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The Arab American News – July 14, 2006
Muslims, mosques targets of hate
By Aatif Ali Bokhari
DEARBORN – American Muslims go to their places of worship increasingly under the fear of intimidation and violence.
Bigots are launching hate attacks on Muslims at their places of worship with seeming impunity; their onslaught ranges from the frightening to the bizarre.
The Council on Islamic Relations (CAIR) said that the attacks are "increasing," but this week marks a particularly aggressive surge of anti-Muslim violence.
One Michigan City mosque in Indiana had its windows smashed and dome shot. At another mosque, in Tennessee, someone tossed a copy of the Qur'an, riddled with bullets, at the center's front door. And in Maine, worshippers were engaged in congregational prayer when a local tossed a dead pig's head into the prayer hall.
In Michigan City, "on July 2, Porter County police received a report of bullets shot into the center's copper dome, leaving six holes. Also, two glass doors, 10 windows, and a spotlight were vandalized, possibly by a BB gun, according to a police report," said the "Northwest Indiana Times."
In Tennessee, an FBI investigation has opened after a video of two men shooting a Qur'an and tossing it at a Chattanooga mosque surfaced on MySpace.com.
"In the footage, a 33-year-old man, who identified himself as mully88, is shown outside a Barnes & Noble Booksellers store holding a paperback copy of the Qur'an. He and another man then are seen shooting at the holy book in a wooded area with what is identified as a Colt M-16.
"In the last scene, mully88 is seen throwing the damaged Qur'an onto the sidewalk outside the Islamic Center at 1410 Cemetery Ave," reported the "Chattanooga Times Free Press."
Mully88's website includes a montage of swastikas and illegal high-powered firearms, all while white supremacist music plays in the background.
And in Lewiston, Maine, a man rolled a frozen pig's head into the local Islamic Center while Somali immigrants offered their prayers. Brent Matthews was arrested by police for the incident, an act which Matthews explained to police he had thought "was funny; it was going to be a big joke."
Ibrahim Hooper, Communications Director for CAIR's national office, said the attacks "seem to be a disturbing trend happening to mosques nationwide. … And we would hope the nation's political and religious leadership would address the rising level of Islamophobia which leads to such attacks."
Hooper added that CAIR has "seen a recent surge in attacks," but that such incidents tend to fluctuate depending on media coverage.
"Last year the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights was vandalized, as well as the Al-Islah Center in Hamtramck," added Dawud Walid, Executive Director for the Michigan chapter of CAIR.
"Before each case of vandalism, there was a major situation which happened in the media which portrayed Muslims in a negative fashion. I see no coincidence that these attacks against mosques come right after the hyped-up media stories of the Miami Seven as well as the alleged Holland Tunnel plot in New York.
"We have expressed our concern to law enforcement that when there is negative media, they should take it upon themselves to step up patrols around mosques. They know our concerns, but we have no knowledge of them stepping up the patrols until after the vandalism occurs.
"Now with the situations taking place in Palestine and Lebanon, law enforcement agencies should be savvy enough to realize there are hate-mongers lurking that could possibly use current events as an excuse to desecrate our mosques," said Walid.
http://www.arabamericannews.com/newsarticle.php?articleid=5840
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