PHILADELPHIA โ A Muslim man sustained severe burns in his face, legs, arms, and hands after a man allegedly said โThere you go, Muslimโ before throwing an explosive device into his car while he was sitting inside.
โHeard a huge explosion. Didnโt know what it was. Then heard a man yelling saying his skin was burning,โ one said in a video recorded by a witness, going under the username, @FeministaJones, Mirror reported on Thursday, September 22.
โHeard him say he was in his car and someone drove by and threw something in it while he was in it.
โThen kept hearing loud pops so I went to the door. Neighbors were helping the man because his skin was burning. He lost some of it,โ the witness added.
โWent to the corner and saw the whole car on fire. After firetrucks come, he talks to them and then talks to us.โ
The car was almost entirely destroyed by the suspected firebomb which occurred in North Philadelphia this morning at approximately 5am.
The witness claims the victim heard someone shout โThere you go, Muslim,โ as the explosive was thrown.
โHe describes a car pulling up and someone inside saying โThere you go, Muslimโ before throwing something into his car,โ the witness said.
The man has been rushed to hospital after the incident.
โMost of us know him too because he is always on the block working on his car and other things. This is wild,โ the witness added.
โSo I donโt know if what was said was true or not but he said thatโs what he told the firemen. His face, arm, hands, legs all burned.โ
Muslims make up 1% of Americaโs 322 million population, according to Pew Research center.
Anti-Muslim sentiments have reached an all-time high after the rise of the so-called Islamic State, formerly known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Moreover, the Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, has added to increasing anti-Muslim sentiments.
Trumpโs views on immigration have sparked controversy nationwide, especially his proposal to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the US.
Last week, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) issued a preliminary report warning that this year is on track to become one of the worst ever for anti-Muslim incidents.
The report said that 55 mosques in the US have been targeted so far this year, making 2016 one of the worst years on record for anti-mosque incidents.
In 2015, there were 79 recorded incidents, the highest number reported in a single year since experts began tracking the data in 2009, according to CAIR. In 2009, 13 mosques reported incidents.
Three mosques were targeted this month, all of them occurring on or around the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The majority of the incidents in 2016 have been violent in tone, characterized by intimidation, physical assault, and vandalism, according to CAIR.