ROSEVILLE, Calif. — Thursday, 02.02.2017, 02:03 PM On Wednesday morning, members of Tarbiya Institute, an Islamic center in California, found a dozen hateful slurs spray-painted on the front and back of the building.
“This is not an assault on a mosque, it is not an assault on the Muslim community,” Imam Mohamed Abdul-Azeez, of the Tarbiya Institute said. “This is an assault on our entire community right here in the Sacramento area, and all of us need to stand together and say that we will not stand for this behavior.”
Abdul-Azeez believes this does not reflect the Roseville community as the institute, which has been open for only six months and provides spiritual and educational services to 300 members, has been the received an outburst of love and support.
“The last two weeks, there’s been an (outpouring) of support from random people just coming in and dropping off cakes and cookies and letters of support,” Abdul-Azeez said. “It has been amazing.”
He said what happened at the center is the result of hate on a much larger scale.
“This incident is not an isolated incident. It’s very minor. It’s very small,” Abdul Azeez said. “There’s some graffiti on the wall, but it’s a microcosm of other bigger events that happen around the country. I think that is reflective of a sinister spirit that has been perpetuated by people in power in this country, and we as a community need to stand up against that.”
