CAIRO – Leaders of America’s largest Islamic group, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), have thanked the vandals who attacked the group’s headquarters in Plainfield, Indiana, for giving them a chance to feel heartwarming support from their neighbors of all faiths.
“I want to thank the vandals for highlighting the fact that the bonds between Muslims and their fellow Americans and the bonds between Muslims and their brothers and sisters in other faiths are stronger than the bond between spray paint and brick,” said ISNA Secretary General Hazem Bata, Indiana Daily Student reported on Tuesday, March 1.
Bata was addressing a news conference held after unidentified vandals spray-painted vulgarities on ISNA headquarters’ front wall this weekend, reflecting increasing attacks on US Muslims.
Immediately after the attack, interfaith bonds in Indiana appeared in a flock of social media posts, phone calls and letters of support from across the country.
People sent support from as far away as California and from as close as the society’s neighborhood in Plainfield, which is west of Indianapolis.
Before the sun set on the weekend, a local volunteer had scrubbed every dot of paint away.
The support was not only from fellow Muslims, though ISNA is the largest Islamic organization in the country.
Most of the attendees of the crowded press conference were actually Christians.
“When our children are young we can help prevent the development of prejudice from taking root by seeking out books and programs and teachers that promote respect for diversity, address bias and encourage social action,” Lindsey Mintz, a rabbi, United Methodist pastor and the executive director of the Indianapolis Jewish Community Relations Council, said.
Mintz said it’s especially important for minorities to stand together in times of persecution and to work toward an America free from discrimination.
Lindze Southwick, brought her daughter to show solidarity with the Muslim community, stressing that early exposure to diversity is important.
“Why are we here?” Southwick asked her daughter.
“Mean kids sprayed paint on the wall,” the young girl said with a shrug.
Countering Hate
Bata said these events are the most important in fighting hate.
“Our main goal is to educate people,” he said, noting he was unsure as of yet whether ISNA will press charges if the men are ever caught,” he said.
“This act was not necessarily the result of hatred, but a result of fear in the face of ignorance.”
Indiana is one of only five states without hate crime laws and Indiana lawmakers announced this week it will likely stay that way for another year.
Senate Bill 220, authored by Sen. Susan Glick, R-LaGrange, would have made bias crimes an aggravating circumstance in sentencing.
It is expected to die in the House due to a lack of time for a committee hearing this session.
“That kind of act sends a signal to every Muslim in Indianapolis that you are not wanted, that you are not safe,” Bata said.
“That’s what makes hate crimes so dangerous. It’s not a crime against an individual — it’s a crime against an entire community.”