Solidarity At Olympia Mosque

Christians, Jews, Sikhs and Quakers go to Olympia mosque to show support after explosion.

People of many faiths gathered outside the Islamic Center of Olympia before Friday prayers  to demonstrate support for the area’s Muslim community. This, after a late-night explosion rocked the neighborhood last week. Sheriff’s investigators found paper remnants of a firework in the street in front of the mosque. Rabbi Seth Goldstein of Olympia joined the interfaith crowd.

Seth Goldstein: “We want to stand here to show that we are supportive of the community. We stand united against hatred and Islamophobia and that we care for all the members of our community.”

Mosque member Abdullah Ly  stopped to say thank you on his way into the Friday service.

Abdullah Ly: “This is what makes America great, that we come together and we support each other through any trials and tribulations, or any assaults, or any type of events like this.” 

The Washington chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the nonprofit Interfaith Works of Olympia consider the explosion to be the latest in a string of attacks on houses of worship in the Puget Sound region. The Thurston County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement it can’t prove the Olympia mosque was targeted.

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