Hate crime suspected in Milpitas http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/06/14/BA184133.DTL Matthew B. Stannard, Chronicle Staff Writer Friday, June 14, 2002 Windows were shattered and obscene graffiti was left at a construction site for a mosque in what is being investigated as a possible hate crime, Milpitas police said Thursday. Police were summoned to the Montague Expressway site at about 7:45 p.m. Tuesday, said Lt. Sandy Holliday. There, they found windows shattered and belongings strewn about a construction trailer and camper parked behind a large industrial building that the Al-Hilaal Islamic Charitable Foundation plans to turn into a turreted masjid, or mosque. "We don't know at this time if it's somebody that happened on the place or targeted it, but we are treating it as a hate crime because of some of the derogatory graffiti," Holliday said. She said the graffiti included references to the devil and obscene phrases about Arabs. Milpitas police are consulting with the U.S. Department of Justice and national Islamic groups as part of the investigation, Holliday said. Milpitas last saw a mosque vandalized on Sept. 11, she said. "We take this very seriously," she said. "We want our community to know they are safe." According to its Web site, the 8-year-old nonprofit foundation bought the property for $1.9 million in 2000 and is now raising money for a $2.5 million renovation. The plan is to turn the 7,000-square-foot rectangular building on the lot into a mosque with men's and women's prayer rooms, dining room and classroom space. Foundation officials could not be reached for comment Thursday. But Muhammad Abu-Haneefa, activity director of American Muslims for Global Peace and Justice, a national organization based in Santa Clara, said he believed the community would carry on. "Our Muslim community, together with our conscious brothers and sisters of other faiths, are going to stay strong," he said. Abu-Haneefa said he felt that the graffiti at the mosque was part of a wider attack against the community of faith; he mentioned an arson fire on a largely Arab American Christian church in Los Altos in April and several incidents of Nazi-related graffiti at a Redwood City synagogue in the past several months. E-mail Matthew B. Stannard at mstannard@sfchronicle.com. ************************** Milpitas mosque under construction hit by vandals Bay City News Service http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/3462926.htm MILPITAS - Milpitas police are investigating a possible hate crime against a mosque under construction in the city, but said today they have few clues as to a suspect. Officers responded to a report of a commercial burglary at about 7:45 p.m. Tuesday at the mosque at 91 Montague Expressway, where they discovered that a modular trailer used by the construction company was damaged inside. Investigators were led to believe the incident was a hate crime because `derogatory'' remarks were scrawled on the walls inside, but it is unknown at this time when the crime occurred. A police spokeswoman said there are no suspects at this time and the investigation is continuing. |