The Muslim Community Center in Irving Park was vandalized in what advocates and staff at the center say was a targeted attack.
The Chicago branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations is calling for a thorough investigation into two separate incidents on Sept. 1 and Tuesday, which were reported around 6 a.m. Tuesday at the center, 4380 N. Elston Ave.
CAIR said the damage appears to be bullet holes in the glass of the center’s front doors.
“It’s unclear what the source of what look like bullet holes is, whether a gun, a BB gun, or something else, but what seems clear is that the person who inflicted this damage on a Muslim house of worship did not come in peace,” CAIR Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab said in a news release. “This attack is not just on a building; it is an attack on the Muslim community’s safety and right to worship freely.”
Chicago police didn’t say where the holes came from and whether they were in fact bullet holes. The police department also didn’t say whether the incident is being considered a hate crime. No one is in custody, and detectives are investigating.
On Saturday afternoon, the glass in three separate doors had holes in them. They had been taped up and two of the doors had caution tape over them.
Staff at the Muslim Community Center saw one hole Sunday and found two more Tuesday, said Saif Mazhar, the chairperson of security. He reported the incident to Chicago police and the FBI, but hasn’t heard back from the FBI whether it will launch an investigation.
The FBI didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
“It definitely does look like a hate crime,” Mazhar said. “It definitely seems like somebody was targeting somebody at the mosque. There’s a lot of people that still don’t like Muslims. It’s definitely frustrating living in a society where you always kind of have to watch your back.”
Mazhar said the center is beefing up security and working to avoid similar incidents that they say are targeted.
“We don’t want to be sitting ducks over here,” he said.
Anti-Muslim hate crimes have been on the rise in the past year, and CAIR-Chicago has been sounding the alarm repeatedly.
“Hate motivation should not be ruled out without a thorough investigation,” Joseph Millburn, CAIR-Chicago staff attorney, said in the release.
Contributing: Zubaer Khan