by Esteban Parra and Nichole Dobo
DelawareOnline.com
UPDATE: Jeffrey A. Reising, a supervisory special agent with the FBI announced during an interfaith prayer service tonight that three juveniles have been arrested and charged with criminal mischief.
Leaders at the mosque expressed gratitude for an “overwhelming” response of support from the community – police, religious leaders and elected officials.
The president of the Islamic Society of Delaware said the incident showed the power of a community to push back against intolerance.
“We can make our town … our state … a better place,” he said.
More than 150 people filled every seat in the hall, and they offered messages of a renewed commitment to teaching the community about religious tolerance.
“Honestly, your attendance today is much appreciated,” the mosque’s imam said. “It means a lot to us as Muslims.”
U.S. Sen. Chris Coons and Lt. Gov. Matt Denn were among the crowd.
Westminster Presbyterian delivered a $1,000 check to fix the damages.
Earlier today: The executive director of the Philadelphia chapter of a Muslim civil rights organization was in Ogletown today where he and other interfaith leaders denounced acts of vandalism committed against the Islamic Society of Delaware last week.
“This attack is far from unique in the often sad history of our country,” said Jacob Bender, president of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Philadelphia. He cited attacks against synagogues, Catholics and the 1963 bombing of a black church in Birmingham, Ala., that killed four young girls.
In explaining why the gathering was being held, Bender, who is not Muslim, said it was not for the Muslim community alone to defend itself against bigotry, “but the obligation of all Americans who believe in our cherished values of freedom, acceptance and mutual respect.”
Bender spoke at the Islamic Society of Delaware on Salem Church Road, where worshippers arriving at the mosque Friday morning found a white picket fence broken into pieces, a wooden sign with the name of the mosque knocked down, and another sign damaged. A cross, a sign used by the Christian faith, was created from the resulting debris.
Other speaking this afternoon were: Mahamed Allimulla, president of the Islamic Society of Delaware; Sister Barbara Jean Brown, an Episcopal nun and director of the Interfaith Center, located at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd on Foulk Road; and Jeanne Swartz, a member of the Philadelphia Interfaith Walk for Peace and Reconciliation.
Swartz, who hosts students from the mosque learning English, said she abhorred the use of the cross in last week’s attacks.
“To me and to true Christians, the cross is a symbol of the Lord’s saving act of love,” she said. “So it would never be used for hate.”
She said she will be praying for the vandals to repent, she said.
Sister Brown said people should understand that we are Americans and we all have similarities.
“We are more similar than we are different,” Brown said. “Even though I don’t hold the same faith as the Islamic community, I believe that I believe in the same God.”
The Islamic Society of Delaware serves not only the Muslim community, but also other communities in the state, Allimulla said at the noon gathering. He added they plan to continue doing so.
“This isolated incident will not deter us from our firm commitment to serve the people of Delaware,” he said.
Bender also asked for federal authorities to step in. Other speakers spoke at the noon event: one from the mosque and two from Christina organizations. The vandalism occurred on Friday, which draws about 1,000 worshippers for afternoon prayer.
An interfaith service will be held at 7 tonight p.m. in the Islamic Society of Delaware’s multipurpose hall at the Salem Church Road center. Leaders from a variety of faith traditions, along with congregation members, are invited to attend, Ahmed Sharkawy, interfaith and outreach chairman of the Islamic Society of Delaware said in an email. The event was planned to show that the religious community of Delaware is unified against acts of intolerance.
The Interfaith Resource Center is also beginning to lay the groundwork to raise money to help pay for repairs to the damages as the mosque, said Sister Brown. As those details are finalized they will be posted on the center’s website, http://www.interfaithresourcecenter.com/, she said, so those interested in helping can check the website for updates.
Gov. Jack Markell reached out to the president of the Islamic Society of Delaware last week, a spokeswoman said, because he was concerned about the community.
“Members of any religion, including the Islamic community, deserve to be able to freely express their faith in peace without fear, bias or violence,” he said in a statement Monday.
State police were at the scene, and a representative from the state Human Relations Commission was there to gather evidence that could help determine whether it could be classified as a possible hate crime.
In 2011, there were three crimes driven by hatred of another religion reported in Delaware, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. There were 15 hate crimes reported statewide that year, according the federal crime data.
