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Ali Faruk grew up as a Muslim in an Indian-American military family in Northern Virginia.

Soldiers and police officers routinely showed up in uniform for Friday prayer services at Dar AlNoor Islamic Community Center in Woodbridge, sometimes carrying their service weapons.

"It really wasn't a big deal," said Faruk, who works as a policy analyst for the Virginia Interfaith Center in Richmond.

Faruk and other Muslims in the Richmond area don't accept the notion that their faith poses a conflict or a threat to service in the American military, despite a deadly shooting at Fort Hood by an Army psychiatrist who is a Muslim.

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, who was seriously injured in shootings that killed 13 and wounded 29 others, grew up in Arlington County, where military service also is common in a Muslim community that is ethnically diverse.

"It's really not about his religion," said M. Imad Damaj, a Virginia Commonwealth University professor who serves as president of the Virginia Muslim Coalition for Public Affairs.

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