SHAFAQNA- Muslim community in Minnesota is grappling with a series of horrific attacks on mosques and Islamic centers in the metropolitan area.
Just last week, the Masjid (Mosque) As Sunnah in St. Paul was vandalized by a masked individual. Last month, the Masjid Omar Islamic Center and Masjid Al-Rahma Mosque were targeted by arsonists and the Umatul Islam Mosque was vandalized just days apart from one another. These attacks were the latest in a dangerous trend of hate crimes committed against Minnesota’s Muslim community in recent years, including an attack on the Tawfiq Islamic Center in 2022, the vandalization of the Islamic Center of St. Cloud in 2022, and the high-profile bombing of the Dar Al-Farooq Center in 2017.
Hate targeting minority communities is not a new phenomenon. But these incidents are occurring at a time when the FBI recently reported a stark increase in hate crimes, from 194 in 2020 to 241 in 2021, marking a two-decade high in reported hate crimes in Minnesota. The intensity and frequency of the attacks reveal a deeply troubling and dangerous undercurrent of anti-Muslim hate in the region.
Hate crimes not only instill fear in the immediate target, but also can deeply unsettle the entire community. Tackling hate requires a whole community response.
Minneapolis’ recent ordinance allowing the Muslim call to prayer to be broadcast five times a day year-round is an example of how cities can help create environments where religious diversity is celebrated.