The crime drew out the local media, which gave Muslims a voice to condemn the attacks and distance themselves from violence being perpetrated by Islamic fanatics.

Christian and Jewish leaders were quick to express their support in the potential backlash, said Islamic Society of Augusta President Shariq Hashmi.

Americans were suddenly curious about this religion that was claimed by foreign terrorists but described as peaceful and harmonious by its stateside followers.

Hundreds of people have turned out at three open houses held in the past year at the Islamic Center of Augusta's mosque on Middleton Drive, where the word "coward" can still be read on the brick sign in faded red paint. Muslim ministers, or imams, have spoken at churches, synagogues and colleges.

Thanks to bridges built in the wake of Sept. 11, Muslims in Augusta are closer than ever to their Christian and Jewish counterparts, the city's Muslim leaders say. There also seems to be more enlightenment about the nature of Islam.

Talib Shareef (left), the imam of the mosque on Wrightsboro Road, has spoken at Fort Gordon and Paine College about his faith. Imam Mohamad Alhomsi, of the Martinez mosque, said speaking to children about Islam is one of his main focuses. JIM BLAYLOCK/STAFF

"Sept. 11 gave us a chance to get to know each other very well. That was something positive that came of it," Mr. Hashmi said. "Hopefully, it will carry on."

Occasionally, the mosque on Wrightsboro Road, attended mainly by black Muslims, gets phone calls telling them they should get out of America, said Imam Talib Shareef. He said the ignorant people who make such calls seem to be a minority in Augusta.

Most have been supportive and eager to learn more about the faith since the attacks.

"It was intended to break us apart, but it has made us stronger as a nation. That's what I'm seeing," said Imam Shareef, who has spoken at a Catholic church, at Fort Gordon and at Paine College.

Augusta didn't see the degree of violent backlash directed at Muslims and Arabs that some cities did last year, which included drive-by shootings and arsons.

After the vandalism at the mosque, a man called in a bomb threat to a hotel on 15th Street owned by Indians he mistook for Muslims. A Sikh student at the Medical College of Georgia was grabbed around the neck outside a Waffle House because he was wearing a turban.

The people who wanted to lash out have had a year to calm down now, said Hodan Hassan, a spokeswoman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington. These days, American Muslims are more worried about harassment from the FBI and anti-Islamic rhetoric coming from the likes of evangelist Franklin Graham, she said.

According to poll results released last month by the council, most American Muslims have experienced discrimination since Sept. 11, but most have also experienced kindness from people of other faiths. Of 945 respondents, 57 percent said they had been discriminated against; 87 percent said they knew someone who had been discriminated against; and 79 percent said they had experienced support, often in the form of verbal assurances, according to the poll.

First Baptist Church of Augusta pastor Timothy Owings was among the Christian leaders who visited the Martinez mosque last year, taking part in Friday prayers.

"Any extreme group can hijack a religion," he said. "The same has been true for Christianity. We've had people hijack this faith, too."

Dr. Owings said he feels the Muslim leaders are right about the harmony among different religions in Augusta.

"I think it says good things about us," Dr. Owings said. "We're a community that for many years has welcomed diversity, whether it's Jews, Hindus, Buddhists or Sikhs."

Genuine interest

Some of Augusta's Jews and Muslims have clashed this year on the opinion page of The Augusta Chronicle, writing letters and columns on the issue of the Palestinian uprising in Israel. People in the community have varying points of view on world issues, but Jews and Muslims still have a "peaceful coexistence" in Augusta, said Mike Pousman, the executive director of the Augusta Jewish Federation and the Jewish Community Center.

Mr. Pousman was among the volunteers who helped scrub the graffiti off the mosque's sign last year. He said he later did some reading on Islam.

"We definitely learned a lot in that period," he said.

Increased interest in Islam was part of the reason the Islamic Society of Augusta hired a new imam, Mohamad Alhomsi, 27, for the Martinez mosque in March. Mr. Hashmi, the Islamic society president, said the former imam was in his 60s and didn't have a good command of English. The mosque needs someone who can communicate with other churches and with the American-born children who attend, he said.

Imam Alhomsi, a native of Syria who is in the United States on a religious visa, said speaking to children about the negative things they hear about Islam on television and in the classroom is one of his main focuses. He's also spoken at churches, a synagogue and Augusta State University.

While Middle Eastern Muslims battle the stereotypes of oil sheiks and turban-clad terrorists, black Muslims are often associated with another infamous group.

"Being black, when you say Muslim here in America, people often associate you with the Nation of Islam and Louis Farrakhan and his teachings, which often promote violence," said Yvonne Forrest, 47, who attends both mosques, but usually the one on Wrightsboro Road. "We're not the same. In Augusta, we're part of the same community as the Muslims in Martinez."

Before Sept. 11, Sonja Ozturk, 36, of Martinez, said she was growing tired of correcting people's negative perceptions of Islam. A former Lutheran, Mrs. Ozturk converted to Islam in 2000 after a long spiritual journey that began with a college religion course in Wisconsin. It didn't sit well with her family, even though they'd accepted her Turkish Muslim husband.

After the attacks, she said she feared Muslims would be forced to defend the faith even harder. Instead, she said, she's found people to be more receptive to learning about it. Even her family converses with her on the subject with a genuine interest.

"It used to be, when people accepted me being a Muslim, they'd give me this dead 'Oh.' Now it's more of an intrigued 'Oh,"' Mrs. Ozturk said.

Reach Johnny Edwards at (706) 823-3225 or johnny.edwards@augustachronicle.com.