Chicago: Gym Faces Repeated Attacks as Anti-Muslim Hate Up 196%
Redzovic Jiu-Jitsu, located at 4900 N. Lincoln Ave., has been shot at twice this summer.
"It's either a BB gun or a bullet," CBS News quoted Idriz Redzovic as saying.
The shattered glass has left Redzovic and his cousin, the gym's owner, questioning the motive behind these attacks. "I hope it's someone being mischievous," Redzovic added, "because if it's not, you know, this is a concern."
Surveillance footage shows a vehicle pulling up and firing at the gym's glass late at night. This is the second incident in recent weeks.
Redzovic suspects the attacks might be linked to their Muslim faith. His cousin runs "The Deen Show," a popular YouTube talk show discussing Muslim issues, which has millions of followers worldwide.
"I don't know if they're targeting him because of the show or because our gym is Muslim-operated and owned," Redzovic said.
The gym, at the corner of Lincoln Avenue and Ainslie Street, has been in operation since 2000 but only recently faced such issues. "The first two times, they didn't get nobody," Redzovic noted, "but the third time, they might hit somebody."
A week earlier, shattered glass was also found at the Muslim Community Center off Elston and Montrose avenues.
"On Facebook and Instagram around this time of year, you see a lot of hate toward Islam and Muslims," Redzovic said, noting the proximity to 9/11.
Meanwhile, the Council on American Islamic Relations Chicago has called for a hate crime probe.
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The rights advocacy group recently announced that hate crimes against Muslims and Palestinians in Chicago have surged by 196 percent since October 7.
Maggie Slavin, CAIR-Chicago's operations manager, told Anadolu Agency on Tuesday that the rise is "raising concerns."
Slavin reported incidents occurring in workplaces, schools, and public spaces, with many individuals facing repercussions for expressing pro-Palestine views. While some police departments have been cooperative, Slavin described their overall response as "uncertain," often requiring persistent follow-ups.
She also highlighted an increase in federal surveillance, drawing parallels to the post-9/11 era. "We've received a lot of calls about inappropriate interactions from the FBI or federal authorities," Slavin said, describing the situation as feeling like "a witch-hunt."
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CAIR reported a 70 percent increase in the United States in the first half of 2024 amid the Israeli regime’s war on Gaza.
The organisation received almost 5,000 complaints of anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian incidents, including the stabbing of a 6-year-old Palestinian-American child in Illinois.
Most of the complaints were in the categories of immigration and asylum, employment discrimination, education discrimination, and hate crimes.
Source: Agencies
