Hate Speech at Ohio Mosque?

Officials with the Ahlul Bayt Society Islamic Center in Columbus report that a white male was captured on surveillance video vandalizing the door of the mosque this morning with graffiti such as “Allah is a fraud.” The alleged vandal reportedly drove to the scene in a vehicle covered with pro-Trump and anti-Hillary Clinton slogans.

“We urge the FBI to add its resources to the investigation of this hate incident and call on local, state and national leaders to repudiate the growing anti-Muslim bigotry in our society that results in such crimes,” said CAIR-Ohio Legal Director Romin Iqbal.

Iqbal noted that CAIR is investigating other reports of hate crimes against Muslims in Central Ohio.

CAIR’s national headquarters in Washington, D.C., has noted an unprecedented spike in hate incidents targeting Muslims and other minority groups since the November 8 election.

A soon-to-be-published CAIR report on Islamophobia in America is expected to show that 2016 was the worst year on record for incidents in which mosques were targets of bias.

The Washington-based Muslim civil rights group is asking Muslim community members to report any bias incidents to police and to CAIR’s Civil Rights Department at 202-742-6420 or by filing a report on their website.