SIX years ago Makiz Ansari set a test for her fellow Australians.

Just two years after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the young Sydney University student, who was born in Kabul, decided to start wearing a hijab, the traditional headwear of many Muslim women.

"My parents were very worried that I would get pressured or harassed," Ms Ansari recalled. "I said that if I felt pressure in public, then I would reconsider my decision. But so far I have not needed to reconsider."

Her positive experience is reflected in new research from the University of Western Sydney, to be released tomorrow.

The study by Kevin Dunn, from the department of geography and urban studies, finds that, contrary to the angry chatter one might hear on talkback radio, Australians are overwhelmingly accepting of Muslim women who wear a scarf or hijab. His survey of more than 1300 respondents found 81 per cent supported a right to dress according to Islamic custom, while 85 per cent supported "cultural diversity and are comfortable with the experience of cultural difference".

Thirteen per cent said the hijab was "inappropriate" and 4.2 per cent said it should be banned. "There is a very, very strong strain of cultural tolerance here," Professor Dunn told the Herald.

He said about 70 per cent of Australians supported the right of Muslim women to wear the headscarf because of the principles of "freedom of religion" or "individual liberty", while the rest supported it because of a commitment to multiculturalism.

"Cult ural tolerance in Australia is anchored very much in these ancient values of civil rights," Professor Dunn said.

Mehmet Ozalp, the chief executive of the Affinity Intercultural Foundation, which promotes religious and ethnic tolerance, said the study reflected a decade of effort by Muslim Australians to make their religion more understandable.

"Austra lians are curious people and they appear to have done their homework about Islam," he said. After September 11 "there was a lot of fear and misunderstanding but that is changing".

He said one reason for the more liberal attitude was the growing number of young Muslim women wearing the hijab and speaking with Australian accents. "It's hard to alienate people if they sound and act like you."