Masjids Vandalized

ANAHEIM, CA, 8/14/06) -
The Southern California office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) said today that an area mosque has been vandalized for a second time in just one week.An official of the La Mirada mosque told CAIR-LA that a door of the facility was damaged by projectiles sometime between 2 and 5 a.m. Monday. Last Thursday, vandals shot out two windows of the same mosque.CAIR-LA is calling on the FBI and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to investigate both incidents as possible hate crimes.The mosque has been a target of hate incidents in the past. It received written messages such as, "The Muslim religion is a cult and that Mohammed is a terrorist and an outlaw," and, "No future for Muslims in the U.S.A.""Those who target houses of worship must be apprehended and prosecuted to the full extent of the law, regardless of their motive," said CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush.Ayloush said a series of similar incidents has been reported in recent months by Muslim individuals and institutions nationwide. There has been particular concern in the Muslim community following reports of a plot in Britain to bomb airliners traveling to the United States and because of tensions caused by the conflict in the Middle East.As a response to anti-Muslim incidents, CAIR published a "Muslim Community Safety Kit." The safety kit may be obtained free of charge by e-mailing pubs@cair-net.org. (Include name, address and phone number when requesting the safety kit.)CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 32 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.CONTACT: Munira Syeda at CAIR-LA, 714-776-1847 or 714-851-4851, E-Mail: socal@cair.comSEE ALSO:
CA: VANDALISM STIRS HATE FEARS - TOP
Giselle Sotelo, Whittier Daily News, 8/14/06
http://www.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_4175666
Local Muslim leaders said Saturday they were afraid of a backlash in the aftermath of a thwarted bomb plot in Britain and said vandals who attacked a La Mirada mosque last week committed a hate crime.The mosque - which occupies a storefront in a strip mall at 15077 Imperial Highway - had two large windows shot out with a BB gun Thursday, said Rezaur Rahman president of the Muslim Community Service, Inc.Authorities don't believe the attack on the mosque was a hate crime, but may be connected to a string of BB gun shootings that took place within a two-hour time span in the La Mirada area that night, a Los Angeles Sheriff's Department sergeant said."The FBI was notified and deemed it not a hate crime," Sgt. Brian Doyle said. "Other than the fact that the BBs were shot at the window, there was nothing ... to show they were singled out."But Muslim community members were skeptical. Rahman pointed out that the pictures of minarets on the windows were targeted. The decorated windows will cost between $1,600 to $2,000 to replace, he said. The windows are now boarded up, he said.He urged the Muslim community to be extra vigilant in light of a recent thwarted terrorist bomb plot and unrest in the Middle East, Rahman said. (MORE)---