“AMERICAN MUSLIMS remain under siege five years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks,” writes journalist Abdus Sattar Ghazali. They have become such objects of suspicion and racial profiling that “flying while Muslim” is fast becoming the new “driving while black.”

One response to this state of affairs is outrage, another is humor. Ummah Films, for example, offer helpful hints on how to avoid airport security hassles. Tip: Don’t ask the flight attendant if your chicken dinner is halal. And for the love of Allah, don’t refer to anything as “Da Bomb.”

In Britain, where Muslims (many of South Asian descent) make up a large proportion of the population, some of these sentiments have found expression in hip-hop.

In August, British rapper Riz MC released his first single “The Post-9/11 Blues,” featuring lines like, “Shave your beard if you’re brown / And you best salute the Crown.” Despite months of rejection by music retailers who found the song too controversial, Riz finally succeeded in getting his song into HMV and now iTunes, thanks to the song’s popularity on MySpace and YouTube.

Riz MC is the alter ego of British actor Rizwan Ahmed, who portrayed a Muslim imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay and then was detained in real life at a British airport after the movie’s premiere.

The song, Ahmed told The Guardian, “is about how the contours of our society have been distorted since 9/11, and how that affects every area of our lives. But it’s not a rant from an angry young Muslim. It’s funny. The music is quite poppy and radio-friendly. It’s a shame that a satirical song like this is seen as a threat.”

Indeed, while some of the lyrics are biting, they can also be a hoot: “We’re all suspects, so literally be watching your back / I farted and got arrested for a chemical attack.”

By comparision, the new release by British Muslim rap group Fun-Da-Mental takes a far more militant stance. The cover of their new album, “All is War (The Benefits of G-had)” features a hooded Statue of Liberty being given the Abu Ghraib treatment.

While some critics have labeled the music “suicide bomber rap,” others say the music has much artistic and sociological merit. As the reviewer notes, “These are dire times.” •