A flurry of firebombings in the New York borough of Queens have left police promising a full investigation into both the attacks and possible “hate crime” ties to those crimes, with the targets including a Shi’ite mosque and a residence which was used as a Hindu temple.
The mosque appears to have been the primary of the four targets, with two or three Molotov cocktails hurled at the building. The worshipers discovered the fire quickly and put it out before any injuries occurred.
The other attacks all occurred within two miles of the Al-Khoei Islamic Center and within two hours. The other targets included a bodega (the employees were Muslims), the house of a Hindu family (that was also used as a temple) and the house of a Christian family.
The exact motives of the attacks were unclear, and so far there have been no claims of responsibility. Interestingly enough given the nature of the attacks, officials have so far declined to use the term “terrorism” to describe the attacks, though they have at least given some lip-service to the term “hate crime.” The Islamic Center says this is the first time they have been attacked since they opened in 1989.
"We shall round up double the usual number of suspects"
Right. Somehow I have a feeling this story will get swept under the rug, especially if the criminals are found to be Christian or Jewish. And if they are indeed shown to be one or the other, will that even be mentioned? You can bet if the criminals were found to be Muslim that would be trumpeted in the headlines for a week at least. No offense to my Christian and Jewish brothers out there, but you know exactly what I mean- it's a huge double standard going on in the media, and it's not in favor of Muslims at all.
you are right 100%. the double standard is staggering. they might as well make all the Muslims (well the ARAB muslims anyway) wear little gold stars and crescents so everyone can easily spot them, like they did to…oh who was this done to already back in Europe in the '30's and '40's… can't remember right now…
Hi John,
I am a Christian Armenian. No one's house of worship should be treated with disrespect. No true Christian would burn down a mosque just as a true Muslim would not desecrate a christian or Jewish place of worship. Thugs do this stuff, and I hope they are found.
Saludos,
John Kassabian
If this was a Synagogue Bombing it would instantaneously be a Terrorist attack, double standards here. Treat it as a Terrorist attack pull out all the stops and use the new laws and send the Bombers off to be tried under Military law regardless of whether they are Christian Jews or indeed a different Muslim Sect.
Failure to do so will show that the various branches of the US Governement really dont care about some of its citizens!
They don't care about SOME of its citizens. Actually, some citizens are more equal than others.
Technically, these bombings are hate crimes, but 'hate crime' statues should be abolished since they are designed to punish (political) thought.
The individual(s) who committed these crimes should definitely be punished for arson and assault, maybe even attempted murder (depending upon the evidence), but nothing else. These yahoos do deserve prison time.
But we must punish people for their behavior only. Ideas and opinions must always be protected. But let's look at the source of this hatred. Why do 'they' hate us? (and why do so many ill-informed Americans hate 'them'?)
Much of the Muslim world hates us for our deeds. And for good reason.
Among Americans, I blame our political class and the mainstream media for arousing the widely-held view that the trouble between 'Muslims' (mostly Arabs and Persians) and the West is basically theological. This is a well-orchestrated falsehood designed to insulate US policies from critical analysis.
The widespread animosity now directed at America by countless Muslim Arabs and Iranians is all about Washington's insane and lethal politics. We are considered to be something of a terrorist State.
The people of Arabia and Persia hate Washington for its murderous deeds and its flagrant hypocricy. We are viewed as a subservient wing of global Zionism. Washington is despised for the killing, the invading, the destabilizing and the economic ruin it orchestrates.
They hate us for our deeds.
When America begins to behave like a normal country and ceases bombing, invading or economcally ruining other smaller nations (that 'threaten' the Zionist State), then our nation will no longer be targeted. It's that simple.
Just look at Japan, Austria, New Zealand, South Korea and Switzerland. These 'Western' countries mind their own business and are widely respected by Muslims.
Let peace begin with the nation instigating the most wars. That country is Zio-America.
Yes Mark, and Jesus told us: "We will know them by their deeds."
muslims rightly complain about any acts of terror directed against them in our great country. No one deserves that. But the real silence is on the attacks of Christians in muslim lands. From Egypt to Iraq to Pakistan, Christians are being killed. Killed while attending worship services.
These bombings are bad, but I am confident the government will find and prosecute those involved. Can the same be said about those murdering Christians in muslim lands?
It would be nice if muslims offered the same protection to Christians in their lands as we offer them in ours.
I don't know how much "protection" your country offers Muslims when the media as well as the public in general condemn them calling them "terrorists" just because of their religion, to say nothing about the kangaroo courts that ignore the basic tenets of international law and even your own Constitution. I am a Christian, but before US criminal intervention in the MIddle East, Christians and Muslims lived peacefully. Therefore, this development is also a result of the US boundless ambition.
Give me a f'ing break. muslims have been invited to live in our societies, and even after tragic events like 9-11, there were no national pogroms directed against them. There are no reports of muslims being gunned down in the streets. The fact this has not occurred in the USA since 9-11 is either a sign of our advanced civilization, or a sign of our pathetic weakness. Take your pick. But the point is muslims are not being mass murdered or ethnically cleansed from the USA.
Contrast that to what is happening to Christians in muslim lands. Regardless of US interventionism, there is still no excuse to kill Christians who are not American, not Westerners. The people they are killing are Arabs and other locals who are ethnically related and have been in those lands for as long or longer than their muslim brethren. Besides, if you are going to allow US intervention as an excuse, then that would suggest you would allow Americans to use the excuse of 9-11 to kill and expel muslims, which has not happened.
So, I hope the cops find and prosecute the fire bombers in NY. But I sure would like to see muslims speak out against violence on Christians in their lands as forcefully as Christians and other Western people speak out against discrimination against muslims in our lands.
Looks like your all wrong. The suspect is black, an immigrant and from a third world country. Any one of these three is considered a sacred cow in America today. Reminds me of the bogus profiling of the D.C. sniper back in 2002.