Bloomington, Indiana Mosque Vandalized (Islamophobia)

Nathan Ainslie

Posted Jul 10, 2005      •Permalink      • Printer-Friendly Version
Bookmark and Share

7/9/2005

Contact Info:
Nathan Ainslie
President, Islamic Center of Bloomington, Indiana
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bloomington, Indiana—This morning when Muslims of Bloomington came to attend the early Morning Prayer, they were shocked and dismayed to discover vandalism to the Bloomington Mosque. A window was broken and a fire had to be extinguished.  Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident, although the fire could have caused extensive damage to the mosque if left to burn.  The Bloomington Police Department and the FBI are investigating the incident as a hate crime.

We do not believe that such acts of hate are representative of the Bloomington community at large, and we commend the City of Bloomington and Indiana University for continuing to educate their citizens, staff and students about hate crimes, diversity and multiculturalism. 

The members of the Islamic Center of Bloomington whole-heartedly condemn any acts of terrorism, violence, and hate here and abroad, including those perpetrated only a few days ago in London. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who have been victimized, and we cannot help but draw parallels between those criminals who terrorized the people of London, and those criminals who sought to damage our house of worship.

The Bloomington Islamic community has been a feature of the Bloomington landscape for more than 30 years. The community has enjoyed friendly relations with its neighbors, fellow religious congregations, the city of Bloomington, Indiana University and the State of Indiana for all these years. We consider this crime not only an attack on the entire Muslim community of Bloomington Indiana, but on all decent law-abiding citizens of Bloomington as well as on all places of worship. We ask all members of the Bloomington community who may have any information regarding this incident to contact the Bloomington Police Department or the FBI.

Permalink