Mosques in U.S. That Have Experienced Violent, Prejudiced, or Racist Incidents
First online 9/2006, last updated 11/4/09
Mosques in the U.S. are becoming dangerous places. Type MOSQUE in The American Muslim site search engine and you will turn up 234 entries. I can’t help but think that the violent rhetoric of conservative and religious commentators in America has to be counted as at least partially responsible for what is going on. When people say that Arabs are sub-human or that Muslim leaders should be killed and Muslims all converted to Christianity, it cannot help but have some effect over time. Ignorance and racism are a lot more powerful than people realize. throw in a bit of fear (talk about mosques needing surveillance, or being hotbeds of extremism), and even the most evolved of us may fall prey. Much of this violence is the result of religiously motivated reprisals against the Muslim community in general for acts committed by particular individuals or organizations.
According to the most recent CAIR Report on hate crimes there was a 29% increase in anti-Muslim hate crimes in 2005. ”Overall, nine states and the District of Columbia accounted for almost 79 percent of all civil rights complaints to CAIR in 2005. These ten states are (in descending order): California (19%), Illinois (13%), New York (9%), Texas (8%), Virginia (7%), Florida (6%), District of Columbia (5%), Maryland (4%), Ohio (4%) and New Jersey (4%).”
We have been collecting information about mosque incidents for some time, and here is our (partial) list. If you know about other incidents, please contact us with the information.
- Hugh Fitzgerald Islamophobic article ”Tips For Visiting a Mosque” August 2006 - ACLU seeks answers about FBI mosque surveillance - Mosques are struggling - Response to “Are American Mosques Promoting Hate Ideology?”, Junaid Afeef - Boeing, Bell Helicopter Asked to Pull “Mosque Attack” Ad (Islamophobia) - U.S. Muslims Must Tackle Questions of Mosque and State Hasan Zillur Rahim - Mosque Guidelines to Fight Terrorism - Rep. Peter King says Mosque leaders are the enemy amongst us 2/04 - Online petition to close mosques and deport Muslims 2/04 - FBI to count local Muslims and mosques 2/03 - Michael Hurd Statement: Bomb the Mosques
MOSQUES IN THE U.S. THAT HAVE EXPERIENCED VIOLENT OR RACIST INCIDENTS OR BEEN VANDALIZED, BURNED, SHOT AT ...
Arizona - Imam verbally assaulted in Tempe mosque on 9/11 anniversary 9/11/07 - Acid bomb thrown near worshippers at Glendale Arizona mosque 8/07 - Tucson Mosque graffiti may be hate crime 4/07 - Anti Muslim Posters posted at mosque June 2006, - Glendale mosque burned December 2004 - East Tempe mosque vandalized 9/03
California
- Bakersfield mosque vandalized 6/09 - Cypress mosque (L.A. area) vandalized 6/3/09 - Bakersfield Mosque attacked 10/8/07 - East Contra Costa County mosque victim of arson 8/14/07 - Islamic Center of East Bay in Antioch victim of arson 8/13/07 - Haywood mosque causing quite a stir 2007 - Yermo mosque arson January 2007 - Shots fired into East Bay Mosque January 2007 - repeated attacks on East Bay mosques January 2007- Bin Laden effigy hung outside Culver City Mosque September 2006 - Southern Calif. Mosque vandalized second time August 2006 - Southern California Mosque vandalized August 2006 - Milpitas Mosque vandalized again June 2006 - front door shattered at Milpitas mosque May 2006 - threatening flyer left at Pomona mosque February 2006 - suspicious gas released in Sacramento mosque February 2006 - mosque vandalized September 2005 - Adelanto mosque arson June 2005 - San Luis Obispo mosque vandalized September 2003 - Milpitas mosque site vandalized June 2002 - Lomita mosque vandalized December 2001 - Concord mosque vandalized December 2001 - Pigs blood thrown at San Francisco mosque September 2001 - Conejo Valley mosque vandalized June 2001 - Yuba City mosque burned September 1994
Colorado - Fort Collins mosque vandalized April 2005 - Denver mosque receives threats May 2004 - plot to bomb Aurora mosque May 1999 - Fort Collins mosque vandalized January 1998 - Radio station employees harrass Denver mosque attendees 1996
Connecticut - Bridgeport mosque vandalized September 2001 - Meriden, Connecticut mosque denied zoning permit 1999
D.C. - Suspicious fire at Masjidash Shura December 2006 - Muslim Community Center sign vandalized September 2005
Florida - teens vandalize Miami mosque 7/3/09 - shots fired into Miami mosque and Islamic school 1/1/09 - Bricks thrown through windows of St. Petersburg Mosque 9/2007 - Islamic Education Center of Florida set afire. Investigation pending. 4/2007 - VIDEO: Witness to Florida Mosque Shooting speaks 2006 - Sniper Shooting at Florida Mosque during prayers September 2006 - Mosque defacement in Florida part of ongoing spree April 2006 - Broward County mosque vandalized April 2006 - Boca Raton mosque vandalized February 2005 - Boca mosque sign vandalized again 2/05 - Bomb explodes outside Champion Mosque July 2004 - Threatening message left at Islamic Center of Southwest Florida July 2004 - two mosques vandalized May 2004 - man drives truck into mosque March 2002 - Florida doctor arrested in mosque attack plot 2002 - Lake County mosque vandalized September 2001 - Tallahassee mosque vandalized September 2001
Georgia - police investigate fire at Scottsdale, Georgia mosque 7/25/07 - Augusta mosque vandalized September 2001 - Savanna mosque burned August 2003 - Clarkson mosque vandalized September 1995
Hawaii - anti-Muslim leaflets left at mosque October 2002
Idaho - Boise mosque targeted with swastika stickers March 2007 - Pigs head thrown into Lewiston mosque July 2006 - mosque vandalized October 2002
Illinois - Villa Park Mosque vandalized (4th vandalism in Chicago in 2 months) 10/08 - Chicago mosque vandalized 8/2007 - Schaumburg mosque ransacked August 2006 - Chicago mosque attacked March 2003 - Villa Park mosque vandalized March 1995 - 300 march on Bridgeview mosque September 2001 - arson at Arab American Center in Chicago November 2001 - Villa Park mosque vandalized 1995
Indiana - Michigan City Mosque vandalized July 2006 - Man found repelling from Bloomington mosque January 2006 - Bloomington mosque vandalized July 2005 - Evansville mosque vandalized September 2001 - Bloomington mosque vandalized February 1998
Kansas - Molotov coctail hurled through window of Kansas Muslim business 4/08
Kentucky - Lexington mosque vandalized September 2001
Louisiana - Shreveport mosque vandalized 8/1/07 - Muslim school vandalized March 2006 - Arabi mosque vandalized September 2001
Maine - Man shot leaving mosque in Portland, Maine 9/09 - Pig’s head thrown into mosque during prayers July 2006
Maryland - Gaithersberg, Maryland mosque target of paintball vandalism 11/08 - Frederick mosque vandalized for third time in 2007 - Frederick mosque vandalized February 2007 - shots fired into Mosque April 2006 - mosque vandalized September 2005 - cross burned in front of mosque July 2005 - Imam’s wife assaulted at mosque April 2004
Massachusetts - Islamophobic objections to Boston mosque expansion and [2] July 2006 - Massachussets Governor Suggests Wiretapping Mosques http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=283&theType=AA - Springfield mosque burned down December 2004
Michigan - break in at Dearborn Heights mosque 11/13/07 - community opposes new mosque in Ypsilanti, Michigan 7/25/07 - Four mosques in Detroit vandalized in past month January 2007 - Hate graffiti sprayed on Islamic Center of Detroit 2007 - Islamic Organization of North America Imam and mosque threatened 2007 - Islamophobic objections to Warren mosque May 2006 - Mosque Plan Exposes Islamophobia in Warren - Bangladeshi mosque vandalized March 2006 - mosque vandalized February 2006 - Defendant Pleads Guilty to Threatening Members of Detroit Mosque http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2005/November/05_crt_605.html - mosque vandalized September 2005 - cars vandalized in parking lot of Saginaw mosque November 2001 - Flint mosque vandalized October 1995
Minnesota - Muslims spit on outside Rochester mosque September 2007 - Minneapolis Mosque arson August 2006 - Three vandalism incidents in 3 days in Minnesota - Minneapolis mosque burned March 1999
Mississippi - Starkville mosque vandalized September 2001
Missouri - Cape Girardeau mosque vandalized 6/09 - Joplin mosque sign torched 9/08 - Imam Hussaini mosque in Saint Louis vandalized, windows broken 3/17/08 - Islamic Community Center (Masjid Madina) in South Saint Louis threatened over objections to minaret 2/2008 - Imam Hussaini mosque vandalized in Saint Louis 7/2007 - objections to new mosque in Saint Louis South County 7/2007 - Ballwin mosque vandalized June 2004
Nebraska - Vandals target Omaha Mosque 2008 - Lincoln mosque vandalized twice September 2005 - voice mail threat to mosque November 2004
Nevada - man beaten outside Reno mosque January 2005
New Jersey - Fire at Newark mosque January 2007 - Toms River mosque vandalized January 2006 - Bank closes New Jersey mosques account February 2005
New York - Muslim woman threatened with sexual assault outside Parker Mosque in Amherst 7/7/07 - Rochester mosque vandalized third time this year 5/07 - mosque vandalized August 2006 - mosque vandalized September 2005 - mosque vandalized April 2004
North Carolina - Durham, NC mosque vandalized 11/09
North Dakota - feces smeared on mosque October 2004
Ohio - Dayton mosque tear gassed with women and children inside 9/08 - Phone campaign against Ohio mosque 1/08 - Toledo Islamic School vandalized with Nazi ‘White Power’ Graffitti 9/07 - Rocks thrown at worshippers coming out of Columbus mosque Sept 2007 - new threats at Ohio mosque July 2006 - mosque bombed and [2] December 2005 - Columbus mosque vandalized December 2001 - shots fired at Toledo mosque September 2001 - man drives car into Parma mosque September 2001 - 2005 mosque bombing and other incidents still unsolved 7/25/07
Oregon Man shot leaving Portland mosque 9/1/2009 - Portland mosque threatened September 2001
Pennsylvania - Pittsburgh mosque vandalized 1/4/09 - Pennsylvania mosque received threatening letters October 2006 - FBI raid on Pittsburgh mosque July 2006 - Bigots don’t want to vote in Pennsylvania mosqe November 2005 - shooting in mosque parking lot November 2005 - Pennsylvania Man Charged in Mosque Shooting http://www.muslimnews.co.uk/news/news.php?article=10190 November 2005
South Carolina` Vandalism at Taylor, SC mosque 8/26/09 - Charleston mosque vandalized September 2001 - Greenville mosque burned October 1995
Tennessee - hate graffiti sprayed on burned mosque http://www.ccun.org/News/2008/February/16%20n/Hate%20Graffiti%20Sprayed%20on%20Burned%20Colombia,%20Tennessee,%20Mosque,%203%20Arrested%20and%20Charged.htm 2/08 - Feds charge three with firebombing Columbia, Tennessee mosque 2/08 - Qur’an defiled at Clarksville mosque 4/07 - Bullet Ridden Qur’an Thrown at Tenn. Mosque July 2006 - Nashville mosque bombed February 2006 - Memphis mosque shooting June 2000
Texas - Houston mosque defaced 10/09 - Shots fired at Corpus Christi Mosque 9/16/07 - Residents use pig races to deter building of mosque December 2006 - Lubbock mosque vandalized three times in one mongh 10/ 2006 - San Antonio mosque vandalized May 2006 - anti-Muslim sign posted on Houston Mosque February 2006 - Austin mosque vandalized again January 2006 - Irving mosque vandalized September 2005 - El Paso mosque firebombed September 2004 - Denton mosque firebombed September 2004 - Champion mosque vandalized June 2004 - shots fired at Denton mosque April 2004 - Lubbock mosque vandalized March 2004 - Houston mosque fire was arson February 2004 - shots fired at Irving mosque November 2001 - Austin mosque firebombed September 2001 - Irving mosque vandalized September 2001
Virginia - Dar al Hijra mosque vandalized 6/2007 - Islamophobic objections to Quantico Military Mosque December 2006 - mosque vandalized January 2006 - Sterling mosque vandalized November 2003 - James City mosque threatened September 2001 - Sterling mosque vandalized September 2001 - Norfolk mosque vandalized September 2001 - Tidewater mosque vandalized September 2001
Washington - Kennewick mosque vandalized January 2007 Patrick Cunningham Pleads Guilty in Attempted Arson at Washington Mosque 2002 - Mount Lake Terrace mosque vandalized November 2001 - Lynwood mosque threatened September 2001 - Arsonists attempt to burn Idriss mosque June 2001
Mosques in other countries that have experienced racist or violent incidents
2009 - Mosque attacked in Great Britain 10/09 - Another man attacked outside of mosque in South London 9/09 - Elderly man attacked outside South London mosque and subsequently died 9/09 - Mosque in Russia vandalized http://www.ucsj.org/news/police-detain-suspect-mosque-vandalism 9/09 - Eggs thrown at worshippers leaving http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/surrey/8233400.stm Surrey Englandmosque 9/09 - Vandalism at Toul, France mosque 8/20/09 - Bomb threats at Glasgow, Scotland mosque 7/09 - Racist thugs attack Stortford mosque in Britain http://www.islamophobia-watch.com/islamophobia-watch/2009/5/6/racist-thugs-attack-stortford-mosque.html 5/09 - Five injured in arson attack on Athens, Greece mosque 5/09 - Dorval, Canada Mosque vandalized a third time in 11 months 5/09 - arson attack on an Islamic centre in Luton, Britain 5/09 - Austria, a former Nazi concentration camp has been vandalized with anti-Muslim graffiti 2/09
2008 - Essex Jamme Masjid mosque in London’s southend vandalized http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/3982575.Young_thugs_attack_Southend_mosque/ 12/08 - arson attack on Lyon mosque in Francehttp://www.bordeglobal.com/foruminv/index.php?act=ST&f=95&t=40273& 12/08 - Jaffa mosque in Palestine vandalized with anti-Muslim graffiti http://english.wafa.ps/?action=detail&id=12442 12/08 - Mosque