http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jKg0zXTyeDAHGxg1wXJe4UgAGqtAD8UN8VJ00
Fire Destroys Tenn. Mosque; Arson Eyed
COLUMBIA, Tenn. (AP) — A mosque was destroyed Saturday by a fire that federal investigators say appears to have been caused by arson. No one was injured.
Investigators found drawings of swastikas and other graffiti at the Islamic Center of Columbia, said Special Agent Eric Kehn of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Daoud Abudiab, president of the center, said authorities told him the fire probably started around 5 a.m. The graffiti included the words "white power" and "we run the world," Abudiab said.
"We have not had any trouble," he said. "This is the first incident."
Ten to 15 people regularly worshipped at the mosque, which opened in 2000. Abudiab said they plan to look for another place to worship in Columbia, about 50 miles south of Nashville.
"This has been home for us — Middle Tennessee and Columbia — since 1998, and people have been supportive and friendly and welcoming," he said. "Obviously, we are concerned, but it hasn't really sunk in yet."
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http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE5DC103FF937A25757C0A9619C8B63
National Briefing South: Florida: Mosque Arson Investigated
By TERRY AGUAYO
Published: April 14, 2007
A fire at a Tampa mosque and educational center was arson and is being investigated to determine if it was a hate crime, the authorities said. The fire began Thursday morning, when someone poured gasoline outside of a building adjacent to the Islamic Education Center of Tampa, the authorities said. Fire crews controlled the blaze at the empty building within 20 minutes. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, which investigates arsons at houses of worship, is involved in the investigation. Investigators found a plastic gasoline can at the scene and were ''assessing the situation and looking at the evidence,'' Special Agent Dave Couvertier said.
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These are just two of many post 9/11 attacks on mosques and Muslim-Americans. See http://www.adl.org/terrorism_america/adl_responds.asp
Also see: http://www.religioustolerance.org/reac_ter1.htm
Within 36 hours of the 9/11 bombings, attacks began on persons and mosques which were totally unrelated to the attacks:
Six bullets shattered windows of a mosque in Irving, TX. $3,000 in damage was caused.
A bag filled with blood and labeled 'Pig's blood' was thrown at the door of a mosque in San Francisco, CA.
Four bricks were thrown through the windows of a Muslim bookstore in Alexandria, VA. Also in Virginia, two mosques reported vandalism.
In Canada, the front doors at mosques in St. Catherines, ON and Montreal, PQ were fire-bombed, with minimal damage.
The British Broadcasting Commission (BBC) reported that there had been many death threats and assaults against Muslims.
Continuing harassment and attacks:
By 2001-SEP-25, three weeks after the attack, there have been many assaults on Muslims in the U.S. In addition, Sikhs are being targeted because some are being mistaken for Muslims. Hispanic-Americans have been harassed, presumably because of their skin color. One Egyptian Copt was murdered. Even members of the Baha'i Faith have been harassed. It is ironic that Baha'is are themselves viciously persecuted in Iran, and Copts are oppressed in Egypt.
Some examples are:
On the afternoon of Saturday, 2001-SEP-15, a gunman killed the 49 year old owner of a gas station in Mesa, AZ. He was a Sikh. His family believes that he was killed because he "looked Middle Eastern." Additional shots were fired at a Lebanese clerk and at the home of an Afghan family.
On the evening of Saturday, 2001-SEP-15, a gunman killed a Pakistani Muslim store owner in Dallas, TX.
Adel Karas, 48, an Egyptian-American grocer was shot and killed near his International Market store in San Gabriel, CA. He was a Copt -- neither Muslim nor Arab. No money was taken. Police are investigating the murder as a possible hate crime.
A man drove his car through the front entrance of Parma Mosque in Cleveland OH.
Also on Saturday, a Christian of Egyptian origin was shot dead in California.
Near Chicago, IL, there was a march in which about 300 anti-Arab youths waved flags, shouted "USA, USA," and attempted to march on a mosque in Bridgeview, IL -- a suburb southwest of Chicago. Colin Zaremba, 19, said: "I'm proud to be American and I hate Arabs and I always have." Three demonstrators were arrested.
In Chicago, a Molotov cocktail was thrown t an Arab-American community center. There were no injuries and little damage.
In Huntington, NY, Adam Lang, reportedly a drunken driver, 75, allegedly tried to kill a Pakistani woman with his car. He later followed the woman into a store and threatened to kill her for "destroying my country."
In Gary, IN, a man wearing a mask pumped over 20 bullets from a high-powered assault rifle at a Muslim, Hassan Awdah. He survived. Hassan is a U.S. citizen, born in Yemen.
In Lynnwood, WA, a mosque was vandalized.
In Suffolk County, NY, a man allegedly made anti-Arab threats and pointed a handgun at the employee of a gas station. He was arrested.
In a prison in Washington state, two inmates fought over an anti-Muslim slur.
a gasoline bomb was thrown into the home of a Sikh family in California.
Two mosques were firebombed with Molotov cocktails during the weekend of OCT-20-21. They are located in Burlington and Mississauga, near Toronto ON Canada. Kendrich House, 35, from Oakville ON has allegedly been charged.
Muslims elsewhere in the English speaking world were also targeted:
A 15 year old boy in Ottawa, Canada was attacked by a gang and badly injured.
The Samaj Hindu temple in Hamilton, ON, Canada was firebombed by an arsonist, causing $600,000 in damages. Police speculate that the perpetrator mistook the temple for a mosque.
Firebomb attacks on Canadian mosques causing minimal damage have occurred in Montreal, Quebec, St. Catherines, ON and Oshawa, ON.
In Australia, a school bus containing Muslim children was stoned.
Vandals tried set fire to a Lebanese Christian church, also in Australia.
Five days after the attack, the number of anti-Muslim incidents reported to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) reached 210. 8 By SEP-20, 9 days after the attack, Nihad Awad, executive director of the CAIR said: "...The bigoted acts of a small minority are creating an atmosphere of apprehension and fear." Their total of documented first-hand reports of intolerant acts reached 500. The more serious incidences are being investigated by the police as hate crimes.
Countless angry looks, obscene gestures, hate messages in Internet chat rooms and elsewhere on the Internet, bomb and other threats via telephone have targeted Muslim and Arab-Americans.
"These shameful acts against men, women and children targeted because of their religious beliefs, ethnicity or national origin violate basic principles of human rights and justice. Misguided violence at the hands of a few dishonors the nation's legitimate anger and shock over the immense loss of life and destruction from the September 11 attacks in the United States. Since Sept. 11, monitoring groups around the country have received several hundred complaints alleging crimes apparently motivated by bias and hate." Human Rights Watch, news release, 2001-SEP-24
"...those who feel like they can intimidate our fellow citizens to take out their anger don't represent the best of America, they represent the worst of humankind, and they should be ashamed of that kind of behavior." George W. Bush, during a visit to the Islamic Center in Washington DC on 2001-SEP-17
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