Assalamualaykum wht,

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.

posted by Hana' at 7/12/2005 11:36:00 AM |