I am shocked and saddened by the recent attack on the Ahram Halal Market on Forest Avenue. As a citizen of Portland, I am pleased to live in a diverse city where people of different religions and backgrounds can live according to their faiths and cultures.

Was this a hate crime? I will leave that for the police to decide, but it is important to me to express to my Muslim neighbors, and all the city’s immigrants, that they are welcome here. That’s why I joined hundreds of other Portlanders in signing Progressive Portland’s petition supporting the market in this unfortunate time.

The hard work of immigrants has been vital to this city’s well-being for centuries; let us honor that tradition by respecting one another.

Patricia Washburn

Portland