After last week’s terrorist attack on New York’s World Trade Center, members of the San Fernando Valley’s Middle Eastern business community are cautiously returning to work, still fearing a potential backlash because of their cultural heritage but hoping for the best. Many of the Valley’s Middle Eastern merchants were leery of possible vandalism or other incidents against Arab-Americans due to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, suspected to have been carried out by Islamic terrorists. Art Tosunyan, manager of 1 Hour Discount Photo of Encino on Ventura Boulevard, said business has been slow since the New York disaster early last week. “We have a big Persian clientele and it’s gone. I can’t explain it,” he said, speculating many of his clients would rather stay home. Many Valley Middle Eastern business owners whose shops were largely empty last week refused to comment for this story. Lily Adeli, an Iranian immigrant who owns the French Bakery in Encino, said her customers are slowly returning to her Ventura Boulevard shop. “People want to keep a low profile and I can understand that. It’s a very emotional time for everyone,” she said. “I hope no one does anything to this community. We are all Americans.” Unlike some Middle Eastern groceries near downtown Los Angeles whose storefronts were vandalized last Wednesday, Adeli’s shop and others in the Valley remained untouched by any backlash. Incidentally, Adeli said, her mother was on a plane from Australia to Los Angeles when the attacks took place. “The airline called me up and asked what country she was from, where I lived, what my address was and things like that. It made me very nervous,” Adeli said. The flight eventually landed safely at LAX after the plane’s pilot convinced air traffic controllers the aircraft didn’t have enough fuel to land in Canada, Adeli said. Adeli, like other area business owners, decided to close early Tuesday after the attack on the twin towers. It was an easy decision to make, she said, since there were few people out shopping anyway. Other businesses owned by Arab-Americans, including several restaurants and hair salons along Ventura Boulevard, remained closed Wednesday and Thursday, many with hastily written notes in Arabic taped to their front doors. Meanwhile, Rahim Maltiboor, owner of Prestige Estate Properties in Encino, said he kept his Ventura Boulevard office open all day after the attacks, but admitted that little business came his way as a result. Maltiboor, who is Iranian, said many of his customers and colleagues who are from the Middle East have not experienced a backlash from anyone as a result of the New York attacks, but said most of his colleagues are keeping a low profile. “Like anyone, we’re all very shocked and saddened that anyone would do such an attack. It’s very shocking to anyone,” he said. But none of those interviewed said they planned to reinforce security at their businesses, saying it’s unnecessary. Yahia Abdul Rahman, director of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, still fears a backlash against Arab-Americans, but said only some sporadic vandalism had been reported in the Middle Eastern community in the days following the attack. Rahman, whose council oversees 67 Islamic centers in Southern California, said he fears growing anti-Muslim sentiment as efforts to identify suspects in the New York disaster develop. Already, some groups are asking people who wear traditional Islamic attire to remain indoors for the time being. But Farah Dada, who owns Salon Ferferi in Tarzana, said she has no fears. “I’ve never had any problems with anyone. I can’t imagine it,” said the hair salon owner. While business at the shop dropped off on Tuesday, it returned to normal on Wednesday, Dada said, noting that she had a steady string of customers by midday. Jahan Faghihi’s Allstate Insurance Co. office in Tarzana closed early Tuesday, but was open for regular business hours the next day. “There’s a little business, but it’s been quiet,” said Faghihi’s assistant, Brenda Vasquez.