A little more than a year after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, people still want to know about Islam and its traditions.

        And Shakila T. Ahmad is still answering their questions.

Ahmad

        In the weeks after the attacks, the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati in West Chester was flooded with calls from people wanting to know the basics of the faith, says Mrs. Ahmad, a resident of Evendale. She is the director of talks and tours for the center and was named an Enquirer Woman of the Year in 2002 for her work with the center and with Bullies and Victims, a school-based program aimed at curbing bullying and violence.

        Local Muslims also faced threats and insults, and in a few instances, violence, after the attacks.

        The questions remain, Mrs. Ahmad says. So does the backlash, though in a different form.

        “As one might anticipate, there are many positive things for us to focus on and many concerns for us to think about,” she says. “I think the backlash or discrimination or bigotry or however you want to phrase it is much more subtle now. It's not as overt as it was in the first couple of months after the attacks. I hear about people, whether it's profiling issues or work-related issues or not having the same comfort level that they felt prior to Sept. 11. I think those issues are much more subtle for the majority of people now.”

        She cites a recent survey from the Council on American Islamic Relations that says just over half of the American Muslims surveyed reported experiencing some level of backlash or discrimination after the terrorist attacks.

        “But this is the figure I always go back to: 70 percent of the people who were surveyed also experienced acts of kindness after the attacks,” Mrs. Ahmad says.

        The nature of the questions she and other volunteers at the center get have changed a little, she says. People want more specific information or they want information for research projects.

        Sometimes during a tour, someone will ask about a high-profile incident, such as the closing of a busy interstate in Florida after three Muslim students allegedly talked about planning an attack.

        “Those issues do raise questions. When we have a tour or talk, quite often those issues come up,” she says.

        While she continues to teach the importance of tolerance, Mrs. Ahmad focuses on the positive.“The bottom line is, I still believe that there is more good in this world than bad. It's just unfortunate that the few bad people can cause such havoc for the rest of us,” she says.

        To schedule a tour of the Islamic Center or arrange for a speaker, call 755-3280

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