In Pakistan’s Lahore, terrorist attacks on two minority Muslim mosques have reportedly left 98 killed. The attacks are suspected to be the actions of the religious extremist Taliban organization, which used a combination of grenades, guns, and suicide bomb vests to attack worshipers during Friday Muslim prayers at two mosques by the minority Ahmadi Muslim sect, which represent 4 million Pakistani Muslims. The attacks took place at the in Garhi Shahu and Model Town mosques, while thousands were attending worship services. Dawn reported that at the Garhi Shahu mosque, terrorists exploded two suicide vests inside the entrance, injuring nearly 100 worshipers. Multiple reports stated that the terrorists also took Muslim worshipers hostage during the attacks on the two mosques. GEO Pakistan reported that the terrorist attacks took place while people where praying. The Ahmadi Muslims have received threats over the past year, but this did not deter them from exercising their universal human right of freedom of religion and freedom of worship. The Punjab province, where Lahore is the capital, is also a haven for many of the Taliban organizations. The Pakistan Interior Minister indicated today that the Pakistan Taliban and similar organizations were being suspected for the mosque attacks in Lahore on May 28, 2010.
The Ahmadi minority Muslims face discrimination throughout Pakistan according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which states that they face “the most severe legal restrictions and officially-sanctioned discrimination” (2009 USCIRF Report page 6). In 1974, the Pakistan government declared that the Ahmadi minority Muslims were “non-Muslims,” and in 1984, the Ahmadi Muslims were banned from proselytizing and identifying themselves as Muslims.
Across the world, we see a steady stream of news reports by those who seek to deny others freedom of conscience and freedom of worship. Whatever your religion (or none at all), you can be certain that houses of worship are being protested, vandalized, or bombed around the world – and your freedom of conscience is under attack.
Google news keeps a steady stream of reports on attacks on houses of worship under topics such as “church vandalism,” “temple vandalism,” “mosque vandalism,” and “synagogue vandalism.” There are so many attacks on houses of worship around the world, it is almost impossible to keep up with the endless list of hate and violence.
Global Violence and Hate against Religious Centers
In Asia, Africa, Middle East, Europe, and the United States, such violence against houses of worship and religious adherents is a widespread disease of hate. But whoever is responsible for such violence, whatever such groups and individuals claim to believe, and whatever their “rationale” may be – there is no doubt that Hate is Hate – no matter who, why, what, where, or how. We must challenge such hate against our fellow human beings and those who would deny our universal human right to freedom of religion and freedom of conscience for all people.
Church Burned Down in Malaysia -- Mosque Burned Down in United States -- Hate is Hate
Such global violence against religious centers is so widespread and so numerous, the incidents cannot be thoroughly summarized. Moreover, such global violence against religious centers and people of every different faith continue on a near-daily basis around the world. Hate and intolerance knows no boundaries.
In America Today: Churches, Mosques (TIRCC), Synagogues, Other Houses of Worship Attacked
Many of these attacks have been designed to send a very specific message of hatred to undermine and defy human beings’ right to freedom of religion and freedom of worship. In Los Angeles, a Hispanic Christian church was vandalized with a cross defiled and a knife in a painting of the Virgin Mary. In Tennessee, a mosque was vandalized with with the message “Muslims go home.”
Raw Hate: Knife in Painting of Virgin Mary at Christian Church in LA (Photo: ABC); "Muslims Go Home" Vandalism in Tennessee (Photo: John Partipilo / The Tennessean)
DC - Attack on Holocaust Memorial Museum (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) / Florida: Man Attacking Mosque with Pipe Bomb (FBI)
In the United States alone, there has been a steady stream of individuals accused of terrorist acts and plots, associated with religious extremism and extremism. Such major figures in recent American news reports have included: Nidal Hassan, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, Faisal Shahzad, and the Hutaree militia. But the list and the numbers of those who channel their hatred of people of other religions and religious institutions is an ever-growing fire of anti-human rights rage that continues to destroy people’s lives, families, cities, and even their houses of worship around the world.
In America: Recent Products of Hate against Other Religions and Religious Freedom: Nidal Hassan, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, Faisal Shahzad, Hutaree Militia
To work towards an end to such terrorism, we must first work towards an end to such hatred, disrespect, and contempt for each other’s universal human rights. For some people, some organizations, and even some nations, that must begin with acknowledging the very existence of our unqualified, universal human rights.
Certainly there are many attacks that we have not mentioned in this incomplete summary of some of the violence against houses of worship and religious faiths that we have seen. Nor have we tried to catalog the numbers of attacks by individual faiths. In different parts of the world, there are more attacks on some faiths’ houses of worship than on others. We readily recognize and acknowledge this fact. But whether there are more attacks on churches, synagogues, mosques, or Hindu or Buddhist temples really is not our point.
The point is that such attacks anywhere on houses of worship of any faith are attacks everywhere on all of our freedom of religion, freedom of worship, and freedom to believe. You may have noticed that a burned down mosque, synagogue, church, or temple all essentially look alike – that was the point of including such images together. Like our human rights, hate is also universal – and the consequences of hate are also the same.
The balance we are seeking is found in our consistent support of such universal human rights – not in choosing that such rights are only important when selected houses of worship of faiths are attacked. Hate is hate and it is always wrong, and always a challenge to our universal human rights.
Amidst these global waves of hate and violence against houses of worship, we should be seeing broader and more frequent calls from community and religious leaders to defy and condemn such attacks. But a response by such leaders is not enough, because such global attacks on our right to freedom of conscience and right to worship freely is not just their responsibility. It is our responsibility. It is our responsibility to equality and liberty for all people of all faiths (including those whose conscience reject organized religions) to defend all of our fellow human beings’ right to believe and to worship.
Relative Freedom of Religion or Universal Freedom of Religion?
A growing trend among some is the belief that our universal human rights of freedom of religion, conscience, and worship are somehow “relative” to certain parts of the world, certain faiths, and only certain situations. There is a growing trend that some want to call for relative freedom of religion – only for their faith, their conscience – and only when it suits them where they live. Some are determined to try to “tailor” such human rights to only those faiths, those beliefs, those forms of worship they approve. Such relativists believe that where they live, the universal human rights of freedom of worship only exists for those they agree with and can tolerate.
But relative human rights are no human rights. Relative freedom of religion, conscience, and worship is no freedom of religion, conscience, and worship. Such relativism is a cancer to human rights progress because some get the illusion of tolerance, respect, and even freedom – just until there isn’t. Freedom of religion, conscience, and worship must extend not only to people like us and people we like, but also to those who we disagree with, don’t approve of, and even those who challenge the very human rights and freedoms we all enjoy.
We cannot decide that for some religions that we like in some areas of the world, that they have the right to build houses of worship, and for religions that we don’t like that they do not have the right to build houses of worship.
A universal human right of freedom of religion is not “relative” to only those we agree with and to only certain parts of the world.
Such inalienable human rights for all people is the human code of conduct that supports laws to ensure orderly life, a standard of respect and human dignity that we each should expect, and most importantly, the trust that we must find within each other as human beings for continued co-existence on our shared Earth.
We ensure equality and liberty on a local level, in part, by ensuring that no one is above the law. On a global level, the stakes and the consequences for world peace are even greater. If we seek peace, dignity, and justice, we must also agree that no one is above our unqualified, universal human rights.
No one is “above the law” of our universal human rights, and no one has the right to deny our freedom of religion, freedom of conscience, and freedom of worship – by anyone, any place, at any time.
Our commitment to such universal human rights also requires a commitment to pluralism for all faiths. We don’t have to agree with each other on our religious views, or lack thereof, but we do have to respect each others right to our own beliefs.
We have a right to disagree with those who we believe are using religious faiths to promote extremist hatred that attacks on our universal human rights. Moreover, we cannot ignore those who would use a religious disguise to incite criminal violence which we must reject. Inciting and committing criminal violence is not a protected religious right or worship. But too often, those who seek “relative” human rights seek mere disagreement with those of other faiths as a justification to prevent their freedom of religion and freedom of worship.
We also have an obligation to respect each others universal human rights for all faiths, conscience, and freedom of worship – no matter who seeks such freedoms, no matter where they seek such freedoms, no matter how much we may disagree with them.
Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.”
On December 10, 1948, the nations of the world joined together to create a Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on December 10, 1948 as the world’s statement of “Never Again” to the hate of people of diverse races, religions, ethnic backgrounds, and beliefs. Seen in the context of the world reeling from the Nazi Holocaust of 6 million Jews, the UDHR remains one of the strongest international statements on consistent human rights for all people, and for people of all faiths. But when it comes to a right to worship freely, “never again” is now in too many parts of the world.
Such universal human rights and commitment to pluralism must not only extend to the nations that are signatories to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but also to all nations and all people around the world. But to reach those individuals and nations that do not accept such unqualified, universal human rights of freedom of conscience, it is essential that those who do – set an example for the world.
We urge the people of the world to make a new consistent commitment to pluralism and to our unqualified, universal human rights. We stand united together, respecting our differences, and respecting one another. We are one common civilization of humanity, with diverse races, ethnic backgrounds, languages, genders, and religions. But we are all one human race. While we respect our differences, a consistent commitment to pluralism requires our united commitment to our unqualified, universal human rights – including the right to believe for all people, everywhere – without harassment, without intimidation, and without violence.
We urge such commitment to all people and their right to freedom of worship, to set an example to all others that we are Responsible for Equality and Liberty.
— “Police believe they have ‘eliminated; the West Australian chapter of a neo-Nazi group with the arrest of two men charged with shooting at a Perth mosque. In the early hours of Thursday, February 4, three shots were fired into the dome roof of the Suleymaniye Mosque, in the southeastern suburb of Queens Park.”
….
— “The pair, a 25-year-old Greenmount man and a 24-year-old High Wycombe man, are allegedly part of the extreme nationalist group Combat 18 (C18). They have been charged with one count each of causing criminal damage, discharging a firearm across a road and possessing an unlicensed firearm. After Tuesday’s arrests, Inspector Rob Anderson police said believed they had effectively disbanded Perth’s C18 chapter. ‘Two of those offenders we will allege are members of C18, an organisation specialising in hate crime and neo-Nazi affiliated,’ Insp Anderson said. ‘As a result of today’s operation, we are confident that we have more or less eliminated that faction within WA.’ Originally based in the UK, C18 has chapters all over the world and is based on the ideas of neo-Nazism and white supremacy. The number 18 is derived from the initials of Adolf Hitler with A and H being the first and eighth letter of the alphabet. A 19-year-old old Kalamunda man was also charged with one count of possessing an unlicensed firearm.”
The following are a series of articles from the Sheboygan Press, some of which are no longer available online about protests against a mosques in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin. We challenge those who reject freedom of worship and seek to deny human rights and freedoms to any religion or any identity group.
A Manitowoc doctor is proposing to convert the former Tom’s of Wisconsin health store into a Muslim mosque, riling some nearby residents.
March 8, 2010
The Town of Wilson town hall was packed for a public hearing last month when Mansoor Mirza presented plans to invest up to $20,000 to convert the 5,000-square-foot building at 9110 Sauk Trail Road into Sheboygan County’s first mosque.
“It did not go as I expected,” said Mirza, an internist at Woodland Clinic in Manitowoc.
What he said he heard from the audience, many of them from Oostburg, was that the mosque might attract terrorist elements to the area.
Oostburg resident Melvina Gall, who attended the hearing, said a mosque “would be detrimental to the health and welfare of our community. Look at the track record in the past of what the Muslims have done and are doing,” referring to terrorist attacks in recent years.
“He’s going to have people coming from all over the area. I surely don’t know these people,” Gall said. “There might be a couple who might have on their mind to harm Christians.”
Rev. Walter Hackney, interim pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Oostburg, said he does not oppose the proposed mosque “from a freedom of religion point of view,” but from a safety standpoint.
“Can there be a government official who can assure us that they will not in anyway be teaching or doing things that are unsafe for the community,” he said in a telephone interview. “I have concerns about it.”
In an article titled “The Muslims May Be Coming” that he wrote for the church newsletter, which is available on the church’s Web site, Hackney said:
“Does this group of Muslims denounce violence against Jews, Christians, and other non-Muslims? If so, how much of a paper trail in English and Arabic has the group already written about such matters as 9-11 or the treatment of Jews and Christians in Muslim-majority countries? How much is presently written about these issues on their website? Even more importantly, what kind of accountability will be in place? Will there be a non-Muslim county or village official (that fluently reads and speaks Arabic) who will certify annually that this group is not teaching fundamentalist /terrorist ideologies? If so, who will be paying for this service? Will they seek to have legal exemptions for or special treatment because of their Muslim faith?”
“We are not terrorists,” said Mirza, a Pakistani who moved to the United States in 1988. “We just want for our community to follow our religion and have a place where we can pray.”
Mirza said 80 to 100 Muslim families live in Sheboygan County and that many, if not most, hail from European countries such as Bosnia and Albania. He estimated five to 20 families would attend the Sauk Trail Road mosque, if it’s approved.
The nearest mosques are in Milwaukee, Green Bay and Appleton, he said.
Mirza has applied for a conditional use permit to use the site as a place of worship. The site is currently zoned highway commercial.
After last month’s public hearing, the matter was referred to town staff and will be before the Plan Commission again at 7 tonight for a report from the town’s building inspector and to vote on whether to grant Mirza an extension on his request.
Gall said she and other residents will be on hand, but Town Clerk Cheryl Rostollan said there probably won’t be opportunity for public comment until it comes before the Town Board.
Town Chairman David Gartman said he has received “only one or two phone calls” on the matter.
“I’m trying to not get into a judgment before it comes before us” on the Town Board, Gartman said.
Mirza bought the property as an investment and plans on renting it to the Islamic Society of Sheboygan County. Classes for children to learn the Quran, the Islamic scriptures, have already been held in the building.
Editor’s note: This was a Special Report print-exclusive story that ran Sunday and is now available to online readers.
Officials in the Town of Wilson may decide soon whether to grant a conditional use permit to a group that wants to establish the county’s first mosque in the former Tom’s of Wisconsin building at 9110 Sauk Trail Road.
Mansoor Mirza, a Pakistan-born physician who recently moved to Sheboygan from Manitowoc, bought the property last year and plans to lease it to the Islamic Society of Sheboygan County. Mirza said 80 to 100 Muslim families live in Sheboygan County and that many, if not most, hail from European countries such as Bosnia and Albania. The conditional use permit is needed to allow the site to be used as a place of worship. The site is currently zoned highway commercial.
Technically, the main issue is whether the building’s septic system has been brought up to code, which the Islamic group says it is.
But to many Sheboygan County residents, the debate is between protecting the United States from international terrorism or defending the nation’s Constitutional guarantees of freedom of worship.
It’s a debate that’s divided many people, especially in nearby Oostburg.
Islamic fundamentalists “could walk into this church tonight right where you are sitting and blow us all to smithereens,” Brigitte Gabriel, who leads the Florida-based group, ACT for America, warned an audience of nearly 600 people via live video feed Wednesday night at First Reformed Church in Oostburg.
“This country was founded on religious freedom,” said Richard Edwards, teaching pastor at Bethel Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Oostburg and a professor of philosophy and religious studies at the University of Wisconsin-Sheboygan, who addressed a group of nearly 300 people at his church last Sunday. “These people have a right to worship as they choose and I want to worship the way I choose. Freedom of religion is the American way.”
Since then, “I’ve had some people who have accosted me in a public place and questioned my commitment to Christianity,” he said.
County Supervisor Devin Lemahieu of Oostburg received three anonymous phone calls accusing him of spreading hate speech after he reprinted a three-page article titled, “Stealth Violent Extemism,” from American Legion magazine in the April 29 issue of Lakeshore Weekly, a shopper that he owns. The article says the ultimate goal of Islamic fundamentalists is to institute Islamic law, known as Shariah, throughout the world.
The article was an advertisement paid for by Bill Hopeman, a Hingham shop owner, and “three or four others,” Hopeman said. He declined further comment.
Also in that edition was an advertisement from the Rev. Les Kuiper, senior pastor of First Christian Reformed Church in Oostburg. In the ad, Kuiper noted that his church gives up to $90,000 a year to a missionary in an Islamic country.
“I doubt that this missionary would post a public message declaring that his neighbor’s god is a deceptive anti-Christ who threatens public safety and security,” Kuiper wrote, referring to other ads that had appeared in the Lakeshore Weekly the week before.
“Generally, the ad was in response to the tenor that seems to be in our community right now,” Kuiper said in a telephone interview. “There seems to be a lot of fear and I guess I can understand people having some fear, but I guess I don’t think it’s appropriate to make those kind of statements in a public posting.”
Posing a threat
In another meeting last week, more than 150 people on Monday filled the Rocca Room at Mead Public Library to overflowing to hear Karl Kuhn, an ordained United Church of Christ clergyman and religious studies professor at Lakeland College, talk about the basics of Islam and the diversity of people within it.
“The very idea that a gathering of Muslims poses a threat to a community shows a misperception that Islam is inherently connected to violence,” he said. “Muslims everywhere, especially in Western nations, find the actions of terrorists reprehensible.”
He often lost control of the meeting, however, as the audience, evenly split between mosque supporters and opponents, engaged one another.
“What if an imam says it’s time to rise up?” against Americans, one woman yelled. An imam is a Muslim religious cleric.
“I feel very confident that we won’t experience anything but the joy and friendship of neighborhood and fellowship” as a result of a mosque being created, said the Rev. Lorri Steward, pastor of Ebenezer United Church of Christ in Sheboygan.
Mohammed Yessin and his wife, Ebpssam, who moved to Sheboygan from Syria 25 years ago and hope to attend the new mosque, were at the Monday night event “to hear what people are thinking,” he said.
“They asked some good questions. They asked some crazy questions, too,” said Yessin, a Kohler Co. retiree who raised five children in Sheboygan, all of whom graduated from North High School. “Overall, I was pleased with what I heard.”
Without the mosque, Yessin and other Muslims say, they will have to continue traveling to Milwaukee, Appleton, Green Bay or Kenosha to find a place to worship.
The Rev. Gregory Whelton, senior pastor of St. John’s United Church of Christ in Sheboygan, said, “I’m absolutely certain that if any Christian said the nearest church was in Milwaukee or Green Bay or Madison, they would want to have one closer. It doesn’t seem very Christ-like to not allow them to do that.”
Whelton is president of the Sheboygan County Ministerial Association, which sponsored the Monday forum.
“Our Muslim neighbors are here and they’ve been here for years,” he said.
Public safety an issue
The Rev. Wayne DeVrou, senior pastor of First Reformed Church in Oostburg, opposes the mosque and says the town should reject the proposal on public safety grounds.
That’s because, he says, the Islamic Society of Sheboygan County is affiliated with the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, which is a member of the Washington, D.C.-based Islamic Society of North America and of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, both of which have been accused of being fronts for terrorist organizations.
In an e-mail to town officials, he wrote: “I have reasons to be skeptical of what the true intentions of the (Islamic Society of Sheboygan County) are in relation to the future use of the facility, what will be taught in the mosque and their affiliations with terrorist groups. I believe that they are misrepresenting themselves to you and the surrounding community.”
The Rev. Walter Hackney, interim pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Oostburg, said in an article he wrote for his church’s newsletter that if the mosque is approved, the town should hire an Arabic-speaking staff member to keep tabs on the group.
“What kind of accountability will be in place? Will there be a non-Muslim county or village official (who fluently reads and speaks Arabic) who will certify annually that this group is not teaching fundamentalist/terrorist ideologies?” he wrote.
DeVrou agreed that there are no guarantees of what might be taught in the mosque.
“There is currently no law against teaching hatred in mosques,” DeVrou wrote in an e-mail. “The local ordinance (to grant the conditional use permit) will have to be approved or denied without (consideration of) any of these factors, including the potential risk of safety.”
DeVrou has a son in the U.S. Army who is currently stationed in Afghanistan.
“I have a vested interest in this,” he said.
Community support
Last year, the town granted a conditional use permit to a church under similar circumstances. Mirza, the physician who bought the building, has said he will sue the town if it does not approve the application.
Mirza said he believes the Sheboygan-area community is generally supportive of his efforts to convert the 5,000-square-foot building into a mosque.
“Ninety percent of the people in Sheboygan are in support of the mosque,” he said.
Kuiper and Edwards said they’re concerned that the uproar over the mosque is distracting local churches from their true mission.
“Rather than being afraid, I think we as Christians simply need to be confident of the good news that we represent and focus on communicating the good news instead of reacting out of fear,” Kuiper said.
Kuiper said he doesn’t believe the issue has been divisive in the community, at least among the Oostburg clergy, who gather every Thursday for breakfast. Kuiper said the group is in the process of drafting a statement of unity in response to the debate.
Additional Facts
Coming up
The Town of Wilson Plan Commission will meet at 7 p.m. Monday to vote on recommending a conditional use permit to the building at 9110 Sauk Trail Road to be used as a place of worship. The Town Board will vote on whether to grant the conditional use permit when it meets at 6 p.m. Monday, May 17. Public comment will only be taken at the May 17 meeting.
After an hour and a half of fiery discussion, including comments from two dozen speakers, and before an audience of more than 120 people, the Wilson Town Board voted unanimously Monday night to grant a conditional use permit for Sheboygan County’s first mosque.
With the approval, Mohammad Hamad, the Imam, or spiritual leader, of the local Muslim community, said the first worship service at the former Tom’s of Wisconsin health food store at 9110 Sauk Trail Road would be held Friday, the traditional day of worship for Muslims.
Hamad said he was happy the process was over.
“I believe right now we have to focus on the future and put this harsh talk behind us,” Hamad said after the meeting.
“I was a little surprised at the misunderstanding” about Islam and the local Muslim community, he said, adding but the mosque will help open a door to better understanding.”
The proposal had drawn large crowds over the last several months to town Plan Commission meetings and several hundreds to public forums at local churches and other locations, with some saying the U.S. Constitutional guarantee of freedom of worship dictated approval while others said the mosque could attract Islamic fundamentalists and even terrorists to the area.
“I assume they are nice citizens,” Gordon Monson, of Sheboygan, said Monday night, referring to the Muslim community, a couple of dozen of whom were in the audience Monday night. “But they belong to an organization with a bad history.”
A member of the audience expresses her views Monday night while a speaker addresses the Town of Wilson Town Board on whether to grant a conditional use permit for a mosque in the town. Photo by Gary C. Klein/The Sheboygan Press (The Sheboygan Press)
— Detroit News: Vandals hit Downriver mosque twice within a week
— Detroit News reports “Brownstown Township — Police are investigating two incidents of vandalism that happened within a week at a local mosque.”
— “Windows were broken and doors were smashed at the Masjid Umar-bin-Khattab Mosque on May 9 and again on Saturday, with the second attack caught on videotape, said spokesman Muhammad Khan.”
— “‘You can see five young persons on the recording,’ Khan said.”
WOKV reports that “The FBI is looking at this case as a possible hate crime, and now they’re analyzing it as a possible act of domestic terrorism. ‘It was a dangerous device, and had anybody been around it they could have been seriously injured or killed,’ says Special Agent James Casey. ‘We want to sort of emphasize the seriousness of the thing and not let people believe that this was just a match and a little bit of gasoline that was spread around.'” WJXT also reports that the FBI characterized the failed attacker as someone with knowledge of explosives, and at this time the suspect is wanted for arson and hate crimes. According to UPI, there were 60 people in the building at the time of the attack. First Coast News in Jacksonville is reporting on the condemnation of the possible terrorist attempt by local and national community leaders.
The FBI has released a surveillance video of the suspect in the May 10, 2010 attack on the Jacksonville, Florida mosque. From the video, the suspect appears to be a middle-aged white man.
Image of May 10 Attacker from Surveillance Videos (Photo: FBI)
The FBI is asking for those with any information on the May 10, 2010 bombing to contact the FBI at 904-248-7000, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office at 904-630-0500, or CrimeStoppers of Northeast Florida at 866-277-8477.
Islamic Center of Northeast Florida (ICNEF) in Jacksonville, Florida (Photo: ICNEF web site)
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Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) condemns such hate and violence. We support our unqualified, universal human rights, including our freedom of conscience and the pluralism to allow such freedoms. We urge all those who promote hate and violence to unburden their hearts from hate and violence.
On May 10, 2010 at 9:35 PM, there was a firebomb attack at the Islamic Center of Northeast Florida (ICNEF) in Jacksonville, Florida. Media reports state that no one was injured and no significant damage was done.
WJXT reports that the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department stated that “an explosive device caused a small fire” at the back of the building. The fire was put out with fire extinguishers and caused minimal damage. WJXT also reported that the FBI had obtained surveillance video of a man who was carrying a gasoline can, and that the video would be released later on May 11, 2010.
WOKV reported that in April 2010 a man interrupted a service at the Jacksonville mosque, stating “stop this blaspheming” and said that “I will be back.” Police have not yet established if there is any connnection.
Islamic Center of Northeast Florida (ICNEF) in Jacksonville, Florida (Photo: ICNEF web site) WOKV Photo of ICNEF After Attack (Photo: WOKV)
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) condemns such hate and violence. We support our unqualified, universal human rights, including our freedom of conscience and the pluralism to allow such freedoms. We urge all those who promote hate and violence to unburden their hearts from hate and violence.
Photograph of WBC - Dove Outreach Joint "March" on April 18, 2010
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Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) urges all Christians to reject and condemn this message of hate from the Westboro Baptist Church. Moreover, we urge all Christians to convey to Christian-named “hate groups” such as the “Westboro Baptist Church” that John 13:34 “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”
