In 2001 , after the September 11 attacks and the U.S. invaded Afghanistan , Syed joined anti-war protests . Syed attended a conference of the Islamic Society of North America , where Anwar Ibrahim ( Malaysia 's Deputy PM 1993 – 8 ) roundly condemned the recently uncovered Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse by American soldiers ( April 2004 ) , which received loud applause from the audience . However , Anwar Ibrahim went on to say that prisons like Abu Ghraib or worse existed throughout the Muslim world , asked the audience how often they had spoken out against human rights violations against prisoners and others by Muslims in Muslim-majority countries , and accused them of hypocrisy ( Anwar Ibrahim himself had been imprisoned in solitary confinement from April 1999 to September 2004 ) . This rare occurrence of self-criticism and self-reflection from within the Muslim community had a profound impact on Syed 's way of thinking
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Muhammad Syed