One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Letter Saying Trump Would 'Cleanse' America Of Muslims Sent To Local Mosques
The Islamic Center of Claremont. (via Facebook)
Two Southern California mosques have received threatening letters that say President-elect Donald Trump will "cleanse" the country of Muslims, prompting calls for increased protection from local law enforcement.The letter, signed "Americans for a Better Way," was sent to the Long Beach Islamic Center and the Islamic Center of Claremont on Wednesday, according to the L.A. Times. The Evergreen Islamic Center up in San Jose received the same letter on Friday. In it, the writer denigrated Muslims and praises the president-elect, saying Trump will do to Muslims what "Hitler did to the jews [sic]." Both the Los Angeles and San Francisco chapters of the Council on American-Islamic Relations have called on local law enforcement to step up their protection of local mosques.
"He's going to do to you Muslims what Hitler did to the Jews." - Mailed to a #SanJose mosque. Statement from #CAIR: https://t.co/ASSQFLhLVg pic.twitter.com/ZMwhifn9Yt
— Zahra Billoo (@ZahraBilloo) November 26, 2016
"This hate campaign targeting California houses of worship must be investigated as an act of religious intimidation, and our state's leaders should speak out against the growing anti-Muslim bigotry that leads to such incidents," CAIR-LA's executive director Hussam Ayloush said in a statement on Saturday.
Across the nation, there has been a spike in the reports of hate crime ever since Donald Trump won the election. Trump ran a campaign that used overtly racist rhetoric and called for a ban on Muslims entering the country, or at the very least a registry of Muslims entering the country.
"While he might say he's not responsible, and I respect that, I remind President-elect Trump that he has a responsibility to act as a president for all Americans," said Ayloush.
In the wake of these chilling reports, L.A.'s law enforcement leaders have vowed to crack down on hate crimes. "Acts of hate tear at the fabric of who we are as a nation, and we want to send a strong message that no one should be reluctant or afraid to report a hate crime," said Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer in a statement. "None of us is ever going to re-victimize someone who is either a victim or a witness of a hate crime." On Tuesday, the county Board of Supervisors passed a motion that provided guidelines to law enforcement agencies on how to deal with hate crimes.
In August, the Orange County Human Relations Commission released a report that said the number of hate incidents against Muslims (or those perceived to be Muslim) saw a three-fold spike in 2015 across Orange County. An Agoura man that owned a large cache of weapons was arrested last month for making threats against the Islamic Center of Southern California.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
