Eric Wilkinson
SEATTLE - The faithful come for daily prayers at Seattle's Idriss Mosque.
Abdul Karim says he worries the flames of anti-Islam extremism may spread to Seattle after the arson at a Corvallis mosque overnight.
"Some people crazy," he says. "They want to give bad name to Islam."
Believers at Idriss have felt the burn of hatred before. Two days after Sept. 11 a man shot at two worshipers and tried to set fire to a car in the mosque parking lot. But despite an undercurrent of concern, there is still a belief by most at the mosque in the goodness of their neighbors.
"Really the American people are above that level of hatred," says Khalid Mohamed. "The majority of American people are really kindhearted and generous."
As part of an ongoing effort to improve relations between Muslim America and the rest of the country, local Muslim leaders are using the holiest time in the Christian year to make their point.
"The key is to judge the Muslim community by its actions, not by a few extremists," says Arsalan Bukhari, Executive Director of Washington's Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Bukhari says this week dozens of mosques across the state are beginning a food and toy drive for the Christmas holiday.
"To show the true character of the community. To show that we're here to bring cheer during the holiday season and not harm and dismay and violence," he says.
But goodwill only goes so far. Bukhari says the council is asking law enforcement across the state to keep a close eye on mosques, while those attending them appeal to a higher power.
"We leave it for God," says Mansour Al Fallah, a worshiper at Idriss Mosque.
November 28, 2010, King5
