Posted on 07/09/2005 7:28:22 PM PDT by Graybeard58
WELLINGTON, New Zealand - Four mosques were vandalized in northern New Zealand overnight Sunday, leaving windows smashed and walls splashed with graffiti, police said.
They declined to say whether the attacks in Auckland were linked to subway and bus bombings in central London Thursday, which killed at least 49 people and injured 700.
But Prime Minister Helen Clark immediately condemned the attacks, linking them to retaliation for the London terror bombings. A group calling itself The Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe has claimed responsibility for the London attacks.
"New Zealanders across all communities are horrified by the terrorist attacks in London, which are the work of evil people," she said in a statement. "But it is wrong to target the Muslim community here in retaliation."
In Bloomington, Ind., meanwhile, the FBI was investigating an apparent arson Saturday as a hate crime, officials said. No one was inside the Islamic Center of Bloomington when the fire occurred at about 2 a.m. and damage was confined to the kitchen area, said Nathan Ainslie, president of the Islamic Center.
A burned Quran was found outside, he said.
The East London Mosque, near the site of one of Thursday's attacks, said it had received hate e-mails and a telephone threat to disrupt Friday prayers. A few police officers stood outside during the prayers, which ended peacefully.
Vandals????? Should they not be called insurgents????
Period.
It turned out that the koran belonged to a Muslim, was damaged in a house fire, and he left it at the mosque hoping they would dispose of it respectfully.
But of course it will remain in CAIR's "hate crimes bin" forever and ever.
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