The Israel/Palestine Mission Network is deeply alarmed by the rise of Islamophobic attacks and threats here in the United States. We condemn this behavior, along with all other forms of hatred, discrimination, and violence. And we stand in solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters now and always.
For quite some time, but especially since the tragedies in Paris and San Bernardino, Muslims in America have been enduring a vicious array of attacks and threats. Revolting statements by presidential candidates and other politicians have grabbed the headlines. And the United States government continues to attack majority-Muslim countries and arm other nations to invade and occupy territories populated by Arabs and Muslims. But a series of attacks by ordinary people across this country have been taking place under the radar on a near daily basis for too long now.
Just yesterday, someone threw a severed pig’s head at a mosque in Philadelphia.
Last Wednesday, a man threatened to attack a mosque in Manassas, Virginia.
The day before, a bullet-ridden copy of the Quran was found hanging from an Islamic clothing store in Los Angeles.
On Thanksgiving, a Pittsburgh man shot a Moroccan taxi driver after interrogating him about his Islamic faith.
Earlier last month, an American man threatened a mosque in St. Petersburg, FL, saying that his militia was “going to come down to your Islamic Society of Pinellas County and firebomb you and shoot whoever is there in the head.”
A gunman fired multiple shots on a mosque in Meriden, CT.
Vandals in Pflugerville, TX spread feces over the door of a mosque and pages of the Quran.
A man in Cincinnati nearly ran over a young woman in a hijab after cursing at her and calling her a “terrorist.”
An Ethiopian American taxi driver was assaulted and threatened with a gun by a passenger in Charlotte, NC who thought he was Muslim (he was Christian).
In San Diego, a man shoved the stroller of a woman wearing a hijab into her visibly pregnant abdomen after making racist threats.
And the list—just in the past month—goes on and on and on.
We are called by Christ to condemn such hateful acts and to love our neighbors as ourselves.
We thus stand in solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters and urge you to do the same. We cannot remain silent.
Source: IPMC of PC (The Israel/Palestine Mission Network of Presbyterian Curch, USA)
