Seattle group offers its ‘eyes’ to Muslims

Published 9:00 pm Sunday, October 14, 2001

Associated Press

SEATTLE — Hundreds of people have volunteered to monitor mosques because of a backlash against people of Middle Eastern descent after the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington, D.C.

Volunteers in the "Watchful Eyes" program organized by the Church Council of Greater Seattle have been standing in front of the Gurudawara Sacha Marg Sahib temple in Kent and the Idriss Mosque in north Seattle. They also accompany Muslims and Sikhs who fear harassment as they run errands.

Deborah Person said she was inspired to join Watchful Eyes after a Snohomish man was arrested and charged with pouring gasoline on the car of a member of the Idriss Mosque and aiming his gun at members.

"The thought that other people in my community … would go to a house of worship and instead of finding a sense of peace would find someone pouring gasoline on their cars and threatening them with a gun, devastated me and repulsed me," Person said.

A key part of the program is showing and support for local Islamic communities, said Chris LaRoche, Watchful Eyes volunteer coordinator.

"It’s about creating a big community. They are proving that we are brothers before any religion," said Abdul-Majed Sultan, a member of the Idriss Mosque.

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