‘Disgusting’: West Philadelphia Mosque Vandalized as Police Launch Investigation
Surveillance video captured a man spraying phrases such as “Give [peace sign] a chance” and symbols such as a Star of David and a communist emblem on the doors and walls of Masjid Al Jamia Mosque at 42nd and Walnut streets around 3:30 a.m.
The Philadelphia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) condemned the defacement as a hate crime and urged law enforcement authorities to investigate it as such.
CAIR-Philadelphia Executive Director Ahmet Tekelioglu also called on the city’s communities to stand united against Islamophobia and bigotry.
“This is the third mosque that has been defaced with bigoted language in the last two months. Our office continues to see an unprecedented uptick in reports alleging bias incidents and discrimination,” he said in a statement, adding, “The kind of violation Masjid Al-Jamia has seen is unacceptable.”
Members of the mosque, who continued to pray throughout the day despite the vandalism, expressed shock and sadness over the incident, but also resilience.
“I just couldn’t believe what happened. You know, it’s just absolutely disgusting. Whoever did this…I don’t know why. What was the motive?” said Ahmad Ibrahim, who has been worshiping at the mosque for more than 20 years.
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Calvin Shuja Moore, the director of the mosque, said the community was not angry or intimidated by the act of hate. “We’re used to this and we know that the community itself supports us, so there was no anger or anything like that,” he said.
Both Ibrahim and Moore invited the vandal and anyone else who harbors negative feelings towards Muslims to come and have a conversation with them at the mosque, which is open five times a day for prayers.
“We don’t want to see something like this again and if someone feels a certain way and wants to talk to us, anybody is more than welcome to come have a conversation and engage with us in a positive way,” Ibrahim said.
“Learn and try to understand the differences between one another and be fair and just with one another,” Moore added.
Philadelphia police said they have increased patrols in areas with synagogues and mosques in the city and asked anyone who sees anything suspicious to call 911 immediately.
Source: Agencies
