The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today expressed its solidarity with the British Muslim community following a ramming attack on the Cornwall Islamic Community Centre near Truro, England.
According to local reports and police, suspects used a vehicle on Thursday night to cause substantial damage to the center’s metal entrance gates and poured a liquid believed to be oil across the grounds and outer walls of the facility. Devon and Cornwall Police are investigating the incident as racially-aggravated criminal damage.
In a statement, Washington, D.C.-based CAIR said:
“We stand in solidarity with Muslims across the United Kingdom. Anti-Muslim hatred and violent intimidation have no place in any society. We urge law enforcement agencies to treat attacks on houses of worship with the utmost seriousness and to ensure that faith communities can gather and practice safely without fear of bias-motivated violence.”
CAIR urged European governments to take proactive steps to ensure the safety and security of Muslim communities and of all religious minorities.
Earlier this month, CAIR expressed solidarity with the Belgium Muslim community after neo-Nazi vandals reportedly targeted the Tawfieq Mosque in Schelle, Belgium.
Last year, CAIR said that Islamophobia is “spinning out of control” in Europe.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, [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]