When plans were announced to construct a new mosque in Ames across from his house, Brian Best was a little wary.

“In the beginning, I was pretty much negative on it, but I didn’t know,” he said. “I wasn’t well versed as to what was going on.”

But it didn’t take long for him to adapt to his new neighbor. The process was accelerated when he saw how the Muslims fit into the Ames community.

Enhancing the outreach from the Ames Islamic community and citizens of other religions was a goal of the Darul Arqum Islamic Center’s open house Saturday afternoon, said Syed Azam, Ames resident and practitioner at the mosque. More than 1,000 people visited the new mosque, 1212 Iowa Ave., this weekend to celebrate the opening and learn about Islam.

“After Sept. 11, people had questions about Islam, and here we can answer them,” Azam said.

Unlike some other Islamic communities around the country, Muslims in Ames have experienced little or no hostility from the general public since Sept. 11, he said.

“The Ames community is very good to us,” Azam said. “We are grateful for the community’s support and friendship.”

The Darul Arqum Islamic Center officially opened Dec. 16 for the Islamic celebration of Eid ul-Fitur, and the open house presented an opportunity to clear up any misconceptions about the Islamic faith, said Mansoor Khadir, president of the ISU Muslim Student Association.

“The biggest misconception about Islam is that most Muslims are from the Middle East,” said Khadir, freshman in pre-business who is originally from Venezuela.

Visitors to the mosque were given tours of the new building, which features a large musalla, or prayer hall.

“This room is large enough to hold the entire Muslim population in Ames, or about 700 people,” said Syed Azam, Ames resident and practitioner at the mosque.

The new mosque also has a 500-volume library, which includes copies of the Islamic holy book, the Quran, in several different languages. The library is an integral part of the building and reinforces the importance of education in the Islamic religion, said Murtuza Salahuddin, a mosque practitioner.

The importance of education also is found in the mosque’s name itself, Salahuddin said. The name “Darul Arqum” literally means “The House of Learning,” he said.

“Knowledge is an important part of a Muslim’s life in order to understand his religion,” said Salahuddin, a Drake University student. “If a Muslim wants to learn, he should read these books instead of looking to another person for their opinion.”