Vandals spray death threats, racial slurs on O.C. mosque

In the 13 years since a plain-looking, single-story mosque was built on a quiet Cypress street, the local Muslim American community had found what they believed was a peaceful place of worship.

The prominent mosque had a good relationship with its neighbors, including a Korean Presbyterian church whose congregation sometimes used the mosque’s parking lot.

But that quiet was shattered early today when vandals painted death threats, profanity and anti-Muslim slurs on the walls of the Islamic Center of Cypress. The graffiti stretched 5 feet high and was painted on the front and side walls of the mosque.

Cypress police are classifying the vandalism as a hate crime. A police officer on routine patrol spotted the graffiti on the mosque, on the 5000 block of Ball Road, about 4 a.m.. The paint was wet, said Sgt. Tom Bruce. The city’s public works department painted over the vandalism later in the morning.

Members of the local Muslim community were shaken by the incident, said Shakeel Syed, executive director of the Anaheim-based Islamic Shura Council of Southern California.

“Unfortunately, Islamaphobia remains healthy and alive and well,” he said. “This mosque has always been peaceful. Our concern is rooted in our experiences in other communities across the board where we have seen threatening phone calls, e-mails, and letters.”

Syed said mosque leaders did not know what triggered the incident. He speculated it could have been President Obama’s speech this morning to the Arab world, or some other event.  “We have no clue whatsoever,” he said.

The annual Orange County Human Relations Commission report released last month listed 79 reported hate crimes in 2008, compared with 80 the previous year. There were two reported hate crimes targeting people perceived to be Muslims last year and an additional 10 crimes classified as hate-related.

-- My-Thuan Tran

Comments

[Rabbi Jonathan Klein]

There is no place in the United States for hate crimes. It is an affront to ALL Americans, and the cowardice shown by guerrilla graffiti attacks just shows that ultimately these hate mongers themselves know that they are losing the long-term fight. To Shakeel and friends, Chazak V'ematz. Be strong and take courage.

Blessings,
Rabbi Jonathan Klein
Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE-LA)

[steve rodriguez]

In America only defacing Christan houses of worship, will be tolerated!

[Dina Rehman]

To steve rodriguez: It's really sickening to see jealousy in times of adversity. The fact that something happened to Muslims can't be acknowledged because everyone's been brainwashed to believe Muslims can only be the villians. It just shows how well the 9/11 "War on Terrorism" agenda worked to instill hatred toward Muslims, not terrorism. Anyone that doesn't realize that terrorism is a self created thing by the US Govt is stupid.