PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A mosque in West Phiadelphia was vandalized this week and an Islamic organization has called for authorities to investigate the incident as a hate crime.
The Philadelphia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) says someone spray painted a Star of David and “Give peace a chance” on the main entrance and wall of the Masjid Al-Jamia mosque at 43rd and Walnut streets.
According to CAIR-Philadelphia officials, a man in a red overcoat was seen committing the vandalism on the mosque’s surveillance system. The messages were discovered early Friday morning.
The organization issued a call for increased police protection in West Philadelphia. “The kind of violation Masjid Al-Jamia has seen is unacceptable; this is the third mosque that has been defaced with bigoted language in the last two months,” said Dr. Ahmet Tekelioglu, CAIR-Philadelphia’s executive director. “Law enforcement authorities must investigate this vandalism as a hate crime.”
Mosque representative Shuja Moore said the community wouldn’t be intimidated by incidents of bigotry, but also expressed a willingness to have a productive dialogue with the culprits.
“Should they come forward and admit to their mistake, we will be ready to have an informative and restorative conversation with this individual,” said Moore.
Philadelphia police said the incident is being investigated by Southwest Detectives.