TheConnection

Chantilly — In January, members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community — whose motto is “Love for all, hatred for none” — were looking forward to the completion of construction of their new mosque in Chantilly.

#The 7,200-square-foot place of worship is called the Mubarak mosque which, in Islamic, means “blessed tidings.” Work on the two-story structure had begun a year earlier, and the architect was especially proud of its custom-made windows in the shape of Persian arches.

#But sometime between Jan. 29-30, the new mosque was vandalized. Some of the walls were damaged and all the windows on the ground floor were smashed. Builders arriving for work, the morning of Jan. 30, discovered shattered glass all over the floor, and the tremendous amount of damage left members of the congregation devastated, as well.

#More than three months have passed since then, but Fairfax County police have been steadily working on the case, and now they’ve made their first arrest in connection with it. On May 3, they charged Trenton M. Carter, 18, of Round Lick Lane in Centreville’s Xanadu Estates community, with felony destruction of property. If convicted, he could receive as much as five years in prison.

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