An Arlington, Texas mosque was heavily vandalized over the weekend. On Friday, members of the Dar El-Eman Islamic Center found "graffiti depicting Uncle Sam and Allah in a sexual position" spray-painted in the parking lot. Then on Sunday morning, fire destroyed playground equipment. Local police and federal agents are investigating the possible arson and hate crime, reports the Dallas Morning News.
Mark White, spokesman for the Dallas FBI office, said agents are "aware of the situation. They are looking into it along with Arlington PD." Jamal Qaddura, president of the DFW Islamic Educational Center, said the spray-painted obscenities were about 15 feet wide. Damage to the playground equipment, he said, was estimated at $20,000. ... Qaddura said worshippers at the mosque were subjected to slurs yelled by a carload of people after services Sunday evening. "I don't want to repeat them," he said. "You don't want to hear them. About our religion, and about us."
Adding insult to injury: The schoolchildren "raised money" from relatives and neighbors to buy the playground equipment. Vandals also cut a pipe, apparently believing the water pipe was a natural gas line, reports the Star-Telegram.
The Arlington vandalism is the latest in a series of intolerant actions directed at mosques across the country. Last week near Riverside, California, protesters demonstrated against a proposed mosque. And to protest what it says is the religion "of the devil," a Gainesville, Florida church "invites Christians to burn the Muslim holy book" on September 11.
Is the irony lost on anyone that some Americans are now becoming what the terrorists claimed that we all were when they attacked us?
Posted by: Timothy C Lee | 02 August 2010 at 16:19
This is all deeply disturbing -- and playing right into the hands of the Islamic extremists.
Posted by: Reggieh | 02 August 2010 at 16:21
Clearly, it was Jesus Himself who came down in the dead of night and spray-painted that graffiti in the parking lot.
As every good American knows, Jesus doesn’t take a liking to people who don’t worship Him.
Posted by: Jim | 03 August 2010 at 00:51