MLT neighbors prove their true blue colors

The response has done Mountlake Terrace proud — by making the best of a very bad situation.

Early last Friday morning, a mosque in the south end of the city was vandalized and set ablaze. But thanks to neighbors, the fire damage was limited to the front door and some curtains.

Zafar Khan, leader of the Masjid Omar Al-Farooq Mosque, said Monday, "The best thing that happened was that we had such good neighbors." And, as Congressman Jay Inslee remarked while stopping to express his regrets over the incident, the members of the mosque themselves have been impressively positive in their own response.

The situation could have been much worse. But neighbor Benny Greatorex happened to wake up and notice that something was going on across the street. Then he woke his 20-year-old son, Tad, who ran across the street and put out a fire at the front door.

Police later arrested three people, a 30-year-old man and two juveniles, for investigation in what they said appeared to be a hate crime. Drinking was involved, police said.

The attack shocked other neighbors throughout the city. Monday, while Inslee visited, Nikki Christensen stopped by, just to let mosque members know that neighbors welcomed them.

As Inslee was told, mosque leaders know that there can be a "knucklehead" in any group of 100 people. It goes beyond stupid, however, to attack people for their religious beliefs.

Right after the crime, Mountlake Terrace police Cmdr. Mike Mitchell said that investigators understood that the suspects "thought they were protecting America … They’re definitely not history majors. America was founded to protect religious freedoms."

On Sunday, children from the mosque brought thank you cards to the Greatorex residence, which — appropriately — has an American flag in a window facing the mosque. Everyone can be thankful that the children and their families still have a place of their own to worship in the way they believe proper, as is their right in this country.