US Muslims Fear Mounting Threats

TEHRAN (IQNA) – A leading US Muslim advocacy group has called for launching a hate-crime investigation into threats and vandalism at two mosques, in the wake of Chattanooga deadly attack.

 "We've seen a steady uptick in the number of incidents targeting Muslims and their institutions nationwide" due to attacks earlier this year on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, Ibriahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), told Chattanooga Times Free Press on Sunday, July 26.

"Obviously, [Chattanooga] has fed into that overall atmosphere of Islamophobia in our nation. "That and, quite frankly, we're not getting any push-back from public officials in terms of public support at the national level, particularly for the Muslim community."

Hooper’s calls followed an online arson threat against the Johnson City mosque and vandalism of the mosque in Roanoke after Chattanooga shooting.

Last July 16, a 24-year-old Kuwaiti-born gunman opened fire on a military recruiting station, then raced to a second military site where he killed four United States Marines.

The gunman had become a naturalized United States citizen and went to high school and college in Chattanooga.

As the Muslim community rejected the attack, the family of Abdulazeez offered sympathy, condolences and prayers.

A few days ago, the officials of the Muslim Community Center of Northeast Tennessee in Johnson City have reported an online threat to Washington County Sheriff's office.

A day earlier, Masjid An Nur Islamic Center came under attack when vandals broke the glass of the mosque’s front doors.