Community stands with Burien Islamic center after hit-and-run

BURIEN, Wash. — The Washington chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations is standing in solidarity with the Muslim American Youth Foundation after their community center was possibly targeted in a hit-and-run Monday.

A silver car reportedly rammed into the prayer space inside the Islamic community center located in Burien around 9:15 a.m.

Imam Yahya Suufi was in his office when the crash happened.

“I was sitting in my office preparing for my lectures, preparing for my daily tasks, around 9:00 I heard some sort of a blast,” said Suufi. “If there were people sitting by the windows, as there are commonly are in mosques, you would have heard about dozens of injuries.”

The car then reversed and sped off, leaving its bumper and hubcap behind.

CAIR-WA says this is the fifth Islamic center in Washington that has been targeted in the past four months.

In October, someone started a fire inside the Islamic Center of Tacoma while people worshiped inside. A few weeks later, a mosque in Mountlake Terrace was vandalized.

And then a month later, someone set off an explosive outside of a mosque in Olympia.

Several dozen people from different faith groups showed up in solidarity with the Muslim community at the Burien mosque Tuesday.

Despite the damage, the incident does not appear to be deterring people from visiting the prayer space.

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