Building understanding: Police attend service at Lynnwood mosque
LYNNWOOD — Naser Dakhil’s story is that of an American immigrant.
It resonates 40 years later.
Dakhil, 56, left Libya in 1977 to escape the regime of dictator Muammar Gaddafi. He traveled to the United States and studied civil engineering at the University of Washington.
“We feared for our lives if we went back,” he said. “That’s why we stayed.”
Dakhil became a U.S. citizen and now lives in Lynnwood. He is a board member at the Evergreen Islamic Institute.
Not everyone can follow his path.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order Jan. 27 barring people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.
The order prohibits anyone from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from coming into the U.S. for 90 days. All refugees are barred for 120 days; and Syrian refugees indefinitely.
U.S. District Judge James Robart in Seattle temporarily halted the the order Friday.
Trump said he was trying to keep out radical Islamic terrorists. Dakhil said there are other means of addressing terrorism.
On Friday, Dakhil and others invited the Lynnwood Police Department to visit the Evergreen Islamic Institute.
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