LA MIRADA - The vandalism of a La Mirada mosque is not being investigated as a hate crime, Sheriff's Department officials said Tuesday.
Someone threw a rock through the mosque's newly installed rear doors between 2 and 6 p.m. Monday, according to Rezaur Rahman, the president of Muslim Community Services Inc.
"This is not being classified as a hate crime right now because there is nothing to substantiate it as one," said Lt. Pat Valdez of the sheriff's La Mirada Station. "(But) we are very concerned about it and have already notified our department's Terrorism Early Warning Group."
The congregation finished prayer at 2 p.m. Monday and Rahman did not return until before the evening's prayer session.
"Everything was fine before I left the mosque yesterday afternoon, and when I returned later that evening, I noticed shattered glass on the floor near our newly installed doors," Rahman said.
"I found a rock lying among the shattered glass and was very surprised that it could have broken through our very strong, double-layered doors," he said.
Deputies from the sheriff's Norwalk Station responded to the scene, 14225 Imperial Highway, 10 minutes after Rahman reported the incident.
Authorities took pictures and secured the rock as evidence.
The report has been filed as a vandalism incident and additional patrols have been placed in the mosque's area to ensure its safety until the investigation is completed, officials
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said.
The mosque opened on Feb. 16 after an eight-month renovation that began in July 2010.
"This is something that motivates me to create a peace rally," Rahman said.
Rahman said he contacted Rabbi Mark Goldfarb of Temple Beth Ohr and the Rev. Bill Miller of United Methodist Church, relaying the news regarding the incident and his interest in organizing a community peace rally.
"We're all concerned with the situation and the Whittier Area Interfaith Council is determined to make it clear that this is not acceptable in our community," Miller said.
"It is an outrage and when one of us is hurt, we're all hurt and it's our job to stand together when things like this happen," he said.
The congregation reconvened at 9:30 p.m. Monday for prayer which lasted until 5 a.m. Tuesday.
"At first we were afraid to publicize this, but we think it's better if we do because we need to do our part to let everyone know that we're here and we want peace," Rahman said.
"It's deeply troubling to hear about the incident at the La Mirada mosque. Unfortunately mosque vandalism around the nation is not uncommon, however, we should remember those incidents are not widespread and the American Muslim community continues to live in peace and harmony with their American neighbors and citizens," Munira Syeda, a spokeswoman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said Tuesday.
"It is also important to remember that as Americans, we need to continue to increase bridge-building and the understanding of our various minorities and those who may not know that much about the Islamic and Muslim faith. Mosques are American houses of worship and the Muslim faith is a positive part of our country. We ask mosque members to remain vigilant and report vandalism incidents to their local authorities right away," Syeda said.
A similar incident took place on March 19, one month after the mosque opened.
"Luckily no one was here when the incident took place because someone could have been hurt," Rahman said.
Sadly so much emphasis has been placed on us as being the enemy in the media, homeland security has overlooked the possibility that the biggest threat in America just may be extremist Far Right groups. This has hit home in my current battle with trying to have a simple Mosque in central North Dakota. With all the emphasis that has been placed on Muslims, others have been given a free reign and those may be the real danger the USA will face.
Daryl Johnson, the Department of Homeland Security analyst who was the primary author of the report, said in an interview that after he left the department in 2010, the number of analysts assigned to non-Islamic militancy of all kinds was reduced to two from six. Mr. Johnson, who now runs a private research firm on the domestic terrorist threat, DTAnalytics, said about 30 analysts worked on Islamic radicalism when he was there.
The killings in Norway “could easily happen here,” he said. The Hutaree, an extremist Christian militia in Michigan accused last year of plotting to kill police officers and planting bombs at their funerals, had an arsenal of weapons larger than all the Muslim plotters charged in the United States since the Sept. 11 attacks combined, he said.
I have a nitpick here, with the phrase "hate crime". Can we just remove that from our vocabulary? Is there such a thing as a "love crime"? Aren't all crimes "hate crimes"? If I kill you, it's not because I love you (unless I'm OJ Simpson, but I digress).
I have a nitpick here, with the phrase "hate crime". Can we just remove that from our vocabulary? Is there such a thing as a "love crime"? Aren't all crimes "hate crimes"? If I kill you, it's not because I love you (unless I'm OJ Simpson, but I digress).
Salaam,
Well hate crimes means the offender attacked a person because they are from a certain background or have a particular belief. It is a useful way of determining the motive of the offender and what sentence to pass and how this individual can be rehabilitated.
I was looking at myself talking to myself and I realized this conversation...I was having with myself looking at myself was a conversation with myself that I needed to have with myself.
Well hate crimes means the offender attacked a person because they are from a certain background or have a particular belief. It is a useful way of determining the motive of the offender and what sentence to pass and how this individual can be rehabilitated.
Eh, I understand that part, but I just think it's a little stupid to label a crime a "hate crime." I think all crimes are hate crimes when you get down to it.
Eh, I understand that part, but I just think it's a little stupid to label a crime a "hate crime." I think all crimes are hate crimes when you get down to it.
Not necessarily. Speeding is a crime but there is no hatred involved. =)
I was looking at myself talking to myself and I realized this conversation...I was having with myself looking at myself was a conversation with myself that I needed to have with myself.
Well I don't really consider speeding a real crime, not in the same sense as armed robbery or murder. But, I see your point.
I understand what you mean. Crimes that involve physical violence towards individuals or property must involve an element of hatred. So it does seem kinda pointless when you label these types of crime as hate crimes...
I was looking at myself talking to myself and I realized this conversation...I was having with myself looking at myself was a conversation with myself that I needed to have with myself.
Not necessarily. All it takes to do a crime is self-interest. Do you think professional hitmen hate their targets? Why would they, their targets are selected by whoever is paying them for the job.
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