There are new calls tonight for the FBI
to investigate who is vandalizing a
South Florida mosque. It was targeted
over the weekend, marking the second
time this year. The mosque is located
off of Southwest 147th Avenue and 117th
Street in West Kendall. CBS4's Michael
Williams is there live tonight with the
latest on this. Michael, good evening.
The FBI was out here this morning at the
Islamic School of Miami. They say they
get along well with their Kindle
neighbors, but look at the mess that is
left behind here. a possible hate crime
yet again. And they're left to look at
the jagged, broken glass here and wonder
about the even more jagged, sharp
prejudice that may be behind all this.
Summer school is out this week at the
Islamic School of Miami. Imam Muhammad
Zakaria is glad the children do not have
to see the signs of hate up close. Well,
this is what they've done. I don't know
what they gained from it. This damage
only came to light two days ago, but it
appears vandals struck sometime last
weekend, busting out two hurricane proof
windows, spraying glass over the
supplies the Muslim community here
routinely hands out to Miami's homeless.
We don't have to uh vandalize places of
worship, where people come to worship
God in whatever form they worship him
in. Last January, the attackers sprayed
the brand new mosque with high-powered
gunfire. No one was around at the time,
but the scars linger in more ways than
one. These are the bullet shots that was
shot a few months ago. The imam is
convinced the attacks are fueled by
blind prejudice. I think it's got a lot
to do with the politics uh what's
happening in the Middle East and so on.
But people need to understand that, you
know, Islam is just not um in the Middle
East. Islam is all over the world and
it's in America also. And as a
community, uh, we all have to live
together. A small but growing Islamic
community in South Florida in search of
peace and unbounded by violence aimed
its way. This is the sixth attack in in
the last few years, four or five years.
And I think um, whoever is doing this
um, the message is that we're here to
stay.
We are here to stay. That was not meant
as a boast, simply a statement of fact
from an Islamic community in South
Florida at the Islamic School of Miami
that says, "Just like everyone else, we
want to live here, raise our kids here,
educate them, and worship freely and
without the threat of prejudice being
directed our way." Again, no arrest
here, but the FBI has been out talking
to them. We'll keep you posted when and
if there's any break in this latest
case. Reporting live from Kendall,
Michael Williams, CBS4 News.