Some Muslims don't consider mulsims in the U.S. "part of the Muslim world," however.
As for what makes Good "Good," sacrifice for the well-being of others is the most deciding hallmark. The example of someone devoting their lives to caring for a loved one who has become invalid, is an example of sacrifice, just as giving your live to assist those in trouble (a la the World Trade Center) is just another variant of sacrifice. You might find one more "heroic" than the other, but both are sacrifice.
Be mindful of not just sacrifice, but sacrifice for the well-being of others. For an example of sacrifice that still has elements of selfishness, see an example from the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In it, a vampire named Spike refuses to talk under torture to reveal the name and location of an innocent girl. His reason is not for the concern of the innocent girl, but that the woman he loves could not bear it if anything happened to the girl (her sister, incidentally). It is a sacrifice out of love, but not necessarily unconditional love.
I do have to disagree with the poster who said that how you react AFTER being consumed by fear is what makes you good or evil. Self-preservation is not an evil act, but neither is it good. It is an amoral act, neither good nor evil, and to be halted by fear is a reaction of self-preservation. Label it neutral if you will, but it is most assuredly not good.
ARE there "good" characters anymore? I will play one from time to time. Last year, one of my characters was fully ready and willing to blow himself sky-high to destroy a vampire lord and his castle. Unfortunately, it didn't come to that, but was I ready to toss the character in the can heroically if it needed to be done. And he wasn't even Lawful Good, just Chaotic Good.
TSYR:
I myself don't really find fault with Snoweel's earlier "character" analogy, but I'll tell you why: For those who seek to leave as much metagaming behind as possible, and who wish to have characters to act as realistically and consistently as possible, it is totally well worth emulating the characteristics of those brave men and women who sacrificed all to help their fellow citizens in the World Trade Center.
That defining characteristic that says, "Take your every instinct of self-preservation that has been ingrained into you since Day One and set it aside, because there is something more important at stake here" -- that is the characteristic that if someone wants to be a HERO, they need to emulate. They had FAR MORE invested than time in a piddly character in a game, and they did it anyway. Rather than belittling the memory of these people, it says," Do you want to want to portray a REAL hero in this game? Look at this."
SNOWEEL:
I would advise you to take a look at plenty of examples of love and selflessness in the world every day. Here in the United States, for example, almost
every single year, we have major disasters that wipe out people's homes, their livelihoods, and threaten their lives, and we have countless private citizens, of their own initiative, helping fellow countrymen, giving them shelters, food, clothing, donating time to help repair and save. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is the central core of aid, but they ALWAYS have huge help from the local populace any time an emergency threatens that local community.
They can be seen on CNN and such, but more visible on local news spots, helping dig through rubble in earthquakes, helping position sandbags against rising rivers, putting people up for extended stays, etc. etc. Back in 1996, when the Murrah Federal building as bombed, citizens turned out by hundreds to try to find survivors, help people get medical attention, etc. In the U.S. the outpouring of love and support and devotion of time and assistance is nothing new to us -- it's just that this is the first time that it outpoured to the extent that it did. The ENTIRE COUNTRY desired to give and help for this instance - and nobody showed it better than the people of New York.
It's hard to play true Good because it involves sacrifice. And sacrifice is often illogical - but that's good for you. Nobody ever said it was logical.