Muslims face vandalism, threats after attacks - Brief Article

National Catholic Reporter, Sept 21, 2001 by Gill Donovan

American Muslims across the United States were subject to acts of vandalism and threats of retaliation for the acts of terrorism in Washington and New York Sept. 11.

On Sept. 13 early reports emerged saying that in San Francisco, vandals spattered a bag of blood labeled "pig's blood" onto a mosque; in Alexandria, Va., an Islamic bookstore was vandalized; a man carrying a pistol was arrested in Suffolk County, N.Y., after making threatening remarks to a man at a gas station; and in the Chicago suburb of Bridgeview, police made some arrests while trying to disperse an angry crowd of about 300 who intended to march to a nearby mosque.

Nationwide, several Muslim schools closed early Sept. 11 after receiving anonymous threatening phone calls and e-mails. Among them were the Al-Salam Day School in suburban St. Louis, operated by the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis, the Islamic School of Kansas City, Mo., the Islamic New Horizon schools in Los Angeles and the Orange Crescent School in Pasadena, Calif. Orange Crescent doubled security and opened its doors Sept. 12, but it was not immediately clear when the others would reopen.

Mustafa Hussein, a service manager at the Islamic Society of Greater Kansas City, which houses a local mosque, told The Kansas City Star that he has received numerous calls from people pointing a finger of blame at Muslims for the attack.

"Every time something like this happens, someone threatens us," Hussein told the Star. "But even if it is [Osama] Bin Laden, why are the populations of the United States to blame for it?"