Many fear the spotlight is already turning an unflattering light on their community, writes Ruadhán Mac Cormaic in London.
The news item showing on the television in the corner of the office speaks of Dr Ahmad Al-Dubayan's own concerns. Whatever comes of the cases against those arrested across Britain this week, whatever facts eventually replace the vacuum of speculation and rumour, he feels, the spotlight is already training an unflattering eye on his community.
"What happened yesterday has shocked everybody, I think," says Dr Al-Dubayan, director general of the Islamic Cultural Centre and the London Central Mosque at Regent's Park.
"Muslims are unhappy about what happened. It damages bridges between Muslims and other communities, and also there are some fears about the reactions - Islamophobia could really increase after these incidents. I think it will."
Those bridges are constantly under repair, says Dr Al-Dubayan. A little over a year ago, he found himself in a similar position, when four young British Muslims killed themselves and 52 commuters in suicide bomb attacks on London's transport system.
Then, the cultural centre arranged meetings with other faith communities and took part in a special service at a local synagogue for those killed in the attacks. He has spent much of this week making final preparations for a new exhibition aimed at educating non-Muslims about the Koran.
"People who have no relations with the Muslim community at all, of course they will go with wrong ideas. We hope of course [ Islamophobia] will not be a big phenomenon here, but that's why we're so worried about it, that's why we have fears about this."
Outside his office, worshippers are beginning to gather for Friday prayers. A group of women hoists a banner for some special classes starting this weekend in Arabic and English, some men stand chatting under the midday sun. Sharif Adam has arrived early, and sits on a low wall listening to his iPod. Adam, a 17-year-old from west London, hasn't heard much about the previous day's events.
"To tell you the truth, it doesn't affect me. It would if they were just arresting people with no reason. That could happen to me." If they turned out to be British Muslims, he says, it would come as little surprise.
"I have read this kind of thing on the internet, I know all about it. But killing people has nothing to do with Islam. From proper Muslims I don't think they have any support. Where does Islam say you should take someone's life?"
Outside the gates, 24-year-old Ismail Isa shakes a green bucket as it slowly fills with donations for his madrassa [ religious school] in Kent.
Like many inside, he is sceptical of the information released by police and talks of "propaganda" that tarnishes all Muslims.
The media's handling of the alert grates on him badly. "The way they put it in the papers: Muslim fundamentalists, Muslim fanatics. Why Muslim? Call them British fanatics. They don't say, 'George Bush, Christian fanatic'. The media are trying to label us. We don't label Christians because of a few people."
According to Dr Al-Dubayan, discussion of the causes for the radicalisation of young British Muslims will never advance as long as it frets over religion alone. The true causes are economic, social, maybe political, he believes, but not religious.
"Social life for many young Muslims is not stable. Some of them come from broken families, and don't forget some of these young Muslims really do not have a chance to work. That would make anybody feel desperate.
"Some think, 'this society is not fair on me, it doesn't give me chances, I don't have that much hope', so it is easy to put in this generation's minds that, 'well, you don't have chances because of your religion, because you are different'.
"I also believe the foreign politics of this country is one of the reasons. For example, the war in Iraq, the war in Afghanistan. In such a climate radicals thrive, by offering young - mainly male - Muslims an ordering narrative in which such injustices, such inequalities are their lot for no other reason than their faith," he says.