WASHINGTON — The Arabic Calligraphy Workshop at the Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center wasn't about the Arabic. The flier for the class said no knowledge of the language was required.

Teacher Aishah Elinor Holland said sometimes when she teaches the one-day workshop, non-Arabic-speaking students fear that the graceful, swooping letters will spell something bad. "People are like, 'Well, what is this letter? What is it that I'm writing?' " she said.

Part of Holland's mission is to show students there is more to Arab culture than what they read in the news — in this case, an art that has flourished for centuries across the Muslim world.

"If they see that everyone whose name is Muhammad is not an Islamic terrorist, that's a start," she said. "During the war on terror, in this age, this is something totally nonthreatening, which is totally Arab-Islamic."

Holland has thought about bringing a carpet and serving Turkish-style tea to help set the tone. But in a class in downtown Washington, after starting to explain that the Arabic alphabet has 28 consonants, she realized that all 17 students had some background in the language — from the Army cultural instructor, to the New England college student.

"Wow, I thought that New York was cosmopolitan," said Holland, who usually teaches there. "So everyone in Washington knows Arabic? That's really cool."

The students may share a language background, but they had different reasons for being there.

"I spend all my time studying the negative aspects of Islamic-Arabic society — terrorism, all the hard stuff," said analyst Jesse Bannister. "This rounds me out."

Rebecca Kusserow of Alexandria, Va., said she had traveled extensively in Arab countries in the 1970s and that the calligraphy had fascinated her. Elizabeth Ridout, who recently spent a semester in Oman with the School for International Training, said she had jumped at the opportunity because it was free.

Although Arabic calligraphy was developed to celebrate the Quran, "You can write anything you want," said Holland. "But you are probably not going to take the time to write your shopping list."

Holland's calligraphy seminars have drawn a range of responses. At Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y., one year, no one signed up. At the Sultan Qaboos center, a year-old organization that is part of the Middle East Institute and funded in part by the government of Oman, there was a long waiting list.

The art of calligraphy is still alive in the Middle East and has a following among young people. "There's a whole crop of what I would call kids in Istanbul who are doing this instead of going to college," Holland said. "They basically eat, drink and sleep khat, as it is called."

For many Westerners who have abandoned handwriting for computer keyboards, calligraphy is a throwback to another century. It requires time and patience and is distinctively low-tech. Traditionally, the calligrapher sat on the floor with one knee folded. He ground gold to illuminate his manuscripts, carved reeds for his pens and gathered soot for his ink from mosque lamps.