Category Archives: Anti-Muslim violence

Interfaith, civil rights leaders in Ballwin decry recent attacks on mosques

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Ghazala Hayat at press conference

BALLWIN — Muslim, Christian and Jewish religious leaders joined civil rights leaders here this morning in denouncing recent attacks against mosques around the country. They say that kind of violence represents intolerance and a hatred of Muslims, and they worry it escalates during election season.

“This is a result of an atmosphere of hate that is being created by a small group of radical Islamophobes within this country,” said Faizan Syed, executive director of the St. Louis chapter of CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations). Ghazala Hayat, with the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis, added: “We also see, usually the year of election, this rhetoric goes up.”

At a news conference, they were joined by Barbara Jennings, with the Coalition of Catholic Sisters; Rabbi Brigitte Rosenberg, president of the Rabbinical Association; and civil rights leaders including Brenda Jones of the ACLU of Eastern Missouri and Karen Aroesty of the Anti-Defamation League.

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CAIR: Republican ‘Islamophobia machine’ encouraging violent attacks

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Following an acid bomb being hurled at a Muslim school in the Chicago suburb of Lombard, a spokesperson for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) told Raw Story that the number of attacks on American Muslims has escalated recently due in part to the Republican Party’s “Islamophobia machine” encouraging a tiny minority of extremists toward increasingly violent behaviors.

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Islamic school in Illinois hit with acid-filled bottle

Posted on by Bob Pitt

College Preparatory School of America

An Islamic school in west suburban Lombard is at least the second Muslim institution to report an attack this past weekend.

The Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago says the College Preparatory School of America, an Islamic school at 331 W. Madison St. in Lombard, was subjected to vandalism on Sunday night.

The council says someone hurled a 7-Up bottle filled with acid and other unspecified materials at the school during the nighttime Ramadan prayers.

During the prayer session, worshipers heard a loud bang and went to find an empty bottle thrown on the window of the school. No one was injured.

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Vandals shoot paintballs at Oklahoma City mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Oklahoma mosque vandalismThe Grand Mosque of Oklahoma City was fired upon by paintballs early Sunday, and the vandals fled the scene before they were apprehended.

About 2:45 a.m., the vandals pulled into the parking lot of the Grand Mosque, 3201 NW 48, and fired upon the building’s doors, Hassan Ahmed, the mosque’s imam and director said.

“A car pulled here in front of the main entrance and started shooting paintball guns, but at the time, I didn’t know it was that. I thought it was bullets they were shooting into the building. And I could hear when I was coming from the house, but before I reached there, they were gone,” Ahmed said.

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Racist yob jailed for revenge attack on Carlisle takeaway

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A man who took revenge on a kebab shop after his girlfriend was jailed for being part of a racist mob which launched a drunken attack on it has himself now been sent to prison.

Gavin Mossop, 27, spent one night in prison for contempt of court after shouting at the judge as he jailed the 11 racists in February. And he was back at the city’s Crown Court yesterday for his own drunken racist attack on the takeaway in Carlisle.

Mossop, who lives with his mother in Highmoor Park, Wigton, was jailed for nine months after pleading guilty to charges of taking revenge and racially aggravated public disorder.

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Man charged over Southampton mosque bomb hoax

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A 43-year-old man has been charged with making hoax bomb threats against mosques in the Southampton area.

Timothy Bingham, of Fairbairn Walk, Chandlers Ford, has been charged with committing a bomb hoax.

A call was made to police on Saturday night but police said they were satisfied the threat was not credible.

Mr Bingham, who appeared before Southampton magistrates, was remanded back into custody, to reappear before the court on Thursday.

BBC News, 14 August 2012

Settler teen arrested for West Bank mosque arson

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Judea and Samaria district police on Sunday arrested a 17-year-old settler they suspect took part in the “price tag” arson attack on a mosque in Jab’a, south of Ramallah, on June 19.

The boy was arrested at Lake Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee) where he was vacationing with his family.

Police detained two other youths last month in connection to the crime. Both were released due to insufficient evidence.

The arsonists at the Jab’a mosque spray-painted the words “Ulpana War” on a wall of the mosque, a reference to the contested outpost next to Beit El. The reference to Beit El led police to view the incident as a price-tag attack, the name given to acts of violence or vandalism committed to protest Israeli government actions against settlements.

Jerusalem Post, 13 August 2012

Shots fired at Illinois mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Muslim Education CenterMembers of a suburban mosque say someone took several shots with an air rifle last night at the building’s outer wall in Morton Grove.

According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, two air rifle shots were fired at the outer brick wall of the Muslim Education Center mosque, 8613 Menard Ave., damaging it.

A guard was working security at the center, where services were underway for Ramadan, when he heard a projectile hit the outside wall of the building at 9:20 p.m., said Morton Grove police Chief Mark Erickson.

No one was hurt and no one inside the center was near a window when the pellet-gun shooting happened, said the chief. “He was walking around outside and he heard this bang and he notified the police,” Erickson said of the guard.

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Muslim chess players victims of Islamophobia, racism and hate crime

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A Muslim family representing England in the European Chess Championships taking place in Austria allege to have been the victim of Islamophobia, racism and even physical hate crime. 13-year-old Yusuf Bin-Suhayl was attacked and left bleeding by the mother of a fellow English competitor.

The family have had a police escort to their hotel and tournament.  Father Sohale Rahman has made numerous complaints to the English Chess Federation who is overseeing the competition but to no avail.  Throughout the competition the Rahman family who have three children representing England have been subjected to bullying and hate crime.  Mother, Tomasina Contu, was spat on when she asked the father of one English competitor not to bully her son! It is of no coincidence that Tomasina wears a hijab.

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Website aimed at fundraising for Joplin mosque destroyed by fire

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Joplin mosque fire

JOPLIN, Mo. — An online fundraiser for the Islamic Society of Joplin is well on its way to its goal of $250,000.

The fundraiser, on the crowdsourcing website indiegogo.com, has caught the attention of people worldwide. The site is indiegogo.com/joplinmosqueofficial.

Kimberly Kester, a member and spokeswoman for the local mosque, said the contributions have come from faraway places, including Indonesia, Germany, Saudi Arabia and Singapore, and from mosques all over the United States. “It’s really amazing,” Kester said. “I’m really surprised and really thankful.”

Just before 5 p.m. Thursday, the website had raised more than $205,000 from 1,758 contributors. Of those, 216 had contributed $250 or more.

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