Focus on some Islamophobic Incidents.

Some Incidents Related to Mosques: 

In United States: Vandals paint anti-Islamic messages on Louisville mosque – Red spray paint was used to write several anti-Islamic messages on the exterior of a building of worship. The vandalism was discovered on 16 September 2015 at the Louisville Islamic Center, located in the 4000 block of River Road. Curse words and a Star of David were among the graffiti sprayed all over the Islamic Center. The mosque had been in Louisville for years, and this was the first time it was the target of vandalism.

United States: Three admit to mosque cross-burning incident – The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office said three people, all under the age of 21, had admitted to lighting a burning cross on the lawn of a local mosque. Deputies were called to the World Sufi Foundation Mosque on Fuller Road on 03 September. When they got there they found someone had apparently poured some type of accelerant on the front lawn and set it on fire. A similar, smaller cross was burned in the lawn near the southwest corner of the property. On the following day evening, the sheriff’s office released a statement saying that three individuals responsible for the vandalism had been interviewed by deputies and would surrender themselves to authorities on 8 September. The incident was being treated as a bias crime.

Italy: Venice officials shut down mosque-inside-church art exhibit — Authorities in Venice on 22 May closed a working mosque in an ex-church that was Iceland's contribution to the 56th Venice Biennale contemporary art fair on the grounds that was used as a place of worship. Swiss-Icelandic artist Christoph Buechel's exhibit inside a former Roman Catholic Church creating the first mosque ever in the historic center of Venice sparked controversy as the chairman of the Icelandic Art Center, which commissioned the project, complained that Venetian authorities had tried to prevent its realization rather than assist in making it possible, under the claim that the Icelandic Pavilion was not art. Iceland chose the deconsecrated Church of Santa Maria della Misericordia for the exhibit titled ‘The Mosque in Venice’, which for centuries served as a crossroads between East and West and was infused with Middle Eastern architectural influences. The project envisioned a working mosque for the seven months of the Biennale, which opened May 8 and comprises national pavilions as well as a curated main exhibit. After weeks of tensions, Venice city officials withdrew authorization for the installation citing violation of the terms, including a ban on using the pavilion as a place of worship as well as security concerns.

United Kingdom: Two teenagers held on suspicion of arson after London mosque fire – Two teenagers were arrested on suspicion of arson after a fire engulfed part of a south London mosque said to be the largest in western Europe. Seventy firefighters battled the blaze at at the Baitul Futuh mosque in Morden in the afternoon of 26 September, which London fire brigade said had hit administrative buildings and not the main prayer room. One man was taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation. Two boys aged 14 and 16 were arrested on suspicion of arson, and both remain in custody at a south London police station. Pictures on social media showed a column of black smoke billowing up from the mosque. Half of the building’s ground floor was on fire, along with a quarter of its first floor and roof. By mid-evening on that day, the fire had damaged 50% of the ground floor. Most of the damage occurred at the front of the building, while the prayer area of the mosque was unaffected.

United States: Texas Mosque defaced with feces, torn pages of Quran— When members of the Islamic Center of Pflugerville (ICP) in Texas went to open their mosque for morning prayer on 16 November 2015, they found feces splattered in front of the mosque with torn pages from the Quran. Pages of the Quran left at the mosque. Faisal Naeem, an ICP board member said: “This is very unexpected and quite honestly quite shocking,”…..“We’ve always thought of Austin being an oasis.” The Islamic Center of Pflugerville is located inside a strip center. The mosque had never been in the rented space for the previous three years and members said they hadn’t had problems before. Pflugerville Police said they were investigating the incident as a hate crime. They received a call on Monday 17th November about criminal mischief. 

United States: Armed protesters outside Texas Mosque — Around a dozen protesters gathered outside a mosque in Texas on 21 November, most of whom were carrying guns. One had a sign which expressed the desire to ‘Stop the Islamization of America.’ The event's organizer, David Wright, said that he wanted to do this to show that Syrian refugees shouldn't be allowed into the country. 

United States: Pair arraigned in Burlington Mosque vandalism—Two men were arrested and arraigned in connection with vandalism at a local mosque on 3 November 2016. Burlington Police Chief Michael Kent announced at a press conference that police arrested Cameron Capella and Derrik Demone and charged them with malicious destruction of property worth more than $250, tagging a building, following an act of vandalism at the Islamic Center of Burlington. A third party was also involved, Kent said, and that person's involvement was being investigated. "This was a cowardly act by individuals who masked themselves," Kent said. He thanked the Islamic Center for its cooperation, as well as Burlington police detectives for their efforts, as well as the FBI and the Anti-Defamation League, who also assisted in the investigation.

United States : Cold Lake Mosque vandalized for the second time— A mosque in east-central Alberta was once again cleaning up after being vandalized for the second time since October 2014. The words "Go Home" were scrawled on Cold Lake Mosque's door sometime between Friday 13 November’s night and Saturday 14 November’s morning, according to the Edmonton Journal. "Catch me if you can" was scribbled inside a nearby CIBC ATM. "This attempt to intimidate Muslims in our community will not be tolerated," wrote Fort McMurray-Cold Lake MP David Yurdiga in a Facebook statement. He added: “The perpetrators of this crime didn’t seem to understand that the Muslims in our community were just as at home as everyone else." Police were reviewing video from nearby locations and had asked the public to come forward with any information. Cold Lake RCMP had recently met with mosque representative Mahmoud El-Kadri shortly after the Paris attacks to reassure him Mounties would be ready if the mosque needed any assistance. 

Luxembourg: Suspected Mamer Mosque aggressor arrested — Police arrested a man suspected of causing knife attack at the Islamic Cultural Centre in Mamer 7 November 2015. The suspect was a Croatian of Bosnian origin who arrived in Luxembourg three weeks before. He had no fixed address and had gone to the centre looking for accommodation. The attack took place on the same day when the perpetrator attacked another man with a knife before fleeing the scene. Police arrested the individual who was, according to a source, at an Internet cafe near the Islamic 116 Cultural Centre on boulevard d'Avranches, as he had been visiting the centre quite frequently. On the next day the investigating judge placed the man in custody. The suspect was charged with attempted murder and an investigation was underway. 

United Kingdom: Firework attack on Rhyl Mosque—An Emergency services called to Islamic Cultural Centre on Water Street in Rhyl after firework posted through letterbox. Residents described the drama as the building was taped off and police and fire crews pulled up outside. North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said no fire was caused by the incident. It was believed that a lit firework was pushed through the letter box. One neighbour said: “I could hear lots of sirens and when I looked out of my window, I saw lots of blue flashing lights. “Police cars pulled up and officers put tape around the mosque.

United Kingdom: Finsbury Park Mosque targeted in suspected arson attack— A mosque in north London was targeted in a suspected arson attack that police were treating as an Islamophobic hate crime. Officers were appealing for information after CCTV images showed a man trying to set Finsbury Park mosque on fire. A molotov cocktail was thrown but did not explode, according to a statement on the mosque’s website. Scotland Yard confirmed the suspect tried to set alight a jerry could have filled with petrol before throwing it into the mosque’s grounds. “We hope the police find out who is behind this grave incident and catch the perpetrators,” the mosque said in its statement. “We would like to assure our community in Islington that such crime has no place within our society and we are determined more than ever to promote community cohesion and harmony.” The mosque’s chairman, Mohammed Kozbar, told the BBC that he believed the mosque was saved only because it was raining. He said a gallon of fuel and burned papers were found outside the building. Police said they were called shortly after reports of a man acting suspiciously. They said that they had established that the man was in the area at about 8.30pm the previous evening. There were no reports of injuries.

United States: After Paris ISIS threat, mosques in Canada and Florida fear Islamophobia — Amid growing concerns that terrorist attacks in Paris could spark a wave of Islamophobic retaliation, a Muslim congregation in Canada said a fire that burnt down its mosque appears to be a hate crime, and two Florida mosques reportedly received phone threats over the weekend. The fire at the Kawartha Muslim Religious Association’s mosque in Peterborough, Ontario, broke out one day after Paris attack and caused up $80,000 in damage; no one was inside at the time. Officials confirmed on the following day that the fire was deliberately set. The mosque is the only one in Peterborough, a city of 135,000, and association president Kenzu Abdella said the Muslim community traditionally had a good relationship with the rest of the city. But after learning the fire was intentional, he said he was certain the arson was a hate crime. “I’m devastated,” Abdella said. “Children pray here.”

UK: Deliberate fire at Bishopbriggs Centre used as mosque — Police were investigating a deliberate fire at a cultural centre that was used as a mosque by the Muslim community. Fire crews were called to Bishopbriggs Cultural Centre, in Auchinairn Road, on 17 November 2015. Firefighters extinguished a blaze in a lock-up area. Some damage was caused to the building but no-one was injured. Police Scotland said the fire was being treated as willful fire-raising and an investigation was under way. They had also appealed for witnesses. Bishopbriggs Cultural centre is listed as a mosque on the Glasgow Muslims webpage.

Canada: Police are treating fire at Canada mosque as hate crime, unclear if tied to Paris attacks — Police said they were treating a fire that was deliberately set at an Ontario mosque as a hate crime. Police were still searching for suspects in the Saturday night fire and say it was unclear if it was connected to the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris the previous day. But Police Chief Murray Rodd said that an injury to one of the city's ethnic communities is "an injury to us all." The president of the Kawartha Muslim Religious Association, Kenzu Abdella, said the mosque was set ablaze at 11 p.m. Saturday, about a half hour after association members were in the building celebrating the birth of a baby. Abdella said no one was injured in the fire but the building has been rendered unusable. New Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was "deeply disturbed" by the fire and promised to protect the rights of worshippers at the mosque and catch those responsible for the fire.

United States: Email threatens Kentucky Mosque — The Islamic Center of Lexington received an email, threatening to kill everyone inside, according to the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). The threat said, “I’m going to kill everyone I (sic) there you Muslim f**ks. Salabis is coming for you.” The person who sent the email, left a name. But at the time, no arrests had been made.

Ireland: Pig heads bearing anti-Islam slogan left at church — St Luke’s Church on Northumberland Street, owned by the Church of Ireland, was up for sale, had been empty since 2006 and there were rumours that members of the Muslim community had shown interest in buying the church to turn it into a mosque. Police received a report at on 24 October that two pig’s heads with racially offensive language written on them were left outside the property. A spokesperson from the Belfast Islamic Centre said that the racist attack was disgusting no matter what side of the community the perpetrator came from and there was no place for it in a civilized community.

Australia: Police search mosque in Parramatta shooting investigation — The Parramatta Mosque had been searched as investigations into early October's fatal shooting of a civilian police force employee continued. Farhad Jabar Khalil Mohammad, 15, shot and killed 17-year police force veteran Curtis Cheng outside the Parramatta police headquarters, and the police source said that Farhad attended a mosque shortly before the shooting. 

Netherlands: Another pig’s head found outside Zuid Holland Mosque — Another pig’s head was found outside a mosque in the Netherlands. This one was found by the El Fath Mosque in Berkel en Rodenrijs, near Rotterdam. The pig’s head was found by a local resident, who notified the mosque. The police launched a forensic investigation into the perpetrators and where the head came from. The mosque did not have cameras where the head was left. The mosque initially wanted to keep quiet about the pig’s head, but eventually decided to come forward. “After a few days of consultation, including with Rotterdam mosques, we decided not to write this off as an incident”, Noureddine El Amiri of the mosque said to Media. “This is a clear provocation. Sometimes our windows are broken or our plants damaged, but this is much more serious.” Mayor Pieter van de Stadt, of the municipality Lansingerland which covers Berkel en Rodenrijs, called the incident “absolutely unacceptable”.

Spain: Far-right group attacks Madrid’s main mosque — Members of the far-right ‘Madrid Social Home’ group attacked Madrid’s main Mosque M-30 with firebombs on 24 March 2016. The local media didn’t report any casualties after the terrorist attack. Besides setting fire at the mosque, the radicals hung a banner on the wall of the mosque, reading: “Today Brussels, tomorrow Madrid?” They also called as “Ramiro Ledesma” group was proud of the attack, posting it on Twitter and saying that it had launched a “campaign against radical Islam.” The radicals claimed that all mosques, including the M-30, finance the Islamic State (IS). According to a report, after the Paris attacks in November, Spanish reporters interviewed dozens of Muslims pouring out of the M-30 Mosque following Friday prayer. They all condemned November’s barbaric attack and they stressed that Spain is their home and they would never harm anyone. On 24 March 2016, immediately after the fatal terrorist attacks in Brussels, the Madrid mosque and Centre for Islamic Culture wrote in a statement saying: “Without a doubt, what happened in Brussels on March 22nd is unacceptable, nor is it accepted within our logic or religion to commit such nefarious attacks… Muslims all around the world have condemned this terrible event that took the lives of innocent victims, including Muslims as well.

United Kingdom: Alcohol bottles thrown at mosque while worshippers prayed in racist attack — The incident occurred at Totteridge mosque in High Wycombe, police had launched a race hate investigation after bottles of alcohol allegedly were thrown at a Mosque while worshippers were praying inside. It is reported that a male youth was seen chucking bottles of booze at the Totteridge Mosque in High Wycombe, Bucks, before speeding off in a car. Thames Valley police said the incident poses a serious threat to a cohesive and diverse society