Muslim Americans on guard after attacks abroad and at home
Muslim Americans are reeling after two tragic incidents at their places of worship abroad and at home, renewing discussions on tolerance and safety.
"It’s been a really difficult time in terms of our community," said Faiyaz Jaffer, the associate chaplain at the Islamic Center at New York University. "There’s a lot of grief and lot of anxiety."
On Sunday, a van ran into a crowd of worshipers leaving evening prayers at Finsbury Park Mosque in North London, injuring at least nine people. Officials are treating the incident as a terror attack. British media identified the suspect as Darren Osborne, 47, a father of four from Cardiff, Wales.
On the same day on U.S. soil, police found the remains of a 17-year-old Nabra Hassanen of Reston, Va., whom they believe was assaulted and killed after she left a mosque in Sterling. Authorities have charged 22-year-old Darwin Martinez Torres with murder and attributed the incident to "road rage."
The incidents come at a time of heightened tension for the Muslim community, said Muhammad Farooq, the president of the Fairfax-based Islamic Center of Northern Virginia Trust. He is being careful about his personal safety and is urging his fellow worshipers to do the same.
"If I am walking now after midnight prayers and my car is parked is outside, I have to look left and right," he said. " I have to walk with someone so I don’t walk alone."
Attacks on the Muslim community have been on the rise worldwide, Jaffer said. In January, the Islamic Center of Lake Travis in Austin was destroyed in a fire that authorities have called a hate crime. Nearly 100 mosques were attacked in Germany last year and dozens more have been targeted this year by arsonists, according to the Associated Press.
Jaffer said tensions have been around for a long time — since Sept. 11, 2001.
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"This isn't new," he said. "I've been called every name I can possibly hear about me and my family being terrorists. I’ve heard it all. It’s a fear that’s been prevalent in our communities for more than a decade now."
He echoed Farooq's concerns about safety, saying that as as a chaplain, he often gives talks at mosques. "I wear religious garb. When I park my car and I walk to and from my car, (safety) is something that I worry about," he said. He said he also worries about the safety of his family, including his young daughter.
He and Farooq said mosques are taking active steps to keep worshipers safe, including reaching out to local law enforcement, recruiting volunteers to walk women and children to their cars and holding self-defense courses.
Since the London incident, the New York Police Department has deployed police units to several mosques throughout the city, the department said. Representatives for the Fairfax and Loudoun police departments, which are responsible for investigating Hassanen's death, said they were patrolling their respective areas with heightened awareness.
There are challenges in increasing security at places of worship, Farooq acknowledged. "Mosques are open," he said. "Anyone can come."
In addition to security measures, Jaffer thinks it is also important to foster conversation, which can work to alleviate people's anxieties about each other and usher in a safer society.
"One of the ways to bridge gaps between people is for people to make a concerted effort to get to know each other," he said. "I think that if people can make those sorts of steps, fear will not be as prevalent."
Follow Sarah Toy on Twitter @sarahtoy17.