The FBI reports annually about hate crimes in the U.S. Among these crimes, religious motivation appears to be second only to race in frequency.
In late 2000, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Washington-based Islamic advocacy group, reported anti-Islamic remarks by a range of American and Canadian public figures, "from congressional candidates to syndicated columnists. [They] have portrayed Islam as 'murderous' and Palestinians as 'lower than pond scum' or 'ragheads,' 'pieces of sh-t' and 'turds.'
Anti-Islamic religious hatred appears to be widespread in the U.S. and Canada. Violent incidents against Muslims and their mosques are often triggered by national and international news items. For example, anti-Muslim hysteria followed the 1995 terrorist attack on the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, OK. Although responsibility for the bombing was eventually traced to two domestic terrorists from the Christian Identity movement, there had been initial speculation that the persons responsible might have been Muslims. The 2001-MAR attack on two Muslims in Sparks, NV might have been triggered by the destruction of the Buddhist statues by the Taleban, in Afghanistan.
The CAIR website describes some of incidences against Muslims and their places of worship over the past few years in the U.S. and Canada: 1,2
1994: An arsonist started a fire that burned to the ground a nearly completed mosque in Yuba City. CA.
1995: The Islamic center in Springfield IL was destroyed by arson.
1995-SEP-17: Vandals painted obscenities and graffiti on the windows, walls and trees of the Islamic Center of Passaic County, in Patterson, NJ. Flammable liquid was found on the floor of an outbuilding; this might have been an attempted arson.
1995-SEP: Vandals attacked the mosque at Clarkston, GA by breaking windows, damaging lights, discharging fire extinguishers, and burning satanic symbols (inverted pentagrams) into the carpet.
1995-OCT-21:The Islamic Center and Masjid of Greenville, SC, was destroyed in an arson attack. A suspect was later charged.
1995-OCT-21: Vandals painted an obscene message on the wall of the Flint Islamic Center/Genesee Academy in Flint, MI.
1996-MAR-19: Employees of a radio station in Denver, CO entered the local mosque after morning prayers. They allegedly played the national anthem on a trumpet, harassed the worshipers, and broadcast the incident live on radio. An agreement was later concluded between the local Muslim community and the radio station. It included a public apology by the station, sensitivity training for station employees and PSAs that offered a positive image of Islam.
1998-JAN-28: A 23 year old man was arrested for allegedly smashing a concrete block through the glass front door of the mosque in Fort Collins, CO.
1998-JAN-29: Vandals scattered metal spikes in the parking lot of the Flint Islamic Center in Flint, MI. A number of cars had flat tires.
1998-FEB-22: A vandal threw a beer bottle through the second floor window of the mosque in Bloomingdale, IN.
1998-MAR-8: Someone torched three school busses owned by the local Islamic school in Ottawa, ON Canada.
1999-MAY: A man was arrested after fleeing in his car from the area of a mosque in Denver CO. Loaded weapons, machetes, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and bomb making materials were found in his car. Jack Merylin Modig was later arrested. He allegedly said "I am an enemy against the Islamic nation [sic] and I was going to take care of business."
1999-JUN-23: CFRB, a Toronto, ON Canada radio station broadcasted a live call-in program. The initial topic dealt with a Greek Orthodox priest who refused admittence of a seeing-eye dog into his church. A caller criticized religious extremism. He said "Nero burned the wrong people - he should have burned the Muslims." The announcer tried to change to another topic. The operations manager of CFRB later apologized. They have since drawn up new guidelines for operations during call-in shows.
1999-MAR-5: A mosque was seriously damaged by an arsonist in Minneapolis, MN
1999: Three youths were charged with vandalism of a Villa Park IL mosque, near Chicago. They allegedly threw several large chunks of concrete and a glass milk bottle through four windows of the Islamic Foundation.
2000-JUN-20: A gunman seriously injured a worshiper at an Islamic Center in Memphis, TN. The door to the mosque was damaged by a shotgun blast.
2000-NOV: A suspicious fire gutted the lobby of a mosque in Surrey, British Columbia, and severely damaged the rest of the building. There were no injuries reported. Witnesses reported seeing a van speeding away from the mosque just before an explosion was heard.
2001-JAN: Vandals targeted the Islamic Center of Southern California.
2001-FEB *: Vandals attacked a mosque in Winnipeg, MB, Canada. They smeared animal feces, eggs and white paint on the front of the building. Garbage was strewn around.
2001-MAR-16: Several youths, one with a baseball bat, allegedly attacked two Muslims who were standing outside of their mosque in Sparks NV. One Muslim had his arm broken. The other was more seriously injured and was in critical condition in hospital after undergoing three operations. A member of a nearby church ran to help stop the attack.
* Date is approximate.
Precautions:
CAIR recommended that mosques consider taking a number of safety measures:
Policy and procedure changes:
Report suspicious packages to police. Do not touch them.
Try to have people attend the mosque as much as possible. Activity deters perpetrators.
Consider creating a security committee at your mosque.
Post mosque members at entrances and parking areas during prayer times.
Document descriptions of suspicious people or vehicles.
Make duplicates of all important papers, computer disks and records.
Work with with the local community:
Build good relationships with neighbors of the mosque. Invite them to visit your center.
Request additional police patrols in the vicinity of your center. Special attention should be paid to times of darkness and during prayers.
Participate in neighborhood watch programs.
Consider implementing site modifications:
Ask the community relations officer of your local police department to tour your center and make suggestions on improving mosque security.
Install outside perimeter floodlights.
Install security cameras.
Install fire and burglar alarms.
Remove trash, debris and other fire hazards
Trim shrubs and vines to reduce areas of concealment.
Install burglarproof bars on screens and large vents if permitted by building codes
Replace hollow core doors with more secure solid doors. 1
References:
"Muslims assaulted outside Nevada mosque," CAIR News release, 2001-MAR-17
CAIR can be contacted at: Council on American-Islamic Relations, 453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E., Washington, DC 20003. Phone: 202-488-8787, Fax: 202-488-0833, Page: 202-490-5653, E-mail: cair1@ix.netcom.com, Web site: http://www.cair-net.org/
In late 2000, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Washington-based Islamic advocacy group, reported anti-Islamic remarks by a range of American and Canadian public figures, "from congressional candidates to syndicated columnists. [They] have portrayed Islam as 'murderous' and Palestinians as 'lower than pond scum' or 'ragheads,' 'pieces of sh-t' and 'turds.'
Anti-Islamic religious hatred appears to be widespread in the U.S. and Canada. Violent incidents against Muslims and their mosques are often triggered by national and international news items. For example, anti-Muslim hysteria followed the 1995 terrorist attack on the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, OK. Although responsibility for the bombing was eventually traced to two domestic terrorists from the Christian Identity movement, there had been initial speculation that the persons responsible might have been Muslims. The 2001-MAR attack on two Muslims in Sparks, NV might have been triggered by the destruction of the Buddhist statues by the Taleban, in Afghanistan.
The CAIR website describes some of incidences against Muslims and their places of worship over the past few years in the U.S. and Canada: 1,2
1994: An arsonist started a fire that burned to the ground a nearly completed mosque in Yuba City. CA.
1995: The Islamic center in Springfield IL was destroyed by arson.
1995-SEP-17: Vandals painted obscenities and graffiti on the windows, walls and trees of the Islamic Center of Passaic County, in Patterson, NJ. Flammable liquid was found on the floor of an outbuilding; this might have been an attempted arson.
1995-SEP: Vandals attacked the mosque at Clarkston, GA by breaking windows, damaging lights, discharging fire extinguishers, and burning satanic symbols (inverted pentagrams) into the carpet.
1995-OCT-21:The Islamic Center and Masjid of Greenville, SC, was destroyed in an arson attack. A suspect was later charged.
1995-OCT-21: Vandals painted an obscene message on the wall of the Flint Islamic Center/Genesee Academy in Flint, MI.
1996-MAR-19: Employees of a radio station in Denver, CO entered the local mosque after morning prayers. They allegedly played the national anthem on a trumpet, harassed the worshipers, and broadcast the incident live on radio. An agreement was later concluded between the local Muslim community and the radio station. It included a public apology by the station, sensitivity training for station employees and PSAs that offered a positive image of Islam.
1998-JAN-28: A 23 year old man was arrested for allegedly smashing a concrete block through the glass front door of the mosque in Fort Collins, CO.
1998-JAN-29: Vandals scattered metal spikes in the parking lot of the Flint Islamic Center in Flint, MI. A number of cars had flat tires.
1998-FEB-22: A vandal threw a beer bottle through the second floor window of the mosque in Bloomingdale, IN.
1998-MAR-8: Someone torched three school busses owned by the local Islamic school in Ottawa, ON Canada.
1999-MAY: A man was arrested after fleeing in his car from the area of a mosque in Denver CO. Loaded weapons, machetes, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and bomb making materials were found in his car. Jack Merylin Modig was later arrested. He allegedly said "I am an enemy against the Islamic nation [sic] and I was going to take care of business."
1999-JUN-23: CFRB, a Toronto, ON Canada radio station broadcasted a live call-in program. The initial topic dealt with a Greek Orthodox priest who refused admittence of a seeing-eye dog into his church. A caller criticized religious extremism. He said "Nero burned the wrong people - he should have burned the Muslims." The announcer tried to change to another topic. The operations manager of CFRB later apologized. They have since drawn up new guidelines for operations during call-in shows.
1999-MAR-5: A mosque was seriously damaged by an arsonist in Minneapolis, MN
1999: Three youths were charged with vandalism of a Villa Park IL mosque, near Chicago. They allegedly threw several large chunks of concrete and a glass milk bottle through four windows of the Islamic Foundation.
2000-JUN-20: A gunman seriously injured a worshiper at an Islamic Center in Memphis, TN. The door to the mosque was damaged by a shotgun blast.
2000-NOV: A suspicious fire gutted the lobby of a mosque in Surrey, British Columbia, and severely damaged the rest of the building. There were no injuries reported. Witnesses reported seeing a van speeding away from the mosque just before an explosion was heard.
2001-JAN: Vandals targeted the Islamic Center of Southern California.
2001-FEB *: Vandals attacked a mosque in Winnipeg, MB, Canada. They smeared animal feces, eggs and white paint on the front of the building. Garbage was strewn around.
2001-MAR-16: Several youths, one with a baseball bat, allegedly attacked two Muslims who were standing outside of their mosque in Sparks NV. One Muslim had his arm broken. The other was more seriously injured and was in critical condition in hospital after undergoing three operations. A member of a nearby church ran to help stop the attack.
* Date is approximate.
Precautions:
CAIR recommended that mosques consider taking a number of safety measures:
Policy and procedure changes:
Report suspicious packages to police. Do not touch them.
Try to have people attend the mosque as much as possible. Activity deters perpetrators.
Consider creating a security committee at your mosque.
Post mosque members at entrances and parking areas during prayer times.
Document descriptions of suspicious people or vehicles.
Make duplicates of all important papers, computer disks and records.
Work with with the local community:
Build good relationships with neighbors of the mosque. Invite them to visit your center.
Request additional police patrols in the vicinity of your center. Special attention should be paid to times of darkness and during prayers.
Participate in neighborhood watch programs.
Consider implementing site modifications:
Ask the community relations officer of your local police department to tour your center and make suggestions on improving mosque security.
Install outside perimeter floodlights.
Install security cameras.
Install fire and burglar alarms.
Remove trash, debris and other fire hazards
Trim shrubs and vines to reduce areas of concealment.
Install burglarproof bars on screens and large vents if permitted by building codes
Replace hollow core doors with more secure solid doors. 1
References:
"Muslims assaulted outside Nevada mosque," CAIR News release, 2001-MAR-17
CAIR can be contacted at: Council on American-Islamic Relations, 453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E., Washington, DC 20003. Phone: 202-488-8787, Fax: 202-488-0833, Page: 202-490-5653, E-mail: cair1@ix.netcom.com, Web site: http://www.cair-net.org/
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