Vandals Hit MAPS Mosque In Redmond: UPDATE

REDMOND, WA - Vandals damaged a sign at the Muslim Association of Puget Sound (MAPS) overnight Monday, but the president of the mosque - the largest in Washington with over 5,000 members - says that he's encouraged by an outpouring of support from the community in reaction to the vandalism.

MAPS President Mahmood Kadeer told Patch.com on Tuesday morning that it appeared as if someone had taken a sledgehammer to the granite sign outside the facility, located along NE 67th Ct.

"We don't know who did it or what the motive was behind it, so we're waiting for the investigation to finish," Kadeer said Tuesday. "We will repair it eventually - we will not let this one incident from a hate-monger drive our interaction with the community; our faith is in our bonds together."

This isn't the first time MAPS has been a target. In June, threats were reportedly made against the facility after the mass shooting in Orlando, Fla. Police stepped up security at MAPS after that. Kadeer also said that a woman appeared near the facility over the weekend and tried to lure a 5-year-old girl away, saying that she needed help finding a cat. The woman disappeared after she was confronted, Kadeer said.

But recently, MAPS has received community support. Kadeer said that after the election of Donald Trump, they received letters and visits from supportive members of the community.

"I think these are one-off incidents by people who don't understand what the U.S. is about and how we live together in this country. We're not going to let this one incident drive a wedge between us," he said.

Redmond Mayor John Marchione released a statement on the vandalism Tuesday, saying, "Acts like this aren't representative of the Redmond community, and will not be tolerated. The city works closely with MAPS leadership and our Islamic community to ensure that they and all residents feel safe in their homes, at their place of business, and where they worship."

Since Trump's election, the Southern Poverty Law Center has tracked some 400 incidents of bias across the U.S. involving various groups, and at least 20 incidents directed at Muslims. And last week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation released a report on Hate Crimes in the U.S., which revealed that more than 20 percent of religious bias hate crimes were committed against Muslims.

But Kadeer said that MAPS will move forward with events as scheduled this week, including a Thanksgiving dinner project in partnership with Medina's St. Thomas Episcopal church for residents of Tent City 4

After the incident, Kadeer sent an email to MAPS members. Here's the full text:

Dear community,

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.