Redmond Mosque Plans to Increase Community Outreach After Second Vandalism

REDMOND, WA — An act of vandalism against the Muslim Association of Puget Sound mosque here — the second such act within four weeks — has caused fear and "sent a shudder" through the local Muslim community, mosque officials say.

But that doesn't mean the vandals have succeed — just the opposite. In response to this second act of vandalism, MAPS will double down on its community outreach efforts.

"We will keep opening our doors to more people," Riad Chummun, the treasurer of the MAPS board, told Patch Monday.

Just after 12:30 a.m. Sunday, cameras at the mosque recorded a young, white adult male taking a crowbar or other instrument to the sign outside the mosque. The vandal completely destroyed the sign. A similar incident happened Nov. 21 when someone took a hammer to the granite sign.

Thankfully, the part of the sign destroyed on Saturday was temporary. After the Nov. 21 incident, MAPS decided to replace the entire sign. The mosque held a ceremony on Dec. 9 with local officials dedicating a new concrete base, and officials including Redmond Mayor John Marchione and U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal embedded their hand-prints in it to mark the occasion. The permanent granite sign won't arrive until next month.

Even though the sign was temporary, the act has caused a lot of concern within the MAPS community, Chummun said.

"The damage to the community is the fear that this act has instilled," he said. "To have somebody who's daring enough to do two incidents in the span of a month, to have someone damage the sign after we rebuilt it - it sends a shudder up the community's spine to see there are people out there who do not know who we are and who have hate in their hearts for who we are and what we stand for."

The mosque will boost traditional security, including asking the police to step up patrols and adding security staff. After the Nov. 21 incident, the mosque spent $30,000 to upgrade its camera system. That expense may have paid off: The mosque added an exterior camera to monitor the front entrance, which captured an image of the person committing the most recent vandalism.

But MAPS is making significant investments in outreach to educate non-MAPS members about who attends the mosque. MAPS recently created a group called AMEN — the American-Muslim Empowerment Network — to create alliances within other faith communities and the larger Redmond community. MAPS hired Aneelah Afzali, a former local attorney, to lead that effort.

More importantly, they refuse to let the vandalism get in the way of community activities held at the mosque. The latest act of vandalism was discovered after MAPS members arrived for early-morning prayers at 6:30 a.m. At 11 a.m. Saturday, MAPS had planned a gingerbread house decorating event. That event went on as planned.

On Sunday, MAPS hosted a free medical clinic. That event went on as planned. On Monday, MAPS hosted a workshop for kids to learn basic computer coding skills. That event went on as planned.

"We will not cancel our programs or events," Chummun said. "We will keep our doors open."

Images via Redmond Police