Alwaght- A leading US Muslims organization has called on state and federal law enforcement agencies to investigate vandalism at a Texas mosque as a possible hate crime.
The Houston chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Houston) said vandals shattered the glass door of Masjid Al-Ahad in Katy, Texas, on Monday while prayers were at the mosque. Mosque officials say the vandals may have watched to know when it would be empty. The mosque is located next to a church and restaurants, but it was the only facility vandalized. Nothing was stolen from the mosque.
“Because of the recent hate campaign targeting mosques nationwide and the anti-Muslim remarks by public officials, we urge law enforcement authorities to investigate a possible bias motive for this crime,” CAIR-Houston Executive Director Mustafaa Carroll said on Friday.
Earlier this month, CAIR urged Muslim community leaders to consider instituting additional safety measures in response to hate rallies by anti-Muslim extremists targeting mosques nationwide.
CAIR, the largest US Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, recently called for hate crime charges against a man arrested after allegedly threatening Muslim worshipers at a prayer service in Ohio.
In August, CAIR released a new brief, called "Toxic Hate," indicating that rhetorical attacks on the nation's Muslim community in the past year have a "more violent tone" than past spikes in Islamophobic sentiment.
The CAIR brief outlines incidents of violence and threats targeting individual Muslims, threats against groups of Muslims and threats and violence targeting Islamic houses of worship and institutions. It also includes a section on the recent phenomenon of armed anti-Islam demonstrations.