Advancing Justice Condemns Minnesota Mosque Bombing As Hate Attack
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Washington, D.C. — On August 5, 2017, a bomb was detonated at the Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, an incident that was declared “an act of terrorism” by Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton. No one was hurt in the blast, and the FBI is determining whether the attack was a hate crime. The bombing took place on the fifth anniversary of the Oak Creek Massacre, an attack on a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin in which a shooter killed six community members and wounded four others.
Advancing Justice | AAJC (Washington, DC), Advancing Justice - Los Angeles, Advancing Justice - Atlanta, and Advancing Justice - Chicago, issue the following statement:
“We were horrified and outraged that a bomb was detonated at a mosque in Minneapolis during worship services this weekend, endangering hundreds of lives. Even more concerning, the attack took place on the anniversary of a similar attack on a Sikh temple. While no one was injured in the bombing, we condemn this apparent deliberate hate attack.
The targeting of houses of worship and community centers used by religious and racial minorities is not new, and is a tactic that has been used over decades to instill fear in communities of color. This weekend’s attack requires us to recall not only the Oak Creek Massacre, but the shooting at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston and the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, among other, similar attacks. We stand with the Al-Farooq Islamic Center as we stand with Muslims, immigrants, refugees, and all communities that find themselves targets of hate in today’s increasingly hostile environment.
At a time when many government officials’ rhetoric and policy proposals serve to sanction hate speech and the targeting of our communities, we must condemn each and every attack as the hate that it is. In January, Asian Americans Advancing Justice launched the Stand Against Hatred website to serve as a tool to track and expose hate crimes and harassment against members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. We encourage individuals to report all hate incidents so that we can better understand the current climate of hate.”
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