Copyright 1993 Associated Press All Rights Reserved The Associated Press View Related Topics These materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The Associated Press March 7, 1993, Sunday, AM cycle SECTION: Domestic News LENGTH: 488 words HEADLINE: Muslims Fear Backlash in Wake of Bombing BYLINE: By DANA KENNEDY, Associated Press Writer DATELINE: NEW YORK BODY: The arrest of a Palestinian in the World Trade Center bombing has prompted threatening phone calls and at least one act of vandalism against Muslims - and some say they fear more attacks on their community. Threatening and obscene phone calls have been made to numerous Muslim centers around the country since Thursday's arrest of Mohammed Salameh, said M.T. Mehdi, president of the American Arab Relations Committee. A mosque in Jersey City, N.J., where Salameh reportedly worshipped, was vandalized over the weekend. Salameh, 25, is being held without bail in connection with the Feb. 26 bombing that killed five people and closed the trade center's twin 110-story towers. "It's very unfortunate and disappointing that this open society is not quite as open and protective," said Mehdi. "There is a chill thrown upon our freedom of expression because we are Muslims." Mehdi, who is also secretary-general of the National Council on Islamic Affairs, said many of his colleagues in this country have reported a surge in hostility against Muslims. Dr. Shaheer Yousaf of Hughesville, Md., who is active in local and national Islamic affairs, said people have been asking him a lot of suspicious questions about Islam. "They think Islam and extremism are one and the same thing," said Yousaf. "They think Muslims in this country are a potential threat to this country. This is the perception. I believe people are grossly misinformed." Yousaf said he feels "threatened by the tone of their questions. I know what they're thinking." Islam is this nation's fastest-growing religion with more than 10 million adherents, about 800,000 of them in the New York area, Mehdi said. Most are immigrants or children of immigrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa. There are 1.2 billion followers of Islam worldwide, he said. Dr. Mohammad Said of Ephrata, Wash., who is active in several national Arab groups, said his children are afraid their classmates will taunt them. "My children are concerned about when they go back to school," Said said. "This hostility is because people are really confused about Muslims. Some people who have underlying prejudices take this opportunity and label all Muslims the same." Muslims in a heavily Arab neighborhood of Brooklyn voiced similar fears Sunday. "They all think Muslims want to go kill people," said Sudanese-born Sidahmed Mahjoub, 34, leafing through Arab newspapers at the Fertile Crescent deli before he went to a nearby mosque. "They think all Muslims do that. It's wrong thinking. We are good people. We don't approve of the bombing." Jordanian-born Taher Mughrabi, 50, said attention focused on Salameh has tainted his religion. "When I talk to people about Muslims, they think we are all hard and bad," Mughrabi said. "That's not true. It's a hard religion but it's not bad. (Salameh) was just one person. It doesn't have anything to do with the rest of us."