Sedki Riad, Director, Islamic Center of Blacksburg, Va.

“There is nothing better than knowing that Blacksburg is what we expect it to be-a caring, friendly and supporting neighborhood. … It is a big relief.”

-Sedki Riad, director of the Islamic Center of Blacksburg, Va., on the revelation that a charred Quran discovered outside his mosque was not evidence of a hate crime. A Muslim student at Virginia Tech told police he left the damaged holy book outside the mosque because he thought members would know how to dispose of it properly after it was damaged in a house fire. Riad was quoted by the Roanoke Times.