Muslim Americans gather at their mosques (also known as masjid) for Jummah (communal prayer) on Fridays, just as many Jews go to shul on Saturdays, and Christians of most sects attend church on Sundays. But the Fridays of followers of Islam in America are now fraught with peril and tension as congregants are faced with yet another growing wave of trumped-up Islamophobia.
I read the news of the arson attack on the Islamic Society of the Coachella Valley, also known as Masjid Ibrahim, on Friday, December 11, and watched the press coverage.
In the news clip below there is an interview with Alisa Shabazz, a black American Muslim, who was on her way to the masjid she has attended for 25 years. She said, “I’ve been a Muslim all my life, and I’ve never had to deal with this.”
Although alleged perpetrator Carl James Dial Jr. was arrested and charged with “arson, commission of a hate crime, maliciously setting a fire and second-degree burglary” (and has pled not guilty), this was not a lone incident. A scan of the news revealed articles about two Muslim women attacked in Tampa, Florida.
CAIR Florida issued a press release:
The Council on American-Islamic Relations - Florida (CAIR Florida) today assumed legal representation of two Muslim women victims of hate crimes in separate incidents. In the first incident, a hijab-wearing (scarf) Muslim woman in Hillsborough County was chased while driving her car. A man driving a car cut in front of her car while throwing rocks and other objects at her. At one point, he got out of his car and screamed and cursed at her. The victim felt even more threatened when the individual stated yelling, "I'm gonna cut her!"
In a second incident in the Tampa area, another hijab-wearing Muslim woman's car was shot at while leaving an Islamic Center. Fearing for her life, she proceeded to report it to the authorities immediately.
More and more Muslims will have to deal with this until we who are not Muslim stand up and fight back against the hate.
The Economist posted this video report:
With Western countries on high alert for terror attacks, nativist sentiment is increasing. In America, some politicians are stoking it for their own benefit
The video was linked to an article titled “This land is our land.” It examined cycles of hatred for incoming groups throughout American history.
A CENTURY ago many Americans fretted about a minority in their midst, which reputedly owed its first loyalty to an obscurantist faith, and which, in league with foreign conspirators, was poised to destabilise the country. In particular they suspected—as some Republican presidential candidates imply today—that houses of worship had become dens of sedition and vice. So it was that several states passed “convent-inspection” laws, to help uncover stashes of arms supposedly hidden in nunneries by Catholic traitors (as well as maidens immured against their will). Donald Trump, eat your heart out.
Actually Mr Trump’s plans for monitoring mosques are not the most egregious aspect of his anti-Muslim platform: the authorities of many mosques, having no wish to harbour extremists, already voluntarily liaise with the security services. Even uglier was the stampede, of governors and congressmen as well as presidential candidates, to insist that Barack Obama abjure his (rather paltry) plan to take in some 10,000 Syrian refugees next year. Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz advocated the selective admission of Christian Syrians; Ben Carson compared dangerous refugees to rabid dogs. The fact that European passport-holders pose a much greater threat than fleeing Syrians barely disturbed this meanspirited chorus.
After the atrocities in Paris, Muslims have replaced the much-maligned Mexicans as the main object of nativist ire. Alas, the rhetorical potential of hypothetical Syrians was quickly exhausted; some candidates soon progressed from the Muslims they want to keep out to those already in America. Mr Trump pledges to deport the few Syrian refugees who have come (along with 11m undocumented migrants). He revived the discredited canard that thousands of Arabs in New Jersey celebrated the destruction of the World Trade Centre in 2001. Worst of all, perhaps, he entertained the idea of a register of American Muslims, a prospect at which even Mr Cruz balked. He later sought to finesse that, perhaps in characteristic confusion about his own policies, maybe in the confidence that his intended audience had already heard him. Of course, on Muslims, both he and Dr Carson have pre-Paris form: Dr Carson seemed to suggest that no Muslim should become president; Mr Trump failed to object when a questioner suggested America “get rid” of all of them.
The New York Times ran an article entitled ”California Police and F.B.I. Open Hate Crimes Inquiry Into Vandalism of Mosques.”
Such a mild term, “vandalism.” Collective terrorism seems far more accurate.
U.S. Uncut posted “There Have Been 19 Hate Crimes Against Muslims in the Past Week” on December 12, with a list.
In the days since Donald Trump proposed banning Muslims from the US in a December 7 speech, there has been a wave of anti-Muslim attacks across the US, with some being prosecuted under hate crime laws. Because all of these incidents took place just in the past week, none of the alleged perpetrators mentioned here have been convicted. And while not all of the victims mentioned are Muslims, they were undoubtedly targeted due to the perpetrator’s false perception that the victim was Muslim.
2015 has been the deadliest year on record for American Muslims, with 63 recorded attacks on mosques. The previous high was 2010, with 53 attacks targeting Islamic worship centers. 17 of those attacks took place in November. That’s also three times as many Mosque attacks when compared to last year. In 2014, Muslims were the target of 154 hate crimes. The number for 2015 hasn’t yet been tallied, although this year’s hate crime number is expected to surpass the 2014 total.
These are ugly statistics. It’s more than likely they will get uglier.
Islam is currently the third largest faith tradition in the U.S. Yet few non-Muslims learn much about the faith and its diverse followers—who number 1.6 billion worldwide—other than the education they get from the news, which usually portrays Muslims as terrorist jihadists. According to Pew, “most Americans – who live in a country with a relatively small Muslim population – say they know little or nothing about Islam.“
We need to change that, and those of us who are bloggers and educators can take part in that process. I’ve written about the history of black American Muslims and Islamophobia in Black Kos, pointing out that one of the world’s most famous and beloved figures is Muhammad Ali. He’s one of many well known sports figures who are Muslim, and the list also includes some of our preeminent figures in jazz.
We can push back against the hate on social media in two ways: Provide links to accurate and educational materials, and support groups like The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). You can also reach out to neighbors and co-workers who are Muslim, and visit or send messages of support to mosques in your area. They don’t even have to be in your area, since social media eliminates geographical distance. If you are a member of religious communities, encourage them to get involved. Recently 1,000 American rabbis signed a letter welcoming Syrian refugees. Faith leaders in cities across the U.S., like this group in Columbus, Ohio, and this group in Nashville, Tennessee, have been speaking out.
If you have never seen An American Mosque, take time out to do so, and pass it on.
The full documentary can be viewed here (run time is 27 minutes).
An American Mosque is a timely documentary about religious freedom and the struggle against intolerance set in a rural California town. Sparked by the destruction of a mosque, we witness how a farming community responds to hate through painful but ultimately positive discussions about the perception of Islam in America and our responsibility to defend everyone’s constitutional right to worship.
When the Islamic Center of Yuba City was burned to the ground in 1994, it became the first hate-crime to destroy a mosque in U.S. history. On a warm summer night, arsonists broke into the newly-constructed sanctuary, doused prayer rugs with gasoline, then lit the building ablaze. The mosque was reduced to ashes. In shock, everyone asked: Why would someone attack a community’s house of worship? For the first time in An American Mosque, the film’s characters share their stories – speaking passionately about hard work and anticipation, heartbreak and fear, triumph and hope. Members of other faiths echo their words, expressing compassion, support, and a shared desire for justice in the wake of the arson. Although deeply saddened, the community’s spirit was not shaken. They wanted to show that all Americans, including Muslims, are entitled to a religious sanctuary and the right to practice their faith openly. The community re-doubled their efforts and constructed a second mosque in the footprint of the first. This story went largely unpublicized at the time of the fire. Now, twenty years later, it is being widely shared for the first time.
National Republican candidates aren’t the only people stoking fear. Recently my local sheriff jumped on the pump up the guns bandwagon.
We have work to do.
#fighthate