WASHINGTON — Lina Fattom knew trouble was coming as soon as she saw pictures on television of suspects in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

        President Bush went out of his way to visit a mosque and proclaim Islam a religion of peace, but the pictures left Americans with an unshakable image. The face of terror, it seemed, was Islamic.

        “We've been harassed by federal agents. We've been insulted by our neighbors,” said Ms. Fattom, who works with a network of Arab-American college students, alumni and young professionals. “I never thought this would happen in our own country.”

        Muslims and Arab-Americans, who were mostly silent on racial profiling before the terrorist attacks, now have some of the same complaints with law enforcement that African-Americans and Hispanics have had for years.

        Yet before Sept. 11, most Islamic advocacy groups here were preoccupied with issues such as foreign policy in the Middle East and the Immigration and Naturalization Service's use of secret evidence in deportation hearings.

        “We want to eliminate racial profiling, but we haven't endorsed any legislation,” said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

        Civil-rights activists were hopeful this year that Congress would ban racial profiling, the practice of law enforcement targeting people for searches or traffic stops based on their race or ethnicity. Mr. Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft both demanded an end to profiling but had no plans to bring legislation to a vote before the attacks derailed the congressional agenda.

        Now, some activists fear momentum may be lost as law enforcement concentrates on terrorism.

        “While we know that this is a moment of grave national crisis, ... we cannot ignore injustice in this country,” said Ronald Daniels, director of the Center for Constitutional Rights. “In our concern over terrorism, the unfinished business with civil rights cannot be put on the back burner.”

        Kenneth Lawson, a Cincinnati lawyer involved in civil rights, said profiling may be even more relevant now as other minorities understand the sting of suspicion.

        “I understand the concerns about terrorism,” he said. “But you can't punish a whole race for the crimes of a few.”

        Aides to key lawmakers on the House and Senate judiciary committees, which have jurisdiction over the legislation, said they see no immediate plans to revive federal legislation against racial profiling. The U.S. Department of Justice was preparing to release an analysis of racial profiling by federal law enforcement agencies but that also has been delayed because of the attacks.

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