Sophomore Nada Azem was a new student on Elon University's campus when she heard something she didn't expect: "Islam isn't a religion."

The Muslim and Syrian native was in the middle of a class discussion about a Florida pastor's threat to burn the Quran. But the other student's opinion didn't stop there – she went on to say the pastor had the right to burn the Holy Book of Islam because Muslims burned Americans Sept. 11.

"It's America, she has a right to her opinion," Azem said. "I try to be as open-minded as I can or should be, but there was a thin line of being respectful. I understand you're frustrated but that was not Islam's (fault). I don't know what Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida and all those people that killed are. They aren't Muslims, they aren't any religion."

According to a report published by the Arab American Institute in September 2010, a majority of 2,100 respondents said they have an unfavorable view of Muslims.

The differences in opinion often fall along party lines, according to the poll. Seventy percent of Republicans polled said they disagree with the statement that "Islam is the religion of peace" and 74 percent agreed with the statement "Islam teaches hate," compared to 19 percent and 22 percent, respectively, from Democrats.

Media has much to do with these misconceptions, Azem said.

At another point during her freshman year, a classmate told Azem all Muslims are terrorists because no one else had bombed the United States. The same acquaintance admitted to being greatly affected by reports from Fox News and making no attempt to befriend a Muslim.

"We live in a world where we believe the media," Azem said. "On the day Osama bin Laden died, everyone was saying how now we're safe, but all I thought was, 'The government sure has got you guys.' That's not how it is. It's easy to blame someone or something, and there the government is very smart in doing so, putting out the image that he killed is and once we get him, we're safe."

For sophomore Muslim student Dana Mustafa, the media complicates many issues involving Muslims in America.

"Whatever they say is what Americans are going to hear," she said. "They said it was a mosque being built at ground zero. It's not on ground zero, but people don't know that because that's what they called it."

Although she was born and raised in Durham, Mustafa's family is originally Palestinian. A fourth grader at the time of the attacks on Sept. 11, she remembers being instantly distinguished because of her religion.

"My teacher showed us clips of Muslims burning the American flag and she looked at me and asked if I was laughing and I said 'no,'' Mustafa said. "I didn't understand it as a child, but I look back on it now and am like, 'wow.' Someone who was supposed to be so mature and much more intellectual than I am is calling me out and I found that repulsive."

It would not be until much later, as a high school student, when she had a similar experience while traveling in D.C. to the Holocaust Memorial Museum.

After going through the metal detector at the entrance, she was pulled to the side and given a full-body pat down.

"Then they got out my purse and they said they needed me to test my water bottle for explosive materials," she said. "They had me drink from my water bottle and then they let me go through. I was just taken aback by that."

For Azem, she's now come to terms with the long wait and extra screening she receives while traveling. And while she accepts security changes, she refuses to allow Muslims to be grouped into the single category of "terrorist."

"I thought about it and, well, you have Americans bombing America all the time," she said. "I accept that terrorists were Muslim and I understand (Sept. 11) was a sad time, but I won't say sorry because it wasn't me who did it or my people or my mom or anyone who is related in any type of circle to me"