Excerpt:
As parts of the nation face heightened anti-Muslim sentiments, Frederick County generally is not seeing such rhetoric or action, according to Muslim leaders and others in the county.
A column in The Washington Post published online July 4 reported that a woman directed anti-Muslim comments at a couple who were looking at a house with a realtor in a Frederick neighborhood.
Local leaders in and outside the Muslim community, however, describe a different atmosphere in the county.
Dr. Syed Haque, president of the Frederick County Muslim Council, said that in the last five years or so, the Muslim community has formed strong, positive relationships with religious leaders and local government officials. It is a great achievement, he said, that politicians and religious leaders treat members of the Muslim community, who comprise a relatively small portion of the county population, as equals.