Islamic center vandalism being investigated

FBI OPENS INVESTIGATION ON VANDALISM AT MICHIGAN CITY ISLAMIC CENTER - TOP JERRY DAVICH, Northwest Indiana Times, 7/12/06
http://nwitimes.com/articles/2006/07/12/news/top_news/146c7ee2290a8cf4862571a9000a31c7.txt PINE TOWNSHIP The FBI has opened a federal criminal investigation into the potential hate crime vandalism recently at the Michigan City Islamic Center."We take these cases very seriously," FBI special agent Wendy Osborne said.Last week, Muslim-American leaders of the center, located at 1606 N. County Road 500 East, called the $8,600 damage to their mosque a "systematic hate crime." The mosque serves about 150 families.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.A national Islamic civil rights group, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, called on local and national law enforcement authorities to investigate the incident as a possible hate crime."Given the type of vandalism reported and the growing level of anti-Muslim rhetoric in our society, it is only prudent to investigate a possible bias motive in this case," said CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper.Abraham Hakim, president of the Michigan City Islamic Center, said the FBI has contacted center officials and that it is important for his center's leaders "not to hide" from such incidents.At the least, the vandalism may have planted seeds of intimidation and the second-guessing of safety for Muslim-American center members, he said. He also noted that he has not heard from the center's neighbors or broader community after the incident was publicized.