Elham Asaad Buaras
An Islamic centre in Chicago, Illinois, was vandalised after the assailant shouted “All Muslims should die” at frightened worshippers on March 17.
Surveillance footage from the Downtown Islamic Centre shows worshippers encountering the assailant as they enter the building to pray Ramadan Tarawih prayers at 8 p.m.
According to witnesses, the man had made threats at the worshippers and shouted, “All Muslims should die,” before leaving and returning with an object, which he hurled at the centre’s glass door, shattering it.
Salman Azam, a member of the centre’s executive board, said the incident left the worshippers shocked, but he hopes the police “swiftly apprehend this individual and prosecute so it can send a message that this won’t be tolerated.”
Azam also voiced concern about the surge in anti-Muslim sentiment during Ramadan, heightened by the violence in the Middle East. “We saw a spike in Islamophobia and hate crimes taking place when the Israel-Hamas conflict first started, but this incident shows us that this is still prevalent,” Azam said.
Anti-Muslim and anti-Arab incidents tracked by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) are on the rise nationally, up 178 per cent in the last three months of 2023 from the previous year, the organisation said.
The Chicago chapter of CAIR urged officials to investigate the vandalism as a potential hate crime.
“Because of the alleged threats made to worshippers and the vandalism targeting the mosque, we urge state and federal law enforcement authorities to investigate this incident as a possible hate crime and to step up security for this and other houses of worship in the area,” CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab said in a statement.
Dalia Ali, who works at the Council of Islamic Organisations of Greater Chicago, located in the same building as the Centre, said the incident serves as a painful reminder of recent acts of violence against Muslims, such as the murder of 6-year-old Palestinian American Wadee Alfayoumi on October 14, 2023. She said mosques should be a safe space.
“It’s very saddening to hear that this is what we’ve come to, and instead of this being a time to come for peace, justice, and unity, people are fueled by hate,” Ali said. No one was hurt, and no arrests have been made.
