FBI probing threatening calls received by CAIR
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The FBI is investigating a complaint from the Connecticut office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) that received two phone calls threatening retaliation against Muslims “if anything happens again in this country”, courant.com reported.
Hamza Ismail Collins, a CAIR spokesman, said the phone calls were received on Wednesday and were made to a mobile phone used by the group’s New London office.
Collins said the man who made the call, whom he described as “irate”, made derogatory remarks about Islam and said he wanted Muslims “out of the country.”
Although CAIR has received phone calls from people who have made offensive remarks about Islam before, Collins said it was the first time since the New England office opened three years ago that it received a call that appeared to be an actual threat.
He said the caller initially left a massage on the mobile phone, adding that when he dialled the Massachusetts number from which it apparently came from, he heard a voicemail recording and hung up.
About an hour later, a call came from a man who repeated the earlier threat, Collins said.
Vicki Woods, an FBI spokeswoman in New Haven, said the bureau had received CAIR’s complaint about the phone calls and was investigating the incident.
She said a call could be considered a hate crime if there was any indication that life or personal safety is in danger because of a threat.
Collins said recent 9/11 remembrances have included discussions that wrongfully associate Islam to fascism, adding that this has further inflamed anti-Muslim sentiment.
"Islam is a faith - it should not be linked to fascism any more the Judaism or Christianity,” he said.
Many Muslim leaders have criticized President Bush for saying that the United States was at war with “Islamic fascism”.
On Monday, CAIR is due to release its annual report that examines the status of Muslim civil rights in the United States.
The report, titled "The Struggle for Equality," is expected to show an increase in complaints of anti-Muslim harassment, violence and discrimination over the past year.
Last year’s report showed that the number of assault or other discriminatory complaints filed with CAIR increased from 1,019 in 2003 to 1,972 in 2005.
CAIR, the U.S.'s largest Muslim advocacy group, has 31 offices and chapters throughout the U.S. and Canada. Its mission is to improve the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil rights, help American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.