ORONO – They arrived promptly at 4:15 p.m. Saturday, the women bearing plates of food and handling small children, the men quickly separating from their wives to remove their shoes and gather in the musallah, or prayer room.

The unassuming double-wide prefabricated home on Route 2 in this college town seems an unlikely setting for a mosque, yet members of the small Muslim community using it find it an adequate, if modest way to keep their faith alive.

The new Islamic Center of Maine, the state’s first permanent mosque, was open for the observance of a special event.

The gathering of about 30 people marked the end of Ramadan, a monthlong observance that serves as a time of reflection and spiritual discipline.

The gathering also served as a way for area Muslims to draw strength from one another in a post-Sept. 11 era when some people are looked upon with suspicion merely because of their physical appearances or faith. Similar observances were held in Lewiston and Portland, where the undercurrent of local acceptance problems vied with prayerful traditions as the key topic.

“People are scared, no doubt about it,” said Abdul Aziz, a chemistry graduate student at the University of Maine who was asked about how fellow Muslims are faring.

While tensions never reached the level locally that they did in other parts of the country after the terrorist attacks, Aziz says he still feels suspicion on campus. “I work in surface science, in chemistry. If I have to go to some other location on campus, you feel the suspicion, like, ‘He works in chemistry. Maybe he wants to make a bomb.”‘

Aziz and others say the key to quelling fear is to educate people about Islam and the ways of the faith. To this end, mosque leaders opened the doors to their end-of-Ramadan observance.

During Ramadan, from sunrise to sunset, all adult Muslims – health permitting – are to abstain from food, drink, smoking and sexual activity. Each Muslim is advised to read the Quran, the holy book of the faith, during the month.

In bigger mosques, the Id-al-Fitr, or “feast of the breaking of the fast,” lasts for up to three days with family members gathering to eat and exchange presents. In some Muslim countries, it is a national holiday.

In Orono, the feast lasted for about two hours but contained the pre-meal prayers and native dishes that make it a vital part for followers of the faith.

Goat meat – the main course which tastes rather like roast beef – was served in two ways. One dish featured a spicy concoction while the other was a milder recipe. Salads, rice and soda complemented the main course, with a chocolate confection served for dessert.

Women held their feast in a prayer room kept separate from the men. A key precept of the faith is that women do some activities separately from males.

In the women’s room, Marsha Kanan, 23, alternately nursed her 3-month-old son and took part in prayers and the feast. Kanan, an American and former Catholic, converted to Islam while a student at UMaine. She married a Muslim man, Sofian Kanan, 35, who holds a doctorate in chemistry.

In the days after the Sept. 11 tragedy, Kanan’s husband drove her to the University of Maine campus in fear that harm would come to her.

Yet, for all the trials, Marsha Kanan said, being a Muslim represents truth to her. “It only required me to change my thinking in three or four areas,” she said. Other women in the room, from a veiled elderly woman who napped on the floor after prayers and the feast, to a woman from Bucksport with four young children, declined to be identified.

The end of Ramadan observance actually occurred Friday with prayers. Muslims from as far away as Waterville came to the mosque to pray, according to Aziz, who expressed hope that others would contact the mosque for further education and information.

The facility offers Arabic language lessons on Sunday. More information may be obtained by calling 947-1394.