California Mosque Fire-Bombed By Trump-Inspired Domestic Terrorist
The dangerous consequences of Trump’s Islamophobic hate-mongering are spiraling out of control. An unknown domestic terrorist fire-bombed the Islamic Society of Palm Springs, California, engulfing the front of the building in flames. Fire Department Spokesman Jennifer Fuhrman confirmed that it was intentionally set, that the fire had been contained and that there was smoke damage throughout the building.
Worshipers were undaunted by the vicious arson, and resolutely held prayers outside of the mosque anyway.
This incident comes just hours after two Muslim women on their way home from mosque in Tampa Bay, Florida, were attacked by passing motorists. One woman in East Tampa had shots fired at her by a passing vehicle; another woman in New Tampa had rocks and other items thrown at her from a vehicle, which then tried to run her over. “We are operating in an atmosphere of hysteria and fear…I have never seen it like this — not even after 9/11” said Ibrahim Hooper, the national communications director for the Council on American Islamic Relations.
It goes without question that Donald Trump and the rest of the Republican Party’s relentless efforts to demonize an entire religion and all our citizens who follow it are ultimately behind these attacks. It seems like not a day goes by without bigots attacking or harass innocent Muslim-Americans for their faith. We cannot allow the easily intimidated and the prejudiced to drive our society apart and inflict harm on innocent people just because some rabble-rousing blowhard is playing fascist for political points and screen time, and we must not lose sight of who our friends are just because two terrorists took control of our ridiculously lax gun laws and unleashed a massacre with legally available military-grade hardware. The right to be free from discriminatory oppression is one of our nation’s founding values, and we must fight to make sure it is protected for ALL of our citizens – not just the white ones.
In case there was any doubt that anti-Muslim attacks are on the rise in the United States, check out this graphic from CNN.com:
