LAPD investigating letters sent to SoCal mosques



LOS ANGELES (KABC) —

Hateful letters suggesting a possible Muslim genocide were mailed out of Santa Clarita to seven mosques on Nov. 19, five of which were local and include the Islamic Center of Southern California.

“We will meet this kind of hate with force,” Muslim Public Affairs Council President Salam Al-Marayati stated.

The messages suggested that President-elect Donald Trump will do to Muslims what Hitler did to the Jews.

“I was offended for Muslims and offended for the Jewish community,” Islamic Center of Southern California chairperson Hedab Tarifi said.

Despite not constituting as a crime according to the FBI, LAPD detectives are investigating the letters as a hate incident and are working to track down the person responsible.

“If he thinks he is emboldened by this because of the political environment that’s in place right now, that’s not true,” LAPD Deputy Chief Michael Downing stated.

“In these types of cases it’s important (for) us to learn who sent them and are there other crimes that he or she committed,” he added. “If not maybe it’s an opportunity for us to provide education, inspiration, maybe even if there’s consent, intervention.”

The Muslim community was urged by leaders to remain both strong and vigilant while reporting anything suspicious.

Tarifi had a message for the suspect: “Don’t waste your energy because the law enforcement is on you, and you’re not gonna scare us, and it’s best that you try to find a way to remove that hate from your heart.”

(Copyright ©2016 KABC-TV. All Rights Reserved.)

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