“Wipe out Islam for world peace. The Koran demands your murder. Islam is terrorism.”

Such were the words of an anonymous act of vandalism in Campustown. The graffiti left members of the local Muslim community aghast.

“I was just completely shocked,” said Basil Mahayni, senior in political science. “We rarely ever see anything like that.”

Members of the Muslim Student Association reported the vandalism after discovering it Aug. 20 on a picnic table at the corner of Chamberlain Street and Welch Avenue.

Saleh Tamim, general secretary of the Muslim Student Association, was among the group that reported the incident. Tamim said he found the words hurtful and baffling.

“It’s really offensive,” said Tamim, senior in engineering. “I don’t know why somebody would write such a thing.”

Tamim and Mahayni agreed such acts toward the Muslim community were rare in Ames. Tamim said he hasn’t seen anything like this since he came to Ames in 2002.

Mahayni said his last experience with hate directed toward him as a Muslim was immediately after Sept. 11, 2001. He was walking with friends when another student walked by.

“He told us to ‘go drop a bomb on your own country,'” Mahayni said.

Ignorance exists, but people react to it differently, he said. Some act on it by asking questions to inform themselves, Mahayni said, while others choose to take their beliefs as fact and make blind statements.

Though Ames is an accepting community, Mahayni said, occasional expressions of hate indicate tolerance remains a work in progress.

“I think Ames is a very tolerant environment,” Mahayni said. “But instances like this past week show we’re not perfect and we do have a lot of work to do.”

Several people will meet soon to plan a response, he said.

Cmdr. Jim Robinson of the Ames Police Department said the police currently have no suspects.

“As of this time, I don’t believe there have been any witnesses or suspects that have come forward,” Robinson said.

Vandalism is often a hard crime to investigate and prosecute, Robinson said. The police department has filed charges on some cases, though there have also been instances that no suspect was identified.

For now, officers will keep an especially close eye on the area, Robinson said.

Tamim said he hopes acts such as this don’t ruin the community’s pleasant atmosphere.

“I hope the Ames community continues to be as peaceful as before,” he said.