JUNE 3, 2015, 8:24 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2015, 8:47 PM
BY STEVE JANOSKI
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
MIDLAND PARK – A prominent Muslim civil rights group (CAIR) is calling for the FBI to investigate an “act of hatred” in which someone carved a swastika into a wooden sign outside an Irving Street mosque on Memorial Day.
The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a statement Tuesday asking the FBI to investigate the carving of the 10-inch swastika and images of “male genitalia,” that appeared on the sign outside the Elzahra Islamic Center.
“These types of incidents should be investigated within the context of the rising level of Islamophobic sentiment in our society and treated with the seriousness they deserve,” said Nadia Kahf, the council’s board chairwoman, in a statement. “Public officials and interfaith leaders should speak out against acts of hatred and intolerance whenever they occur.”
Ibrahim Hooper, national communications director for the organization, said it was “incumbent” upon the FBI to look into the vandalism.
“If we were talking about just an isolated incident in a small community in New Jersey, that’s one thing. But unfortunately, we’re seeing a real spike in these kinds of incidents nationwide,” he said. “We see this incident as possibly part of that disturbing pattern.”
A spokeswoman for the FBI’s Newark field office said the bureau wasn’t involved in the investigation, and said it “looks like it’s being handled locally.”
The vandalism is being handled as a bias crime by borough detectives, meaning stiffer penalties could apply for whomever is apprehended and convicted, police Chief Michael Powderley said.
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