Chicago Suburban Mosque in Villa Park vandalized for 4th time in recent months !
Dare I say the hate-mongering in the political campaign is having an effect far beyond the 'off with his head' and 'terrorist' badgering at McCain's Rallies. It is bringing out the worst, the most shameful, the most regrettable choices by some of us. As Americans, let us say loud and clear, "NOT IN OUR NAME!"
October saw The Islamic Foundation Mosque in west suburban Villa Park being vandalized for the fourth time in less than two months. This is one of the largest mosques both in Chicago and in the country, and houses a school of approximately 700 students from kindergarten through twelfth grade, as well. The incident is under investigation. A 5-gallon tank of flammable liquid was thrown into the mosque's school, and two windows were broken. No one was hurt in the attack. This is not the first time in the mosques history that Muslims have been the targets of hate crimes.
" There are a lot of different kinds of people in this world. Even if someone doesn't like Muslims, they should not commit these acts. There is no reason for people to do such evil things," says Inaara Hussein, 10, a student at the Islamic Foundation School.
Violent incidents against Muslims and their mosques are often triggered by national and international news items, says a religious tolerance.org report.
This most recent hate crime comes close on the heels of another incident two weeks earlier where
mosque leaders found a Jewish Star of David scrawled on a wall of the mosque, the officials said. Prior to that, anti-Islamic graffiti was spray-painted on the wall of the mosque's school and in a separate incident windows to the school were shattered,
according to a report by Deborah Horan, Chicago Tribune
Islamic Foundation has been a local landmark since the early 1980s. Despite the recent string of hostile attacks, the mosque enjoys many friends and supporters in the neighboring community where it partakes in interfaith activities on a weekly basis with area churches and synagogues. US Congressman Peter Roskam and past mayors of Villa Park have attended dinners at Islamic Foundation.
"We are very surprised that this is happening to us, we are so involved in the local community and bear no animosity towards anyone," says Abdur-Rahman Khan, the Mosque's religious and spiritual leader.
"We know in our hearts that the vast majority of our neighbors support us, but this malicious minority is getting bolder and their attacks are intensifying," Khan added.
"We call upon law enforcement to find the vandals and determine whether this is indeed a hate crime. We must all stand against hate and do what we can to bring the perpetrators of this senseless crime to justice," says Christina Abraham, Civil Rights Director of CAIR-Chicago.
Islamic Foundation is at the heart of a thriving, affluent Muslim community in the West suburbs of Chicago. It runs one of the largest Mosques in North America and hosts several thousand worshipers every week. Islamic Foundation School has nearly seven hundred students
CAIR is urging Muslims nationwide to review security procedures using advice contained in CAIR's "Muslim Community Safety Kit." SEE: CAIR Muslim Community Safety Kit
In September, CAIR released its annual report on the status of American Muslim civil rights. That report, called "Without Fear of Discrimination," outlined 2,652 incidents and experiences of anti-Muslim violence, discrimination and harassment in 2007. To view the entire report, click HERE.
As to what the community members can do to stem the tide of hate mongering? Be the first to speak out against it - publicly & privately. As it says in the poem "First they came..." which is attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892-1984), if you don't speak up to help your neighbors, there will be none to help you should you need it.
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I was not a Jew.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.