http://www.detnews.com/article/20100826/METRO/8260472/1361/Warren-Muslims-shaken-after-teen-throws-bottle-during-prayers
Warren Muslims shaken after teen throws bottle during prayers
Oralandar Brand-Williams / The Detroit News
Warren — An imam says he is beefing up security at his mosque after a teenager hurled a glass bottle into its parking lot during nightly Ramadan prayers Tuesday.
Imam Steve Mustapha Elturk says the no one was hurt, but the incident has shaken the congregation of the Islamic Organization of North America on Ryan Road near 12 Mile. The mosque is considering contacting police or the FBI, but hasn’t done so yet.
“It could be kids’ stuff,” Elturk said. “But I just hope it’s not related to the (New York) mosque (controversy.)”
Plans for an Islamic cultural center and mosque known as Park 51 near the former site of the World Trade Center have sparked protests from New Yorkers and others around the country. Some contend the plans are insensitive since the 2001 hijackers were Islamic extremists, while others say the center could promote healing and argue not all Muslims should be judged by extremists.
On Thursday, the Michigan office of the Muslim civil rights group Council on American-Islamic Relations called on Michigan mosques to “step up security during nightly Ramadan programs and Friday sermons in the wake of a recent nationwide surge of Islamophobia.”
“We advise all Islamic centers in Michigan to increase security in parking lots and at mosque entrances,” said CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid in a press statement.
“We also call on Michigan politicians, civic leaders, and religious clergy of all faiths to respond to the growing anti-Muslim intolerance, which is sweeping America.”
Walid told The Detroit News “it’s really getting scary out here.”
“We’re just concerned,” added Walid. “We’re not forecasting something to happen here.”
Walid pointed out recent incidents of vandalism at mosques in California, New York and others parts of the country. He urged political and religious leaders to take a more vocal stand in denouncing the attacks.