Minneapolis mosque leaders urging FBI to investigate series of threatening calls
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Mosque leaders at the Dar Al-Qalam Islamic Center in Minneapolis say they’ve received more than 14 calls from a St. Cloud-based phone number between Aug. 10 and Aug. 11.
They say the calls have contained threatening voicemails and anti-Muslim slurs, and they say the caller also sent a text message including a video link depicting a New Zealand mosque massacre in 2019.
Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Minnesota or CAIR, says it’s not the first time the mosque has experienced these types of incidents.
“This was not only just a threat, this is a clear intimidation and targeting of our mosque. This is not only unacceptable, but it is alarming to our community,” Hussein said.
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Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the department has increased patrols around mosques in the city as a result of this incident.
“This is a house of worship, and all houses of worship in this city are sacred spaces. This one in particular also serves much like a community center. As we’re standing here, there are children down the hall in school, in a place where they’re supposed to be safe and free from this type of fear and harassment,” O’Hara said. “All of our communities should feel safe to gather in houses of worship and exercise their constitutional right to freedom of religion.”
O’Hara said the department has been in contact with both community and law enforcement partners, and has submitted a case file to the Hennepin County Attorney’s office regarding the incident for consideration of charges. He said that no one was currently in custody regarding the incident.
CAIR and other Mosque leaders are calling on the FBI to investigate the series of calls as a hate crime.
In an email to MPR News, an FBI spokesperson said the FBI does not confirm or deny the existence of investigations.
The Minneapolis Police Department has worked with the FBI to investigate previous acts of vandalism against Minneapolis mosques.
According to CAIR, five mosques in Minnesota have been approved for and are waiting to receive federal funding to enhance security measures, and at least 30 mosques have applied for federal funding.