Early Monday morning, vandals attempted to destroy a granite sign outside of the Muslim Association of Puget Sound (MAPS), a mosque in Redmond. MAPS president Mahmood Khadeer and other members of the mosque reported the incident to Redmond police, who confirmed it was an act of vandalism based on the way the sign was smashed.
“I was really saddened by that because I take pride in our center,” Khadeer said. “We’re very inclusive of everybody.”
Khadeer said the mosque, which is also home to a preschool, had never before been vandalized, but has received threats after June’s mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla.
He sent out this letter to the community after discovering the broken sign:
Today we found out that the MAPS main sign in front of our masjid has been vandalized. Somebody smashed the granite block in a clear act of hate. We have filed a police report regarding this and another incident this past week-end. I have personally reached out to the Chief of Police, the Mayor, Enforcement Agencies and the Governor’s office. We will work with everyone to ensure that our community, our institution and our facility remain safe. Safety and security of our community is our top priority.
We are activating a number of security measures immediately. We will have armed guards round the clock in and around the building. We are increasing our own security staff. We have the whole place monitored by cameras. We will only open the front door until further notice. …
We are not making any change to any of our programs. MAPS-MCRC is hosting a Thanksgiving dinner for the residents of Tent City 4 this Wednesday. This and all of our other events will go on as planned.
We will not let the hate of one overshadow the love of many. We will remain hopeful yet vigilant. We will not let hate intimidate us.
This incident follows proposals to create a Muslim registry, a plan touted by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who is hoping to join President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet.
“Often, one person [or group] can become a scapegoat and that leads to people ignoring larger issues that are happening,” said Arsalan Bukhari, executive director of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Seattle.
Hate crimes against Muslims increased by a staggering 67 percent in 2015 over the previous year, according to a recent report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Suzan DelBene, who represents Washington’s first congressional district, which includes Redmond, condemned the act of vandalism.
“[This] doesn’t reflect the inclusive values of the First District and our country,” DelBene said in a statement. “I’m deeply saddened that members of our community are experiencing fear and intimidation at their place of worship. We must reject these actions in no uncertain terms, and stand united against hate.”
DelBene proposed a bill yesterday that would ban the creation of a religion-based registry.
Khadeer said the mosque has seen an outpouring of support from their community.
“People want to come and stand with us. This is [from] my extended community of Jews, Christians, minorities,” said Khadeer. “This gives me energy and strength to stand against these forces of fear and vandalism that try to create division in our community. We want to be a part of the community of all minorities. We want to make sure we can work our frustration into a positive force in the community.”
After Donald Trump was elected two weeks ago, Khadeer said he’d received calls from Washington’s elected officials, including Governor Jay Inslee, who expressed solidarity and told the MAPS president that the state would always welcome and value its Muslim community.
“We hope [Gov. Inslee] will continue speaking out publicly about this,” said Bukhari of CAIR. “The most important thing for fair-minded elected leaders is to publicly and vocally affirm, over and over again, the American values of religious freedom. The average person—our friends, neighbors, and coworkers—need to hear that we’re in this together.”
This post has been updated.
