muslim woman and the success of campaigns like #illridewithyou in countering Islamophobia.

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Additional Audio:

• Emily Eaton, BayFM, voiceover for the text message conversation

• Sarah Long, BayFM, voiceover for the text message conversation

• ABC News The Sydney siege as it unfolded

• 9 NEWS llridewithyou-Celebrities-tens-thousands-everyday-Twitter-users-social-media-support-Muslim-community.html">Social Media Campaign supporting Muslims goes viral

• The Verdict latham-claims-western-sydney-has-a-muslim-problem-on-the-verdict-20151009-gk4ty0.html">Mark Latham targets western Sydney

Music from:

• Free Music Archive Cylinder Seven by Chris Zabriskie

• Free Music Archive La tapa del miércoles by Circus Marcus

• Free Music Archive Bumble by Podington Bear

• Free Music Archive Pacific by Psychadelik Pedestrian

• Free Music Archive Impact Prelude by Kevin MacLeod

Dallas Rogers receives funding from the Community Broadcasting Foundation to produce short academic interviews for SoundMinds Radio (http://www.soundminds.com.au/author/dallas/). Segments of this interview were played on community radio on 01/12/2015