AhlulBayt News Agency

source : Patch
Tuesday

13 December 2022

10:59:16 AM
1330610

Islamophobia: Middlesex County Muslims condemn billboard truck

"We appreciate the efforts of the Woodbridge Police Department to increase police patrols around the masjid (mosque). It is very helpful, and all the support we've gotten from Mayor McCormac and Gov. Murphy," said Amjad Iqbal, a board member of the Muslim Community of New Jersey Masjid, the mosque located on 2nd Street in Fords.

AhlulBayt News Agency: The community has also thanked the support from local officials, including from Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac.

So far, McCormac has declined to speak publicly about the incident, where a truck showing Islamic terror photos parked in front of a Woodbridge mosque and then drove by three other mosques across Middlesex County that same day.

Gov. Phil Murphy previously tweeted it was an "anti-Muslim intimidation tactic of bigotry" that is "utterly unacceptable and downright shameful."

"We appreciate the efforts of the Woodbridge Police Department to increase police patrols around the masjid (mosque). It is very helpful, and all the support we've gotten from Mayor McCormac and Gov. Murphy," said Amjad Iqbal, a board member of the Muslim Community of New Jersey Masjid, the mosque located on 2nd Street in Fords.

Iqbal spoke at a press conference Sunday, where Muslim leaders from across Middlesex County gathered to address the string of four incidents.

The press conference was held Sunday afternoon at the Muslim Center of Middlesex County on Hoes Lane in Piscataway. Christian, Jewish and Hindu faith leaders also joined Muslim leaders at the podium.

In total, a truck showing photos from the 2008 Islamic terror attacks in Mumbai, India drove past four Middlesex County mosques on Nov. 26. All on the same day, the truck drove by:

    The Muslim Center of Middlesex County in Piscataway
    The Muslim Community of New Jersey Masjid in the Fords section of Woodbridge
    Masjid al-Wali in Edison
    The New Brunswick Islamic Center in North Brunswick

No arrests have been made. All four incidents have been reported to local police. The Middlesex County Prosecutor and the FBI are also investigating.

"This truck was outside our door for 45 minutes," said Iqbal, referring to the Fords mosque. "Forty five straight minutes displaying the violent images of the Nov. 26, 2008 attacks that occurred in Mumbai, India, thereby trying to draw an association with those events and the Muslim community."

"Now, these heinous crimes that happened in 2008 have already been condemned by the Muslim community over a decade ago and have nothing to do with Islam or the Muslims who live in this country today," he continued. "Furthermore, the driver and his accomplice came out of that truck. We have video footage of them taking a picture of the truck and the mosque. To do what else, but draw an association."

"This appears to be a testing of just how far they can push this," he said. "This appears to be the first step of how far they can push the limits. It also appears to potentially be retaliation for their recent bulldozer event, which was condemned."

Tension between Muslim-majority Pakistan and Hindu-majority India has remained extremely high since the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.

A woman who founded a group called Hindus for Human Rights spoke later at the press conference. She blamed the Nov. 26 incident on what she called "Hindu nationalism."

"I am so sad that this incident of hate happened. I don't know who committed this particular hate incident, however I do know that there were quite a few incidents of hate, which were perpetrated by members of my faith," she said. "I do not represent those people; those people do not represent me. My community is entrenched with Hindu nationalism. Many in my community think it is their dharma to stand up for this extreme Hindu ideology."

"I say to all of you, there are Hindus who stand with you," she said. "Please know that we exist and invite us to stand with you anytime you need us."

Iqbal started off his talk by saying that the tri-state area in general (NJ, NY and PA) and Middlesex County in particular "is a melting pot where people of different ethnicities and religious backgrounds have lived in harmony for decades."

"We will eventually get to the bottom of all this," vowed Piscatawy Mayor Brian Wahler at Sunday's press conference.


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