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By JOSIE HUANG
Blethen Maine Newspapers 11/15/2007

This week, an incident involving injury to a Somali student from Lewiston, which some say has similar racial and religious undertones, is attracting less attention.

Some Somali residents said Wednesday that they had not even heard of Mohamed Noor's claim that a white spectator threw sand and dirt in his face on Saturday as he ran in the New England Cross Country Championships in Cumberland.

"I go to work in the morning and work here all day, so I have no time for the news," said shop owner Mohamed Haidara as he helped a customer pick a skin cream.

Imam Mohamud Saleh of the Lewiston-Auburn Islamic Center said through an interpreter that the pig's head drew more of a reaction because its presence in the mosque was seen as a flagrant insult to the Somali community's faith. The pig is considered impure in Islamic culture.

The reasons behind the alleged attack on Noor are still unknown, Saleh said.

"It might be a grudge," suggested Saleh, who said he had not heard of the incident until Wednesday.

"Somebody might not want him to win."

Saleh and others had a wait-and-see attitude, reflecting the experience of a community weathered by conflict.

It began in 2002, when then-Mayor Larry Raymond asked Somalis to tell their friends and relatives not to come to Lewiston because city resources were "maxed out."

Since then, Lewiston has become home to more than 3,000 Somalis, one of the largest communities in the country -- and more controversy.

In April, a middle school student put a piece of ham onto the middle of a table where Somalian Muslim children were sitting.

Whether race was a factor in Saturday's incident is still under investigation by Cumberland police. An investigating officer has said that Noor may have been targeted because he was a "top contender."

In the year since Noor emigrated from Somalia to Maine, he has made a splash in cross country running.

He led Lewiston High School to this year's Class A state title while winning the individual championship.

Noor was one of those favored to win the regional championship, and his chances looked good at the start.

After the incident, he dropped from fifth place to the middle of the pack, then finished 124th out of 271 runners.

Noor, who vomited after the race, was treated by ambulance attendants. Noor has not spoken publicly about the incident, but another runner, Kyle Powers, a senior at St. Johnsbury Academy in Vermont, corroborated his account earlier this week.

The father of one of the Lewiston runners has said that two men approached Noor and a teammate before the race, and that one of them tried to pass out biblical pamphlets.

Noor's friends are also speaking out on his behalf.

Aden Mohamed, 18, a fellow senior at Lewiston High School, said he and other young Somalis believe that the incident was racially motivated.

Noor "does good so other people don't like it," Mohamed said outside the public library, where he was meeting friends.

Mohamed said he has been encouraging Noor to keep running when he goes to college.

The head of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in St. Paul, Minn., said he also believes that racism was involved.

Omar Jamal said he interviewed Noor after the race and concluded that federal authorities should begin a hate crime investigation.

"We consider the actions racially motivated. It was an intentional act -- we consider this very serious," he said.

Saleh, the imam, said he planned to contact Noor Wednesday evening to "get to the bottom of things." He also wanted to speak to school officials.

Lewiston High School Athletic Director Jason Fuller said that at some point there will be a meeting between the school and the Somali community.

The track coach, Ray Putnam, has called the incident a "racial attack." Fuller downplayed that claim but said the track team stood by Noor's account.

Fuller said Noor is a "stand-up guy, very trustworthy, honest, and has good morals," and is well liked by his teammates.

Fuller described the team as racially diverse, with a core group of nine boys who genuinely care about each other.

"Here is a group of kids with different backgrounds who have found something in common and shared the ultimate goal as a state champion team," Fuller said.

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