How many mosques have been vandalized

Khan said police were called when the imam went to the mosque at 4 p. Officers arrived at the scene and spoke with people outside the mosque, he said. As well, electronics were taken and the surveillance system was damaged.

Standing in the mosque and surveying the damage, Maqbool Sheikh, also of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at Canada, said people were feeling " little bit distraught. Mosques are not just a place to worship, Sheikh said, but also a place for members to connect with the community. Police said they believe the entry was forced and a suspect or suspects caused "significant damage to the mosque and stole property.

Rest assured, we are actively investigating and committing appropriate resources to this investigation. My thoughts are with our Muslim community as they cope with this destructive and hateful crime.

Andre Johnson told a media briefing Thursday afternoon that he had no information on any suspects that he could provide. Members of the service's hate crimes unit are investigating. He said there's been outreach by the service's equity, diversity and inclusion unit to the mosque and other members of the region's Muslim community, "to offer our support and remorse over the incident as well as to provide safety information.

The statement said the national Canadian Muslim community is "shocked" to learn about the incident. It said police are investigating and "have collected evidence at the scene. Meanwhile, the organization said it has heightened security measure at its mosques and prayer centres across Canada.

The National Council of Canadian Muslims said on Facebook it was "greatly disturbed to hear about the ransacking and vandalism. The council called on police "to conduct a thorough investigation, and to investigate as potentially hate motivated. Police have identified an arson suspect. Kentwood, January Police charged a woman with one count of false threat of terrorism after she allegedly stood outside a mosque claiming she was armed and demanding money from people. She also sent a threatening email to the mosque earlier in the week.

Full on eradication. Dearborn, January A man was arrested with a vehicle full of explosives he intended to use to blow up a mosque. East Lansing, September A burned Quran was left outside of a mosque.

Detroit, May Vandals damaged a local mosque twice in one week. Northville, MI, November After numerous neighbors protested, the zoning board of appeals denied a request for a variance that would have enabled a local mosque to build a parking lot in front of the building.

Grand Rapids, MI, July The city planning commission unanimously rejected a proposal to convert a former school building into a Muslim worship center after neighbors vigorously objected.

Mankato, August The car of a member of the Mankato Islamic Center was vandalized and spray-painted with offensive words. Minneapolis, November A vandal struck a mosque in northeast Minneapolis in the middle of the night, shattering a glass door and shouting toward at least one startled onlooker inside.

The state's leading Islamic civil rights group wants the incident investigated as a possible hate crime. Rochester, June Vandals left strips of bacon at the front door and in the parking lot of the Rochester Mosque. Bloomington, October According to police, someone broke into the Dar Al Farooq Islamic Center, which was bombed earlier this year. Surveillance video revealed two masked intruders. They broke windows to get inside and took a safe and collection jar money.

No one was hurt. Minneapolis, February A burglar broke interior windows and doors with a hammer at the Umatul Islam Center. It was the second incident in the past month at the mosque. Marshall, April A sign outside of a mosque was defaced with spray paint. Anthony, June The St. Anthony City Council rejected plans for a local Islamic center after a public meeting.

Some of those who spoke against the center expressed their anti-Muslim bias with statements such as, 'Islam is evil. Cape Girardeau, April 28, Police have arrested a Missouri man in connection with a fire that heavily damaged a mosque. The suspect, who has a history of mosque vandalism, is accused of setting a fire at the Islamic Center of Cape Girardeau on April 24, the day most Muslims celebrate as the first day of Ramadan.

Over a dozen people were evacuated but no one was injured. Four years later, the roof of the same mosque was set on fire. A month after that, the entire mosque was burned to the ground. The FBI has joined the investigation.

Springfield, January Vandals used graffiti to put hateful messages on the walls of an Islamic Center. Louis, September Vandals spray-painted the phrase "worship satan" on the side of a mosque twice over the course of two weeks. Cape Girardeau, May Several windows were destroyed at a mosque in an act of vandalism that was later determined to be motivated by discrimination. Raeford, June A man was charged with leaving bacon at the mosque doors and later threatened mosque members and showed a gun.

He also allegedly followed one of the mosque members home. Durham, November A local mosque was vandalized three times in one year and worshippers were told to "go to hell. Omaha, March Someone sent the Islamic Center of Omaha a threatening email, saying it is "time to fight back" against Muslims and "see you in hell. Omaha, January Two masked men wrapped bacon around a door handle at the Omaha Islamic Center and threw rocks at the glass doors.

Omaha, November A surveillance camera showed someone attempting to break a glass door at the Islamic Center. Later in the month, someone spray-painted an Eiffel Tower peace symbol on the mosque after the attacks in Paris. Omaha, August At least two people broke a glass door at the mosque by throwing an estimated pound boulder at it.

Omaha, October A rock was thrown through the glass front door of a mosque, shattering it. Teaneck, October 9, A proposed Islamic community center has filed a discrimination lawsuit in federal court against Teaneck and its zoning board, claiming the township blocked its application by imposing oppressive requirements and draining the developer's pockets.

In the suit, the group claims the township and its board was against the proposal from the start, discriminating against its use as an Islamic center and mosque. Paterson, October Multiple mosques near the home of a terror suspect in the New York bike path attack received threatening phone calls as well as hateful messages on Facebook.

The lawsuit also claims a larger Christian church had their septic system approved. The DOJ investigated the denial and the mosque sued the township.

In May , the cases settled, allowing the mosque to go forward and requiring the city to pay millions. In July, the Thomas More Law Center filed suit against the township claiming that the settlement agreement unconstitutionally restricts speech.

Bayonne, May Community members in organized protests against a proposed mosque and community center at the site of an old warehouse. In May , Bayonne Muslims filed suit against the zoning board.

In January , the case settled. Toms River, April A mosque looking to expand and build a school has encountered opposition from neighbors and has repeatedly had their zoning hearing postponed. Jersey City, March A local mosque received a letter postmarked from England similar to those received in Georgia and some other states. We do not like you. You are evil," and previously received a hateful voice mail.

Bridgewater, April An Islamic group sued the town after it changed zoning rules to prevent a mosque from opening in a residential neighborhood.

Piscataway, NJ, August The Muslim Center of Middlesex County proposed to expand its existing facility, which has sparked objections from some residents. Wayne, July After stonewalling approval of a plan to build an Islamic center and mosque for three years, the township of Wayne attempted to exercise eminent domain over the proposed site property, prompting mosque officials to sue. Township of Wayne , Case No. Las Vegas, December A man put raw bacon strips on the door handles at Masjid-e-Tawheed that worshippers found as they arrived for Sunday morning prayer.

Manchester, ongoing Residents have been trying to build a mosque here for nearly two decades, facing multiple lawsuits and opposition from the community. From a real Christain [sic].

Long Island, August The Faizan-e-Aisha Masjid mosque was vandalized multiple times, including an incident in which someone dumped dirt around the entrance. Long Island, May The Islamic Center of Suffolk County was vandalized by two people burning a sacred flag and spray-painting pro-Trump graffitti on its base. Staten Island, June The Muslim-American Society Staten Island Center reported receiving a threatening call from someone who said they never should have built the mosque.

Manhattan, June Two mosques received a letter expressing anti-Islamic sentiments. Brooklyn, June A man armed with a Taser threatened and cursed at someone leaving the mosque, according to police sources. Manhattan, June The Masjid Manhattan received a letter from London threatening that a massacre will happen in August, according to police sources. The Bronx, June A pellet gun shooter has targeted a mosque three times, according to a mosque leader.

The most recent time, a pellet cracked a window and another hit a worshiper standing outside. Brooklyn, April A mosque caught fire just as prayer services were ending, according to news reports. The cause is unknown. Yonkers, September A neighborhood group moved to get a local building designated as a landmark after a Muslim group purchased the land for a mosque. The landmark status will complicate the process to use the building as a mosque.

The Muslim group is now suing the city. Queens, August Someone murdered an imam and his friend, found a block from a mosque in Ozone Park where they had prayed a few minutes earlier. The killer allegedly shot the two men, who were dressed in Muslim apparel, from behind. Staten Island, June Police have arrested a man who allegedly entered the Albanian Islamic Cultural Center toward the end of evening prayers with a pipe and threatened to hurt the imam.

The Bronx, June A group of men allegedly attacked a man on his way to pray at the mosque. They punched him to the ground and he was hospitalized. Queens, June Police suspect multiple men of beating up a year-old man as he was leaving the mosque after evening prayers. The suspects punched the man, knocked him off his bicycle, and put him in the hospital with lacerations, bruising, and swelling on his face.

Queens, April A man entered the Jamaica Muslim Center during afternoon prayers claiming to be the Prophet Muhammad and then started punching and kicking those around him, putting two people in the hospital. Queens, February Community members rallied against a proposed mosque in Flushing, saying it would require too many zoning variances that would have a negative impact on the neighborhood. Islamberg, A jury convicted a Tennessee man of plotting to gather supporters as a militia and set fire to a mosque, school, and cafeteria in Islamberg in Officials arrested him in April of that year and the jury convicted him in February The mosque has experienced other incidents of vandalism in the past.

Queens, January A Molotov cocktail was thrown at an Islamic center. The man responsible said that he intended 'to inflict as much damage as possible and take out as many Muslims and Arabs as possible. Brooklyn, May Local residents have vowed to stop construction of a mosque in the Sheepshead Bay area, with one neighbor even threatening to bomb it. Carlton, August A group of teenagers hurled obscenities at Muslim worshippers, shot a gun outside of a mosque, and sideswiped a congregant.

Hudson, September Three men spray-painted an anti-Muslim epithet on the back wall of a mosque. Huntington, October A jar of nails was thrown at a mosque.

Manhattan, May A proposed Islamic community center in Lower Manhattan drew strong opposition both locally and nationally; though two local governmental bodies have denied efforts to block construction of the proposed center, the controversy continues, and one group has filed a lawsuit to stop the center's construction. New Hyde Park, NY, October A request for a variance to build a parking lot for a local mosque drew a packed crowd and opposition at a zoning board hearing.

Dayton, March Using rocks or bricks, a vandal broke several windows at the Islamic Society of Greater Dayton while worshippers were inside praying. The powder turned out not to be hazardous. Columbus, December A Muslim woman was threatened and sprayed with pepper spray outside of an Islamic Center. Dayton, September A ten-year-old girl was sprayed in the face with a chemical while attending Ramadan services.

Therefore, we take a stand to see a mosque not in our community. Cincinnati, December Two pipe bombs were detonated outside of a local mosque. Lawton, December People in a pick-up truck allegedly dropped a dead pig at the Islamic Center of Lawton.

Oklahoma City, August A man allegedly sent white powder to a mosque in June along with threatening article clippings. Oklahoma City, April Two men were caught on camera defacing the mosque building. Oklahoma City August Vandals fired paintballs at the doors of a mosque then fled the scene. Eugene, May Police said a man threatened to kill attendees at the Eugene Islamic Center, confronting them shortly after prayers ended.

Corvallis, November An arsonist set fire to an Islamic center. A federal grand jury indicted the arsonist on federal hate crime and arson charges. One of the rocks shattered part of the front door. Upper Darby, November A suspect caught on surveillance cameras posted anti-Muslim threats outside a mosque. Police also charged him for a similar incident from the previous year. Bensalem Township, July The township rejected the Bensalem Masjid's application for a zoning variance and the Department of Justice sued the township on behalf of the mosque.

The Masjid and the town were involved in litigation since , when the town denied the mosque permit. In September , the cases settled. The letter also had on it, which could indicate white supremacism, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

The mosque was also vandalized earlier this year when newly installed windows were smashed. Taylors, August Vandals scratched "death to Muslims" into a sidewalk leading into the mosque. Murfreesboro, July A mosque spokesman said that someone wrapped bacon strips around the door of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro and spray-painted graffiti on the walls and basketball court.

Knoxville, September A burned Quran was left outside of a mosque. Antioch, June Opponents of a proposed mosque organized a petition in an effort to dissuade a property owner from selling to an Islamic group. Brentwood, May A local Islamic group withdrew a plan to build a mosque after public outcry.

Sources: Brentwood mosque not alone in defeat , The Tennessean, May 23, Murfreesboro, May Opponents of a planned mosque have vandalized the mosque site, including setting fire to construction vehicles.

Nashville, February Vandals spray-painted "Muslims go home" on a mosque and left a vitriolic, hate-filled letter railing against the Muslim faith. Columbia, February Neo-Nazis burned down a mosque. Austin, September On Sept. Have your idolatry washed clean by the blood of Jesus Christ!

Brownsville, November Prosecutors announced the federal grand jury indictment of an year-old man who made various threats on Twitter, including a threat to set a mosque on fire. Houston, June An anonymous user of 4chan wrote on the forum that he planned to attack the Baitus Samee Mosque.

Ahmadiyya is a revivalist movement within Islam founded in Ahmad has three children. He said they see hate crimes against Muslims on the news and this incident has made them scared to go to the mosque.

More: Woman arrested on flight to Detroit, accused of 'anti-Muslim rhetoric' and assault. The Oakland County Sheriff's Office, in a release Sunday, said surveillance footage shows a man walking the perimeter of the mosque about p. Friday, and that a nearby Walgreens also had a window broken out about the same time.