Intruder vandalizes Loop mosque, is accused of blurting offensive statements during prayers

An intruder burst into a Loop mosque and blurted offensive statements to congregants during nightly prayers Sunday, police and shaken mosque leaders said.

Community leaders say this latest attack is part of a rise in anti-Muslim hate, which has been incited by the dialogue surrounding the Israel-Hamas war and the United States’ response.

“It really ties into — from our side of the looking glass — to the situation in Gaza,” Abdullah Mitchell, executive director of the Council Of Islamic Organizations Of Greater Chicago said Monday.

“How can we allow over 31,000 people, innocent citizens to be killed and not have any reaction? And now it’s spilling over here ... where we have people thinking now they must take this fight and fight Muslims right here in the United States. That’s totally unacceptable,” Mitchell said.

Anthony Vazquez/Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

Just before nightly prayers for Ramadan around 8 p.m., a man approached the Downtown Islamic Center, 213 S. State St., police and mosque spokesperson Salman Azam said.

Surveillance video captured much of the intrusion.

Imad, who asked to be referred to by only first name for safety reasons, was working the security desk for the center at the time.

While the center is open to all, those entering must be buzzed in at the front desk.

But a man, who appears to be bleeding from his face, can be seen on the video slipping in behind a pair of women who Imad said he had buzzed in. The man was behaving erratically and can been seen screaming and yelling at Imad on the video, which does not have an audio track.

Imad described the remarks as disparaging. And Azam said the man also said abhorrent things to people praying, such as “Muslims should die.”

Anthony Vazquez/Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

Imad continued to ask the man to leave, opening the door for him and eventually getting him to exit the building.

Once outside, the man can be seen kicking the glass door, only to return a few seconds later with an object — which Imad believed to be a chair — that the man used to shatter the glass. The man then walks away, the video footage shows.

Emaad Masroor arrived for evening prayer just after the man left. He was saddened to see the shattered glass but not surprised. This was the second time someone had attacked a mosque he attends.

“A lot of hate has been increasing recently, since October,” Masroor told the Sun-Times Monday afternoon. “It’s one thing to spread so much hate, but it’s another thing when it’s rooted in so much misinformation.”

Still, the attack did not deter Masroor or other congregants from attending evening prayer.

“Every time something like this happens, our Muslim community, we just rally together,” Masroor said. “Everyone has each other’s back, and that’s really beautiful to see.”

Anthony Vazquez/Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

The Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations has joined Azam and the Council Of Islamic Organizations Of Greater Chicago in asking authorities to investigate the incident as a hate crime.

It’s unclear whether police have classified the incident as such.

“Because of the alleged threats made to worshipers and the vandalism targeting the mosque, we urge state and federal law enforcement authorities to investigate this incident as a possible hate crime and to step up security for this and other houses of worship in the area,” Ahmed Rehab, executive director of the Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, wrote in a statement. “Every American should be free to practice their faith without fear of intimidation or attack.”

Roman Catholic Cardinal Blase J. Cupich said he stands with the Muslim community in condeming the “hateful rhetoric and actions.”

“I denounce the vandalization that took place last evening at the Downtown Islamic Center in Chicago,” the archbishop of Chicago wrote on Monday. “It is also deeply troubling to hear that before this act of vandalism took place members of the local Muslim community were threatened upon arriving for prayer during Ramadan, their holiest time of year.

“There is no place for this behavior, and I stand with the Muslim community of Chicago and all people of good will in calling for an end to such hateful rhetoric and actions.”

Anthony Vazquez/Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

Hate crimes against Muslims have increased in the area since the onset of the war in Gaza last fall, ranging in severity from vandalism and derogatory language to the killing of a Palestinian-American boy in Plainfield.

The uptick in Islamophobia has shaken the Muslim community, Azam said, and the mosque should have been a “safe space” for the community to gather and pray.

“Heading into the month of Ramadan, the holy month, they were looking for peace and serenity,” Azam said. “Seeing what transpired last night justifiably frightened them. ... People shouldn’t be afraid to come to houses of worship.”

The mosque is working with Chicago police, and CAIR and has hired private security in the wake of the crime.

Some said they hope Chicago police will station a squad car outside for Friday afternoon prayers when the center can draw almost 1,000 congregants, and during evening prayers when congregants leave well after dark.

Area 3 detectives are investigating, but no one had been arrested by Monday evening.