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‘Improvised Explosive Device’ Damages Minnesota Mosque

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by Aysha Qamar

Tragedy took place when a neo-Nazi entered a Gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wis. fatally shooting six worshippers and wounding many others, including a police officer on Aug. 5, 2012. Five years after this tragedy, a firebomb was thrown into a Minnesota mosque, while worshippers gathered inside for morning prayers.

According to the Star Tribune, a local newspaper, there were between 15 and 20 people inside the building at the time. The attack resulted in no injuries at the Dar Al Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington, but police say the imam’s office has been damaged.

Worshippers managed to extinguish the fire before firefighters arrived, according to a statement from the Muslim American Society of Minnesota.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has launched an investigation into the attack caused by an “improvised explosive device, around 5 a.m. local time.

David Joles/Star Tribune

Richard Thorton, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Minneapolis Division, said that the investigation will determine whether the incident was a hate crime and who may have been behind it.

In a statement, Thornton said the investigation was the agency’s “top priority”, with his office adding on Twitter that “all hands [are] on deck”

The FBI has not announced any arrests or publicly identified any suspects.

A witness reported seeing something being thrown at the imam’s office window from a van or truck before the blast, Asad Zaman, the society’s director, told reporters.

Prior to the attack, the predominantly Somali mosque, has received threatening calls and emails, Mohamed Omar, the mosque’s executive director told local media.

“It was 5am. The whole neighborhood was calm. People were supposed to be sleeping, that how peaceful this should be,” he said. “I was shocked to learn this happened”.

Unfortunately, the mosque was unable to afford security cameras that could have captured the attack.

The local chapter’s civil rights director, Amir Malik, said that “if a bias motive is proven, this attack would represent another in a long list of hate incidents targeting Islamic institutions nationwide in recent months”.

The number of anti-Muslim hate groups in the US has nearly tripled since Donald Trump launched his presidential campaign in 2015, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. It reported that the number of organizations opposing Muslims “leaped” from 34 in 2015 to 101 this past year.

The President has not yet spoken about the attack, with many angered at his lack of acknowledgment.

Minnesota state Governor Mark Dayton has called the bombing a “criminal act of terrorism” after visiting the site.

A GoFundMe page has been created “to garner support to rebuild this community center and mosque damaged after an Islamophobic attack,” the page reads.

David Joles/Star Tribune

Many have called for justice and supported members of the community, with the fundraising page raising more than 69,000, at this time.

Although the incident has been described as unimaginable and horrific, the support has strengthened the community.

“Good people came out, and they outnumber that one bad guy, and we are so pleased and so happy to see this community coming together in our support,” Omar said.

If you’d like to donate to rebuild the Dar Al Farooq Islamic Center, visit their fundraising page here.

sweden

Sweden Peace Shattered with Violence and What it Could Mean for Immigration to Europe

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by Saadia Faruqi

On Apr. 7, 2017, a truck rammed into shoppers in Stockholm, Sweden, killing four and injuring many more. Muslims everywhere held their breath as the news of an Uzbek ISIS sympathizer arrested for the attack continued to unfold. These attacks are getting more and more common in Europe, leading to worries that European nations will soon begin to take a hard line look at immigrants.

To a Muslim, the conundrum is obvious. Islam means peace, yet only violent representations of the Islamic faith are capturing the media spotlight. Whether ISIS or simply its sympathizers, whether native born or immigrant, the fact remains that if you are a Muslim living in a western country today your intentions are suspect. Why? Because you may align yourself with radical groups or may share certain characteristics with them, such as land or origin or dress or language. Muslims watching the news on their television screens have no doubt spent hours of worried reflection of what yet another terrorist attack will mean for all innocent, peace loving Muslims everywhere.

Of course, the real argument is whether this particular attack was terrorism at all. ISIS has not claimed responsibility so far, but they are known for jumping at the opportunity to spread fear. Thus even a claim of responsibility after the fact is no proof that they are indeed behind the truck attack. The suspect, an Uzbek asylum seeker whose residency permit had expired and not renewed by Swedish authorities, may simply be a desperate man with a mental illness. Or he may be a common criminal who was taking advantage of the current hateful political rhetoric making the rounds in Europe. To paint every criminal act conducted by a Muslim as terrorism leads to a stereotypical media narrative that feeds into the same fears that begin the process in the first place, thereby giving rise to a vicious cycle.

Another point to remember is that the effects of such acts, whether terrorism or not, end up hurting innocent immigrants the most. Muslims bear the brunt of this consequence, but so do other groups. Europe has welcomed refugees from the Middle East, Africa and Asia for a long time, but now sentiments among their citizens may be changing. Beleaguered by the rising tide of Syrian refugees, and a resulting shift in demographics from white to brown, Christian to Muslim, and the like, European governments are rethinking their welcoming stance. We saw this in Brexit and perhaps also in the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States, who ran on a platform of hatred and division.

Sweden has always led the charge in refugee resettlement, usually allowing large numbers of refugees and other categories of immigrants to settle there. But after this attack, Swedish politicians may have to reconsider. The same has occurred in other European countries including France. With Syrians and other refugees desperately seeking safe havens, the violent acts of madmen such as the Swedish attacker do immeasurable harm. Perhaps that is the goal of ISIS, which proves how much against the teaching of Islam they really are.

The good news is that media organizations are increasingly looking at Muslims to shed light on events such as the Swedish one, and Muslims can thereby be a part of the conversation in a way that was not possible in years past. Using social media and public events, Muslims are now able to become involved in this media representation and allow the world to see their total abhorrence of groups like ISIS, or those who may use their ideology for their personal gains.

Saadia Faruqi is a Pakistani-American author of the short story collection “Brick Walls: Tales of Hope & Courage from Pakistan.” She lives in Houston, TX with her family.