The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) today expressed concern over a recent video—that was later revealed to be staged—depicting a hate crime targeting a seemingly Iranian Muslim man outside a Los Angeles mosque. The organization condemned the incident as a “purposeful attempt at inciting violence against Muslim and Iranian communities” and called for the video to be taken down.
[NOTE: This situation is unrelated to the hate incidents targeting mosques in Simi Valley, Claremont, and La Mirada.]
The widely circulated video posted to a public Instagram account belonging to Asal Jam shows a car driving behind a man dressed in traditional Muslim clothing as he is walking on the sidewalk outside of a mosque. A woman exits the car and approaches the man, assaults him by pushing the turban off his head, and yells at him in Farsi.
In an apparent response to comments calling her out for filming evidence of herself committing a hate crime, the account owner edited the caption to state that the video was staged.
In a statement, CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush said:
“Hate crimes and assault are not a laughing matter and certainly should not be promoted as a form of entertainment. Staging a video that clearly depicts the physical harassment of a seemingly Muslim man outside a mosque is a purposeful attempt at inciting violence against Muslim and Iranian communities, who are already facing a surge in hate, fueled by inflammatory rhetoric from elected officials.
“Videos such as this cannot be taken lightly; they risk normalizing violence and inspiring attacks against real people based on political decisions that they have nothing to do with. We strongly condemn any act promoting or encouraging bigotry against entire communities and call for the video to be removed from all social media platforms immediately.”
To report any bias incidents, contact CAIR-LA’s Civil Rights Department at (714) 776-1177 (ext. 2) or click here to file a report.
CAIR-LA is Southern California’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: CAIR-LA Communications Manager Enjy El-Kadi, (714) 851-4851 or eelkadi@cair.com; CAIR-LA Senior Communications Coordinator Madi Hameed, mmorse-hameed@cair.com