Mosque fire could bring hate crime charges for 3
COLUMBIA — Three Columbia men could face federal hate crime charges after
police say they painted swastikas and phrases such as "white power" on a mosque
then set it on fire.
Investigators believe the fire at the Islamic Center of Columbia started
around 5 a.m. Saturday.
Later that night authorities arrested Jonathan Stone, 19, Michael Golden,
23. and Eric Baker, 32, according to Jim Cavanaugh, special agent in charge of
the Nashville office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives. Authorities did not say how they tracked down the suspects.
"It affects every American and every Muslim when they see a swastika painted
on the side of a mosque destroyed by arson," Cavanaugh said Sunday.
The men are being held in the Maury County Jail and face possible federal
charges for attacking a house of worship and other federal crimes, he said.
Shocked by reports of the arson and hate slogans, Pastor Randy Miller chose
to pray about the matter Sunday morning with his congregation at Trinity
Lutheran Church in Columbia.
"You think that these walls were broken down a long time ago," Miller
explained later, "but they still exist today.
"God created all of us, so respect for someone else's faith, tradition and
building should exist."
The small mosque, located in a former electronics repair shop on Main
Street, serves as a place of worship for the few Muslim families in Maury County.
"This is a level of hatred our community doesn't need," said the Rev. Pete
Tackett, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Columbia.
"Certainly Christ would never have had any part of that. We're praying that
our community would not go down that path any further."
Islamic leaders in Nashville were also surprised by the arson and vandalism.
"This is the first hate crime we have observed here in Middle Tennessee,"
said A.K.M. Fakhruddin, former president of the Islamic Center of Nashville. He
said the Islamic Center has had support from the greater Nashville community
since the mosque was built in the late 1970s.
An official response to the matter is under advisement by the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, an advocacy group for Muslims that seeks to restore
a positive and peaceful image of Islam in America, according to Khaled
Sakalla, media representative and member of the Islamic Center.
Fakhruddin said the community must "be educated to live with each other in
harmony and to respect each other's religion, values and faith.
"The diversity of all religions made this a great country. Islam means peace
and we want to live with peace and tolerance for each other."
Miller, the Trinity Lutheran pastor, sees the hateful acts as an opportunity
for growth.
"It reignites in me a passion for ministry in Columbia," he said. "Last
night's news report is an obvious sign of the struggles of the city. We have to
take people where they are and walk with them."
**************The year's hottest artists on the red carpet at the Grammy
Awards. Go to AOL Music.
(http://music.aol.com/grammys?NCID=aolcmp00300000002565)
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html
To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
|