PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Islamic School of Rhode Island was vandalized with Islamic-phobic graffiti on Saturday.
The assailants covered the school’s doors with slurs, including “pigs,” expletives referring to “Allah,” and one stating, “Now this is a hate crime,” Mint Press News reports.
“This apparently bias-motivated incident should be investigated as a hate crime, with the strongest possible charges brought against the perpetrators once they are apprehended,” said Ibrahim Hooper, the director of communications at the Council on American-Islamic Relations, in a press release. “The recent spike in anti-Muslim hate rhetoric and bias-motivated attacks on American Muslims and their institutions must be addressed by our nation’s leaders.”
The incident occurred in the wake of a series of incidents targeting Muslim Americans, including the recent suspected arson attack on an Islamic community center in Houston, as well as a fatal shooting in Chapel Hill, N.C., where three young Muslims were killed by an avowed atheist.
