Muslim community wants vandalism at a South Philadelphia mosque to be investigated as hate crime
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Muslim community in South Philly wants vandalism at a mosque to be investigated as a hate crime.
A video captured by a corner store's surveillance camera shows a man using a marker to vandalize walls along Point Breeze Avenue early on Thursday.
He then makes his way further down the street to the United Muslim Islamic Center leaving several phrases on windows and doors.
"We know it was directed at our faith because of the things that were on the building," Qasim Rashid said.
The center's president Rashid had the vandalism removed but he noticed versions of those same phrases on a different building across the street. He says these acts have become more common ever since the start of the war in Israel.
"There's a lot of high tension within the community, a lot anti-Islamic, anti-Semitic rhetoric going around," Rashid said.
The mosque reported the incident to the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Philadelphia. The civil rights organization is pushing for the act to be investigated as a hate crime.
"All mosques, all synagogues, churches, houses of worship should be safe from any threats. should be safe to worship as they do and this value should be non-negotiable for anyone even in times of tension or conflict," Ahmet Tekelioglu, CAIR-Philadelphia executive director, said.
Even though the vandalism came just a day before the mosque's weekly Friday prayer session. Community leaders say they are not standing down.
"It's time for us to step up and to be on the side of our friends and family from whichever background they might be coming in from," Tekelioglu said.
According to police, the investigation is still active. They have not yet confirmed whether they're investigating this as a hate crime.