Islamic group wins permit battle south of Snohomish

​​CATHCART — An old horse barn off U.S. 9 near Cathcart has been a place of gathering for the Husaynia Islamic Society of Seattle since 2019, but nearby residents recently pushed back against the society’s presence.

After two hearings with the Snohomish County Hearing Examiner, the Husaynia group was granted a conditional use permit in March to officially operate the property, 15231 State St. south of Snohomish, as a place of worship.

Now, the Islamic Society is raising money to make changes to its 5.5 acre property, including architectural plans for the 26,000-square-foot horse barn. The society has raised about $32,000 of the estimated $2 million project.

Previously, they had been getting special use permits to gather occasionally. A few weeks after the official permit was granted, 16 neighbors filed an appeal, stating the examiner “exceeded his jurisdiction, committed errors of law, failed to follow the applicable procedure in reaching his decision,” among other complaints.

The appeal outlines the reasons the examiner should reconsider: occupancy capacity, noise, traffic, parking, drainage and operating conditions as issues.

On Wednesday, the Snohomish County Council approved a motion to dismiss the appeal. The council voted 4-0, with council member Megan Dunn abstaining.

Zahra Abidi, founder and president of the Husaynia Islamic Society, said there are “no hard feelings,” and she just wants to move forward.

“It’s really good that the County Council saw that there was really nothing in (the appeal), and they rejected it,” Abidi said in an interview Thursday. “It was a beautiful moment. We were congratulating each other.”

Abidi purchased the property in May 2019 for just under $1 million. She believes in the importance of having female leadership in a place of worship and prioritizing inclusivity, she said. To drive that point home, Abidi held an interfaith picnic a few months after the sale, inviting Christians, Hindus, Jews, Sikhs and neighbors to join.

“People — when they work together, come together — they realize that everybody is more or less the same,” Abidi said. “So you eat different foods, you dress differently, but that’s good. That’s what diversity brings to you. Otherwise, it would be so boring.”

The society has an average of 35 to 40 people attend each program, with an absolute maximum attendance of 80 people who attended during Ramadan.

Of the 16 area neighbors who signed the appeal, one spoke with The Herald, but asked not to be named for fear of being called Islamophobic.

“It’s not about religion at all. It really isn’t,” said the appellant. “It has to do with changing a horse barn that had maybe 30 horses in it that the kids would come ride … and turn it into a commercial building that can hold 300 people all the time and all the traffic.”

The appeal argues that hundreds of people will be commuting to the rural residential area, disrupting the peace and increasing traffic. Abidi said she doesn’t understand why this claim keeps being brought up.

“Where do they get the 300 number from?” Abidi asked. “I don’t know why they made that comment again as if they had not heard the answer from me when I had given it earlier.”

Abidi said she thinks the appeal “is nothing but Islamophobia,” but she doesn’t think that Islamophobia extends to all of the neighbors.

“Once you go to the court and you say, ‘Oh, we don’t want Muslims here,’ then obviously, the court is not going to listen to you. So you always talk about traffic noise and this and that, you know?” Abidi said. “So yes, some people feel that way. But I do also feel that some of our next door neighbors — they don’t. They’re just confused. … I don’t think that there’s any hatred, animosity there.”

The people who signed the appeal also distributed postcards in the area, encouraging neighbors to show up to hearings about the Islamic Society’s permit.

Similarly in 2016, there was pushback to the proposed opening of a mosque in Mukilteo. People sent out mailers alerting residents of construction plans and vandalized the site of a proposed mosque in Mukilteo. Months later, hundreds showed up to a community meeting to learn more about the mosque, some pushing back against the hate.

The County Council’s motion to dismiss the appeal this week stated “the appeal was not based upon legal argument and instead is composed of appellants’ general disagreement with the Hearing Examiner’s approval of the conditional use permit,” among other things.

Looking forward, Abidi said she hopes to once again open the doors for another interfaith picnic to build bonds this summer. She wants neighbors to know they are welcome to join the society’s inclusive programs.

“Really, really no hard feelings,” Abidi said. “We just move forward.”

Kayla J. Dunn: 425-339-3449; kayla.dunn@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @KaylaJ_Dunn.