Vandals splatter Oakland mosque

‘ ‘ ‘ Splattered red paint across the front steps of the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh didn’t… ‘ ‘ ‘ Splattered red paint across the front steps of the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh didn’t stop Oakland’s Muslim community from worship last Friday. ‘ ‘ ‘ People still attended their morning services. Neighbors condemned the vandalism to the Oakland mosque, which sits above Pitt’s campus in the Schenley Farms Historic District. ‘ ‘ ‘ Imam Abdusemi, a leader of the center, said the community knew little about who could have vandalized the Islamic Center. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘All that we know is that on Friday morning, early, around 6 a.m. when we got there for morning prayers, there was a lot of paint at the main entrance of the building,’ said Abdusemi. ‘We have no knowledge as to who put the paint there.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ City police public relations officer Diane Richard said police investigated the incident but had no leads on who vandalized the property. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘The scene was photographed by the officers of the zone, and the paint cans had been exposed to the rain,’ said Richard. ‘[The cans] were recovered and had been handled by the center’s employees, too.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Unfortunately, it was raining so hard that the prints on the paint cans would have been obliterated,’ she added. ‘ ‘ ‘ Richard said police had been told the incident probably happened last Thursday night, before the Friday prayer services. She said those at the center who spoke to police were unaware of any threats. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Right now, we really have nothing to go on,’ said Richard. ‘ ‘ ‘ The vandalism occurred as violence escalated in the Middle East, specifically the attacks between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza area. ‘ ‘ ‘ Both Palestinians and Israelis were killed as a result of the Gaza attacks. ‘ ‘ ‘ Abdusemi said those at the Islamic Center did not believe the violence caused someone to vandalize the mosque. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘We have no proof of that kind of connection,’ he said. ‘We do not make any connection between the two.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Abdusemi said there was no reaction from the Muslim community, except for surprise. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Gladly, it did not affect our services,’ he said. ‘Our services went fine, and there was no actual concern on our parts.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ He said the Islamic center felt gratitude toward the North Oakland neighborhood for its support. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘[They] gave us full support in condemning such an act. Many of our neighbors came out of their home and showed their concern,’ said Abdusemi. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Many of them called or sent letters or came out personally,’ Abdusemi added. ‘Hopefully we can keep living in such a peaceful neighborhood as Oakland.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt student Melek Yazici, president of the Muslim Students Association, said that she was surprised when she heard about the vandalism after reading an e-mail distributed by the center. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘As Muslims, we are trying to promote religious tolerance, and we are really working to create an atmosphere in Pittsburgh for greater understanding of religions,’ said Yazici. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Having that in front of our Islamic center, I wasn’t expecting it, personally. I don’t think anyone was,’ Yazici added. ‘ ‘ ‘ Yazici said that she wasn’t sure what the reasoning was, although she’d heard speculations about the rising tension in the Middle East. ‘ ‘ ‘ She said that, in general, this is a hard time for Muslims in the United States. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Maybe it’s the kind of image they have of Muslims as bad people,’ said Yazici. ‘We are working on changing that image of Muslims as being terrorists or being bad people. We are just regular people living in this country, facing the same kinds of problems.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Yazici said that the Pitt community usually tolerates diversity. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I am a person who wears a head scarf,’ said Yazici. ‘Sometimes, I get those looks. But in general, people are nice. They try to understand people from different religions and background. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘If people have questions in mind about Islam or Muslims, I think they should just ask the people they know that are Muslim,’ said Yazici. ‘That’s the best way to learn about religion.’