This paper gives a brief overview of the various political engagements taken by American Muslim youths in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the enactment of the USA Patriot Act. It argues that the discriminating and profiling measures introduced by the US government after 9/11 have prompted a new generation of Muslim activists to engage in domestic political processes in unprecedented ways as they seek greater mainstream credibility and legitimacy for themselves and their communities. More at ease with their dual identities than their immigrant parents, and more integrated socially and culturally into their American surroundings, young Muslims have sought to transcend the traditional "communal" focus of Muslim activism, and have situated their anti-discrimination campaigns within the broader framework of the "American" civil rights movement. To this end, they have launched American Muslim associations and networks of their making, and have initiated political campaigns that sometimes have compelled older, established communal organizations to follow suit. The paper is based primarily on a series of personal interviews conducted between 2008 and 2009 with American officials and representatives, U.S. Muslim organizers or spokespersons, members of the Muslim Student Associations (MSA), and young Muslim social workers or activists engaged in political campaigning or community mobilization. It also builds upon my ethnographic studies completed in 2008-2009 in New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. Building upon these findings, I propose to outline the contours of the "emerging" American Muslim identity and its political and social priorities since 9/11. I will focus specifically on the efforts by young Muslim activists to redefine themselves as "Americans first," and to fashion a common sociopolitical platform from which to campaign against infringements on the civil rights of Muslim citizens. Their efforts in this regard have been channeled in four principal directions: first, to raise local and national awareness of American Islam; second, to promote community-based activities and solidarities; third, to involve their communities in debating "mainstream American" sociopolitical concerns, such as social welfare, health care, abortion, and so on; finally, to foster greater cooperation and collaboration between Muslims and other national minorities.