WASHINGTON - More than half of Muslim Americans in a new poll say government anti-terrorism policies single them out for increased surveillance and monitoring, and many report increased cases of name-calling, threats and harassment by airport security, law enforcement officers and others, reports US newspapers. Still, most Muslim Americans say they are satisfied with the way things are going in the US and rate their communities highly as places to live. The survey by the Pew Research Center, finds no signs of rising alienation or anger among Muslim-Americans despite recent US government concerns about homegrown Islamic terrorism and controversy over the building of mosques. This confirms what weve said all along: American Muslims are well integrated and happy, but with a kind of lingering sense of being besieged by growing anti-Muslim sentiment in our society, said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Washington-based Muslim civil rights group. People contact us every day about concerns theyve had, particularly with law enforcement authorities in this post-9/11 era, he said. Muslim extremists hijacked four passenger planes on Sept. 11, 2001, crashing them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Shanksville, Pa. In all, 52 per cent of Muslim Americans surveyed said their group is singled out by government for terrorist surveillance. Almost as many - 43 per cent - reported they had personally experienced harassment in the past year, according to the poll released Tuesday. That 43 per cent share of people reporting harassment is up from 40 per cent in 2007, the first time Pew polled Muslim Americans. Asked to identify in what ways they felt bias, about 28 per cent said they had been treated or viewed with suspicion by people, while 22 per cent said they were called offensive names. About 21 per cent said they were singled out by airport security because they were Muslim, while another 13 per cent said they were targeted by other law enforcement officials. Roughly 6 per cent said they had been physically threatened or attacked. On the other hand, the share of Muslim Americans who view US anti-terror policies as sincere efforts to reduce international terrorism now surpasses those who view them as insincere - 43 per cent to 41 per cent. Four years ago, during the presidency of George W. Bush, far more viewed US anti-terrorism efforts as insincere than sincere - 55 per cent to 26 per cent. The vast majority of Muslim Americans - 79 per cent - rate their communities as either excellent or good places to live, even among many who reported an act of vandalism against a mosque or a controversy over the building of an Islamic centre in their neighbourhoods. They also are now more likely to say they are satisfied with the current direction of the country - 56 per cent, up from 38 per cent in 2007. That is in contrast to the general US public, whose satisfaction has dropped from 32 per cent to 23 per cent. Andrew Kohut, Pew president, said in an interview that Muslim Americans overall level of satisfaction was striking. I was concerned about a bigger sense of alienation, but there was not, Kohut said, contrasting the U.S. to many places in Europe where Muslims have become more separatist. You dont see any indication of brewing negativity. When you look at their attitudes, these are still middle-class, mainstream people who want to be loyal to America. The latest numbers come amid increased U.S. attention on the risks of homegrown terrorism after the London transit bombings in 2005. The problem has been especially pressing for President Barack Obama, with federal investigators citing a greater risk of attacks by a lone wolf or small homegrown cells following the 2009 Fort Hood shooting and the Times Square bombing attempt last year.