The Militant - August 25, 2003 -- Cross burning at Maryland mosque is condemned at press conference

Vol. 67/No. 29 August 25, 2003

Cross burning at Maryland mosque
is condemned at press conference

BY GLOVA SCOTT
WASHINGTON, D.C.—A three-foot- high wooden cross was set afire outside the Dar-us-Salaam mosque and adjoining Muslim Al-Huda school in College Park, Maryland, at 2 a.m. July 24. A surveillance camera videotape showed at least two people carrying out the cross burning. A man, sitting in a car while waiting for a friend working on the floors inside the mosque, also witnessed two or three young white men on the lawn who then sped away in a van after the cross was set ablaze. Local firefighters extinguished the fire in minutes.

Rizwan Mowlana, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said in a phone interview that he had gotten a call about the incident at 5 a.m. and organized a 12:30 p.m. press conference that day. About 25 people came representing the NAACP, the American Civil Liberties Union, local politicians, human rights groups, and area churches. Individuals from the mosque and school also attended.

“This is obviously a hate crime and is very disturbing,” said Mowlana, noting that he had called the FBI to investigate. “We have a common enemy,” he stated, announcing his plans to pull together a coalition to fight to bring those responsible for the cross burning to justice. For more information, contact www.cairmd.org.

Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home