December 30, 2023
Screenshot/Google Maps
The Masjid Al-Jamia mosque on Walnut Street in West Philadelphia was founded in 1988. The Philadelphia chapter of CAIR has called for a hate crime investigation on the vandalism committed to the mosque.
The Masjid Al-Jamia mosque in West Philadelphia became the target of vandalism this week. Surveillance cameras captured footage of an individual spray-painting phrases and symbols on the mosque's entrance.
Philadelphia police are investigating the incident, which had an individual in a red overcoat spray-paint the phrase "Give [peace] a chance" and symbols including the Star of David and what appears to be the Communist hammer and sickle symbol. Mosque administrators discovered the graffiti on Friday morning; it has since been painted over.
The Philadelphia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Philadelphia) described the graffiti as "biased statements" and called for Philadelphia authorities to investigate the incident as a hate crime. "The kind of violation Masjid Al-Jamia has seen is unacceptable," said CAIR-Philadelphia executive director Dr. Ahmet Tekelioglu.
"This is the third mosque that has been defaced with bigoted language in the last two months. Our office continues to see an unprecedented uptick in reports alleging bias incidents and discrimination." The previous two incidents took place at the United Muslim Islamic Center in October and the Khair Community Center in Montgomery County in November, all in the wake of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
An act is considered a hate crime when it is a criminal act (i.e. vandalism, threats, assault, murder) that is motivated by "prejudice or bias and is directed at people because of their real or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, or ancestry." The defacement of the United Muslim Islamic Center in Point Breeze included messages that insulted people of the Muslim faith.
Established in 1988, the Masjid Al-Jamia mosque was established by the University of Pennsylvania's Muslim Students Association. The mosque became independent in 2009. As services continue in the mosque, CAIR-Philadelphia urges worshippers and Islamic institutions to exercise caution and increase security measures.
Regarding the perpetrator of the vandalism, the mosque's administrative director Shuja Moore said that "should they come forward and admit to their mistake, we will be ready to have an informative and restorative conversation with this individual."
