July 3, 2019

Last week, 3 men and 1 minor were charged with an attempted attack on a New York Islamic Center. This is the second time that the community of Islamberg, NY was a target of violence. In 2017, a former congressional candidate was convicted on federal charges for planning to attack the community.

This arrest is important because:

• This is one of the first cases that is being tried on terrorism charges for a crime planned against Muslims and an Islamic institution. Law enforcement and the FBI made this distinction clear in this case. We will continue working to ensure such cases are tried on terrorism charges, no matter the background of the perpetrator.
• There was minimal media coverage of this terrorist plot on American Muslims. Yet, there is a 770% increase in media coverage when Muslims are behind a foiled terror plot, according to the Institute of Social Policy and Understanding. This discrepancy and dangerous misperception is a major cause for anti-Muslim sentiment. The reality is that homegrown terrorists are mostly right-wing white supremacists, according to a 2018 study by the Anti Defamation League. 

Plots and attacks like these are becoming more commonplace but the response and outrage from elected officials and news media remains abysmal. 

We are working with national and local agencies to secure our houses of worship. This is in response to the rising number of devastating attacks against mosques, synagogues, temples, and churches carried out primarily by white supremacists.