Category: #Islamic Freedom

West Bank: Media Reports Allege Israeli Settlers Responsible for Arson Attack on Kfar Yasuf Mosque

West Bank: NYT – “Officials Blame ‘Extremist’ Settlers for Arson Attack on West Bank Mosque”

— Jerusalem Post: Vandals set fire to Kfar Yasuf mosque
— “Palestinian sources say radical settlers responsible for damage done to place of worship in W. Bank”

— Palestinians: Settlers burn Kfar Yasuf mosque

— London Times: “Settlers burn Koran in mosque attack as reprisal for Israel’s freeze on expansion”

— Netanyahu to officials: Catch ‘criminals’ behind mosque attack
— Haaretz: “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday ordered Israel’s security branches to find the “criminals” who vandalized a mosque in a West Bank village, joining other Israeli leaders in condemning the incident.”
— “The assailants torched furniture at the mosque, in the village of Yasuf, and sprayed Nazi slogans in Hebrew on the premises. They are suspected of being settlers protesting Israel’s temporary freeze on new construction in West Bank settlements.”

— INN: “Arabs Stone Chief Rabbi at Village of Torched Mosque”

Tennessee: Nazi White Supremacist Sentenced to 14 Years in Mosque Firebomb, Nazi Swatiska Vandalism

Tennessee man sentenced to 14 years in mosque firebomb

— AP: Nashville, Tennessee: “A federal judge is sentencing a man who firebombed a mosque in central Tennessee to 14 years in prison.  Senior U.S. District Court Judge Robert L. Echols sentenced 23-year-old Michael Corey Golden on Monday. Golden and two other men pleaded guilty earlier to burning the Islamic Center of Columbia last year. The city is about 40 miles south of Nashville.”

— ” Court documents showed the men painted swastikas and racial slogans on the center, then threw two homemade Molotov cocktails into it. Prosecutors say Eric Ian Baker and Jonathan Edward Stone will be sentenced in December.”

— September 22, 2009: Man enters plea in Islamic Center arson

— November 3, 2008: White Supremacists Plead Guilty to Firebombing Tennessee Mosque
— ADL: “On November 3, 2008, Jonathan Edward Stone, 19, and Michael Corey Golden, 23, pleaded guilty to civil rights charges in federal court in Nashville, Tennessee, for firebombing the Islamic Center of Columbia in February.”
— “Stone and Golden each pleaded guilty to one count of use of fire to damage religious property and one count of destruction of religious property.”
— “During the plea hearing Golden and Stone admitted to constructing Molotov cocktails, breaking into the Islamic Center, igniting the devices and using them to destroy the mosque.  The men further admitted that they had committed these actions due to the religious component of the building.”
— “A third defendant charged in the case, Eric Ian Baker, 32, has not yet entered a plea.”
— “Authorities claim the three men went to the Islamic Center, where Baker allegedly spray-painted swastikas and the words “White Power” on the walls, while Golden and Stone broke in and ignited the Molotov cocktails. ‘”

— Summer 2008: ADL – “Three men, all believed to be members of the white supremacist group Aryan Alliance, face federal charges in connection with the pre-dawn arson of a Tennessee mosque.”
— “At least two of the three men are followers of Christian Identity, a virulently racist and anti-Semitic perversion of Christianity that’s often espoused by hate groups. Stone told officials that his role in the fire got him ‘two stripes’ from Baker, his Christian Identity sponsor. He said Christian Identity members earn stripes ‘for committing acts of violence against enemies,’ according to the affidavit.”

— PDF of Affidavit

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California: Envelope Set on Fire Outside Mosque Linked to Iranian Govt

California: Arson At Local Mosque Investigated
— KCRA News reports:
— “Investigators are looking for an arsonist who set a fire outside of a Sacramento-area mosque.”
— “The federal government has moved to seize the Qoba Foundation, an Islamic center on Marconi Avenue in Carmichael”
— “Arson investigators said they are trying to piece together who torched an envelope that was taped on a fence. The envelope contained a document.”
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— November 12, 2009: “Feds Move To Seize Sac County Islamic Center – Links to Iran Alleged”
— “Federal prosecutors Thursday took steps to seize an Islamic center in Sacramento County and other properties elsewhere with apparent ties to an organization long suspected of being secretly controlled by the Iranian government.”
— “A complaint filed Thursday lists the Qoba Foundation at 4836 Marconi Ave. in Carmichael.”

North Carolina Mosque Vandalized – Computer Products Stolen

News-Observer Reports:
— — “The reinforced glass doors to Durham’s largest mosque were smashed earlier this week and two computer monitors and a printer were stolen, mosque leaders said.”
— “This is the third violent incident at the Jaamat Ibad Ar-Rahman on Fayetteville Street near N.C. Central University campus. Earlier this summer windows and doors were also smashed. Six months ago some rocks were hurled at the mosque by two men who shouted slogans such as ‘go to hell.'”
— “Mosque leaders said they first noticed the damage when worshipers came for early morning prayers on Monday. The mosque is within several hundred yards of a police substation on Fayetteville Street, and mosque leaders said they wanted the police to investigate and offer beefed up patrols.”

Canada – Montreal Gazette: “Rock-throwing a hate crime: mosque”

Montreal Gazette: “Rock-throwing a hate crime: mosque”
— “Police slow to respond to vandalism at community centre, Muslim Council says”
— “The smashing of a window at a newly opened Muslim community centre in Côte des Neiges last week should be treated as a hate crime, says Salam Elmanyawi, president of the Muslim Council of Montreal.”

UK: Nine arrested after Mosque rally

UK: Nine arrested after Mosque rally
— “The Unite Against Fascism counter-protest against a planned demonstration by the Stop Islamisation Of Europe far right group drew between 1,000 and 2,000 on to the streets outside the place of worship in Station Road, Harrow”
— SIOE describes itself as promoting “Islamophobia,” SIOE states that “Islamophobia is the height of common sense”

Tennessee: Last defendant in mosque burning pleads guilty

Last defendant in mosque burning pleads guilty
— The Tennessean reports:
— “The final defendant in the burning and vandalism of an Islamic center in Columbia pleaded guilty in federal court today.”
— “Eric Ian Baker and two other men were charged with setting fire to the Islamic Center of Columbia in February of 2008.”
— “According to federal officials, Baker admitted that he, Michael Corey Golden and Jonathan Edward Stone used Molotov cocktails to set the fire that destroyed the mosque. He also admitted to painting swastikas and the phrase ‘white power’ on the mosque before it burned.”
— “Stone and Golden pleaded guilty last year and will be sentenced in November. A sentencing date for Baker has not been set. All three face federal prison sentences of up to 30 years.”

Miami: Teens Get Plea Deal In Mosque Vandalism – Police: Teens Slashed Tires, Broke Windows

Miami: Teens Get Plea Deal In Mosque Vandalism – Police: Teens Slashed Tires, Broke Windows
— Post-Newsweek reports:
— “MIAMI — Two teenagers accused of vandalizing a West Kendall mosque have accepted a plea deal.”
— “Michael Lobo and Juan Carlos Gonzalez were arrested in connection with vandalism in June at the Islamic School of Miami. Investigators said they smashed two windows and slashed the tires of a van used to feed the homeless.”
— “As part of their plea agreement, Lobo and Gonzalez have been ordered to perform 75 hours of community service, and they have apologized.”
— “The leaders of the mosque supported the plea deal in the hope of sending a message of forgiveness.”