Members of SF mosque harassed again amid growing anti-Muslim incidents
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Members of a mosque in San Francisco are worried about their safety and security.
That's after a man was caught on surveillance camera tearing pages out of the Quran. They say that same man has harassed people who belong to the mosque before.
The Islamic Center of San Francisco is one of the oldest mosques in the state of California.
Members say they witnessed a hateful act on December 24.
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"He's thumbing through our holy book, the Quran," said Zuhaib Siddique with Islamic Center of San Francisco. "He showed up with religious books, the Quran, bible and he started standing in the front, tearing pages from the Quran, waving on the security camera. It kind of looked like a hammer. Though later, it looked like a toy hammer and kind of confronting people coming into the mosque."
The suspect is someone with a history of harassing mosque members.
"We've had run-ins with him, about three to four times," said Siddique.
This isn't first time a mosque in San Francisco was targeted this year. In April, video captured a different man using a skateboard to smash six windows at a mosque on Sutter Street.
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Zahra Billoo is executive director of CAIR, Council on American-Islamic Relations San Francisco.
"People are fearful that this is becoming more normal. We hear more reports of mosques targeted in the City of San Francisco this year than any other year in existence," said Billoo.
Some people worry about the rise of Islamophobia as the U.S. changes leadership.
"The rise in hate that we are seeing, it's not just about Donald Trump. But also, the U.S.-backed genocide in Palestine," said Billoo.
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Neighbors say targeting any mosque is wrong.
"It's very sad and frustrating," said Trysta Cunningham. "I really hope people open their hearts and are more welcoming and accepting. We are all immigrants to this country."
Islamic leaders say more needs to be done.
"We are experiencing a 30-year high in Muslim, anti-Palestinian racism and our call is to elected officials and to law enforcement to send a very clear message that hate will not be tolerated in S.F. against any ethnicity," said Billoo.
