Several months ago, Dr. Sameh Asal, who was the new imam of the Islamic Association of West Virginia, said he had noticed many West Virginians seemed unhappy about staying in the state.
In an interview about his move to the state and his plans, Asal said they often asked him why he would move from Raleigh, North Carolina, to Charleston.
"People here underestimate themselves," he said. "It gave me a feeling that people are not happy about staying here."
Now, Asal is leaving - in large part, because everyone else is.
During an interview last week, Asal, who was born in Egypt, said he felt he could do more good in the United States living in a thriving community, where there are more people to serve. He also said his family members feel they will be happier in a larger, more diverse community.
In May, the U.S. Census reported the population in Charleston had dipped below 50,000 for the first time since the 1920 Census. In March, the U.S. Census reported the state was losing population faster than any other state in the country.
In a bigger community, his efforts to dispel misconceptions about Islam will reach more people. And in a bigger community, more people, especially youth, are available to help serve the community by volunteering for projects.
In Raleigh, where he last served as imam, he encouraged Muslim youth to work with Habitat for Humanity to build houses for the less fortunate.
Here, he watches graduating seniors take off for college and never return.
Asal leaves Monday for a new position as the imam in Birmingham, Alabama, where he hopes to be able to take on some larger projects he says weren't possible in West Virginia.
But he leaves traces of his work behind.
Asal has been here for 14 months. He says because of the relationships he's built, it has felt more like 14 years.
Asal was imam in West Virginia during a time of rising Islamaphobic sentiment here, and in the rest of the United States. He tried to combat that by establishing interfaith partnerships and interacting with other West Virginians, whether that was having lunch with another faith leader or speaking to a group of elementary school students.
Each time he spoke to a group, he prefaced the talk by saying "I'm not going to be offended by anything. Ask any question that comes to your mind."
"It's always great just to get closer and to get to know people face to face and to talk as a human being, so people will know you rather than know about you," he said.
Rabbi Victor Urecki, of B'nai Jacob Synagogue, said Asal was the first person to visit each of Urecki's parents when they were in the hospital.
"I am a better rabbi because of him and a kinder friend to the Muslim community because of his actions, his warmth and his teachings," Urecki said.
Asal was also one of the people that established the West Virginia Interfaith Refugee Ministry, a group that started to create greater understanding of the plight of Syrian refugees.
The group is now is working to turn Charleston into one of the Episcopal Migration Ministry's "resettlement communities." As Asal leaves West Virginia, that group will continue its work to bring people here - Syrian refugees fleeing the devastation of civil war.
Asal said just because he's leaving doesn't mean the relationships he's established will fade away.
"I was building the bridges for a community," he said.
And although he says volunteerism opportunities will be more plentiful in Alabama, there was volunteer work to be done while he was here, too. He was impressed by the response of the Muslim community to the June 23 flood. Although it was Ramadan, a holy month, he said they tirelessly collected donations. He was heartened to watch youth compete to see who could distribute more supplies.
"During those days, I said, 'There's no voice higher than the voice of the floods,'" he said.
Many Charleston community members now have a place to stay if they ever visit Birmingham.
"You have a good friend - you have a brother there," he tells them.
Asal said he was inspired by the spirit of West Virginians.
"It's a place that you rarely find," he said.
It reminded him of his rural upbringing in Egypt.
His face lights up when he talks about walking or driving down the road and seeing people smiling and waving at him.
"Even a child would do that," he said, "How about that?"
He can't stop smiling when he talks about how other wrestling parents treated his 9-year-old son, Abdulrahman, and the rest of his family members.
"They were treating us like family," he said. "Parents were treating my child like their child."
When all the hate toward Muslims in the world weighed on him, sometimes he would watch a video of his son wrestling recorded by 4-year-old Sam, one of his son's teammates. The camera work could be improved, but Sam makes up for it in enthusiasm. To Sam, Asal's son's faith was clearly irrelevant.
"Go Abdul!" the boy squeals. "Abdul, go! Go, go, go! Abdul, 19 seconds left, Abdul. 13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1-0!"
"I even told his dad that I wish all of the people in the world were like that," Asal said. "You wouldn't have any evil in the world."
Asal said he will always cherish his time in West Virginia, and the connections he made with the people who still call this state home.
"Be confident you have an ambassador of West Virginia," he said.
Reach Erin Beck at erin.beck@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5163, Facebook.com/erinbeckwv, or follow @erinbeckwv on Twitter.