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Ibad Jamaat Masjid Ar-Rahman has become a victim, more than just vandalism but also racism. (News CAIRO)
Ibad Jamaat Masjid Ar-Rahman has become a victim, more than just vandalism but also racism. (News CAIRO)
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Durham (News CAIRO) - When Iqbal Ahmad survey the damage to the mosque Fayetteville Street, the outbreak of the windows and doors, he stole a computer monitor, which overturned Sunday school supplies, he concluded this was not ordinary theft.
"A thief does not destroy all the windows and doors," said Ahmad, who served in the maintenance Ibad Jamaat Masjid Ar-Rahman. Ahmad discovered the damage when he came to pray on Monday morning.
More worrying for Ahmad and other leaders at the mosque is what they see as a pattern. This summer someone broke some windows and doors the same. And six months ago, during worship, two men opened the door and started throwing stones while shouting obscenities. The incident was reported to the police, but no arrests made.
This is the third violent incident in Jaamat Ibad Ar-Rahman. Mosque leaders said they first saw the damage when the congregation comes to morning prayers on Monday. Mosque leaders said they want police to increase patrols.
Mosque leaders and national Muslim advocacy group wondered whether the disorder should be investigated as a hate crime.
"We ask law enforcement to investigate at least with a view toward patterns of bias," said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Washington.
The mosque is located within a few hundred yards from the police substation next to Food Lion on Fayetteville Street.
Durham Police Capt. Rick Pendergrass said that the investigation had begun and that it was too early to comment on.
"We consider all serious crimes, especially if it happens to religious institutions," said Pendergrass.
The mosque, located in a low brick building near the campus of North Carolina Central University, perhaps the oldest in the Triangle. Founded in 1981 and moved to current location in 1988. He attracted a diverse group of Muslims, most of whom are new immigrants.
About 500 people attended Friday afternoon prayers. But like many mosques, the room also serves as a community center. There is a playground in front, and offices as well as Sunday school classrooms are next to the room of worship.
"There are women and children in here all the time," said Faisal Khan, one congregation to another. "People are afraid. This is a consideration of safety."
Ibad Ar-Rahman into the news this summer after the arrest of seven people hit by accusations of terrorism Triangle. The leader of the group, Daniel Boyd and his family, worship in the mosque, although the mosque itself is not thought to get a part in the indictment.
Vandalism is not uncommon in mosques throughout the country. A spokesman for CAIR, a Muslim advocacy group, said that seeing a spike in such incidents during the Muslim holy month, Ramadan, recently. In October, a mosque in Houston has been destroyed, and the house of a Muslim woman who followed the election for city council in San Francisco were pelted with eggs.
But people who pray at the mosque are those who obey the law and has worked hard in establishing good relations with their neighbors, said Imam Amr Dabour, worship leader at the mosque.
"The mission of this place is clear," said Dabour. "We want to practice our religion of peace and security. We're not against anybody."
Until the doors can be repaired, some people have started sleeping in the mosque to prevent any more incidents.
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