Grand opening of mosque for Bosnians in western Washington
Sunday, March 27, 2011
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| Photo by Mahir Dizdar |
By Chris Roberts, Shoreline City Council Member
On Saturday, March 12, the Islamic Community of Bosniaks in Washington celebrated the grand opening of their mosque and community center in Shoreline's Ballinger neighborhood.
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| Photo by Mahir Dizdar |
Over 400 people from Shoreline and from across the globe attended the celebration.
Imam Abdulah Polovina led the proceedings, which included speeches from a variety of Muslim leaders from the region.
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| Photo by Mahir Dizdar |
Also on hand in celebration of the mosque were Representative Jay Inslee, Senator Maralyn Chase, Shoreline Councilmember Chris Roberts, and Eldin Kajevic, the Consul General of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Representative Inslee discussed the fact that America was founded on the principles of religious tolerance.
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Shoreline Council Member Chris Roberts
Photo by Mahir Dizdar |
In 2001, the community formed the Islamic Community of Bosniaks in Washington, a non-profit organization designed to preserve their Bosnian identity. In 2005, the Community purchased the property in the Ballinger neighborhood for the building of the mosque and community center which is open to people of all faiths. Today, the president of the Community is Muhamed Saracevic.
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| Photo by Mahir Dizdar |
“The Bosnian-American community in Washington State was established in the early 1990s as refugees and genocide survivors arrived in the state from Bosnia-Herzegovina and today it has grown to include several thousand members.
"It is a young and energetic community that has found its footing in Washington State and the opening of our first mosque and cultural center in our new homeland is of great symbolic importance to us because it represents our community’s acceptance and future presence in the state,” wrote Denis Kurdija on the Facebook event posting.
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4 comments:
We look forward to having you in our community and hope to hear more good news :)
I am so glad that our Bosnian community has a place of worship they can call their own!
The architecture is uniquely beautiful, serene, and the food was delicious. The quiet dignified multiculturalism I saw was amazing. There were Somali, Mexican, Spanish, Turkish, Indian, Egyptian, Indonesian, Chinese, British, Dutch and American Muslims along with their non-Muslim friends. It bought tears to see the unison of diverse people together. How I yearn for world peace. May Lord help us all to achieve it. Amen.
Yes, I must say this mosque is absolutely beautiful... I was present at the grand opening and I can only say great things. Worshippers are friendly, humble and peaceful and it is honor to have them in our Ballinger/Shoreline community. Welcome!
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