Practically overnight, this product of a privileged upbringing in Pakistan became an activist, determined to defend Muslims from discrimination and to educate San Antonians about Islam and Middle-Eastern culture.

The most visible sign of her transformation was the hijab, now ever-present since a group of Muslim women complained to her about the ugly looks and threats they were getting on the street.

"At first I thought, ‘No, that can’t be happening in San Antonio,’ so I agreed to wear the hijab for a week to see how people would react to me," said Husain, now in her mid-50s, who became a U. S. citizen in 1975 and moved to San Antonio with her family in 1989. "I wanted to see if anything would change from before."

What happened next not only would open her eyes to the reality that anti-Muslim sentiment was on the rise, it also would motivate her to become the public face of the San Antonio Muslim community. Today, she’s the founder, president and sole woman on the board of the San Antonio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Washington, D.C.-based anti-discrimination group.

CAIR is succeeding locally and that is due, in large measure, to Husain’s energy and commitment, said Arsalan T. Iftikhar, the national legal director of CAIR in Washington.

"She’s a one-woman dynamo," he said. "It’s interesting that although San Antonio is one of our smaller chapters, it is one of our most active, primarily because of her energy and drive."

Much remains misunderstood about the Muslim community. What’s clear, Husain and other Muslim community advocates say, is that 9-11 made everything from holding down a job to buying a few things at the grocery store more difficult.

In her work, Husain stands up for the right to wear a hijab one day, then organizes a Thanksgiving dinner for the homeless with a group of young Muslim volunteers the next.

She said she has taught her daughter and son — both born in the United States — the importance of understanding two cultures.

She reads the Quran and the Bible, and espouses her convictions in a way that contradicts the submissive stereotype of a Muslim woman and has won her many admirers.

Soon after 9-11, she accepted former Mayor Ed Garza’s invitation to sit on a community task force with people representing different religions. She also started a monthly Muslim newspaper, Al-Ittihaad, which means unity in Arabic.

In her work with Muslims who have faced discrimination, Husain listens. She also helps people file complaints with the EEOC and the police and sheriff’s departments. Sometimes, she talks directly to the employer or, if children are being bullied or harassed at school, the principal.

At her North Side home, photographs of her children and grandchildren adorn the walls. The pictures are a reminder of another life back home in Pakistan and India, which she sometimes misses.

But San Antonio and the United States are her home now, and her new country is a place she’s willing to fight for.

"I’m so proud to be an American," she said. "This is a country where you can be free to be who you are, and that includes picking your religion."