ZAID SHAKIR: "And who also are comfortable with their Americanness on the one hand and comfortable with Islam on the other hand."

There are millions of American Muslims. But the imam says most of the teachers of Islam in America received their training in other countries. He says Islam has never become rooted in any land until that land had its own Islamic scholars.

Michael Higgins studies the relationship between religion and higher education. The United States has many different religious colleges. But he says he fears there could be protests if Zaytuna College is seen as teaching students not to accept other religions.

MICHAEL HIGGINS: "I think there will be a lot of fear or apprehension around the establishment of a college that adheres to Islam. If it becomes a madrasa or a college of inculcation only, that could be hugely problematic."

This September eleventh will be nine years since the al-Qaida terrorist attacks on the United States. Imam Shakir recognizes that those attacks and other plots since then have fed public suspicions about Islam.

But he says opponents of the college represent a minority opinion in the United States. He says they are reacting to a small group of extremists -- a "lunatic fringe" -- in the Islamic community.

ZAID SHAKIR: "And I think this is why Zaytuna College is so important. If we prove ourselves, even those more vocal critics will be silenced. It's up to us; the ball is in our court."