Public comment session at town meeting leads to anti-Muslim and anti-religious freedom hate speech
The North Carolina office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned hateful, conspiratorial, and dangerous public comments made by individuals at the recent August 3rd Mooresville, N.C. Board of Commissioners meeting.
According to media reports, the Islamic Center of Lake Norman, the only mosque that serves the greater far Northern Charlotte suburbs around said lake, faced backlash during a public comment session at the most recent Mooresville Town Commissioners meeting on August 3rd.
After being founded back in 2011, the Islamic Center of Lake Norman has since outgrown its current location, and recently bought, got approval for, and began construction of, a new building, to house its community.
Individuals organized under a Facebook group called “Mooresville United” came to the meeting to voice concerns regarding Islam for being a quote, “evil ideology,” and called “no to Sharia Law and this Muslim center.” Commenters questioned if “women and girls [are] at risk?” and called “Islam a political regime with the ultimate goal of takeover [of] regions and nations.”
In a statement, CAIR North Carolina Regional Manager Al Rieder said:
“The hateful and conspiratorial anti-Muslim rhetoric spewed at the recent meeting in Mooresville raises concerns about the safety of the broader community. Not only does such ill-informed and easily-refuted tropes perpetuate hate against the world’s second largest religion, but it puts local mosques further at risk by potentially emboldening bad actors to commit threats and violent acts of hate.”
“We have already seen recently credible threats of violence made against mosques in Raleigh and Wilmington. We also cannot forget the deadly mass shooting at a San Diego mosque. We as a community must all do our part to put an end to the rise in anti-Islam, and anti-Muslim rhetoric, or we could risk our state being host to yet another statistic of violent crimes against the Muslim community.”
He added: “Muslims are your neighbors, your doctors, your teachers, your local politicians, your police, and so on. Islam is not what it’s portrayed as incorrectly, and taken out of context as, by those acting in bad faith. I urge the broader community to reach out to their local mosque, and learn about what Islam actually stands for, from a trusted knowledgeable imam (pastor), rather than quickly believe or misinterpret what you may easily find online.”
“We support the Islamic Center of Lake Norman in their efforts to build their new building and extend our hand of help in whatever we can do to assist them and their safety.”
SEE: Newly Released 911 Call Sheds Light on Raleigh Bomb Threat One Group Calls “a Hate Crime” – WRAL
SEE: FBI, New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office investigate threat against Wilmington mosque – WECT
He noted that CAIR’s latest civil rights report documented 8,683 anti-Muslim bias complaints in 2025 – the highest number ever recorded by the organization since it began publishing civil rights reports in 1996.
Washington, D.C., based CAIR recently said it has documented 17 incidents targeting Islamic places of worship in May, June, and July to date. The 17 incidents represent 51 percent of the previous year’s total and a 183 percent increase over the same three-month period last year, during which CAIR documented six such incidents.
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CONTACT:CAIR North Carolina Regional Manager Al Rieder, [email protected]; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, [email protected]