Presented in chronological order. Last update 1/14/17
FEBURARY 2016
Muslim Woman Says Lawmaker Asked Her: ‘Is It Safe To Ride The Elevator With You?
WHERE: Tallahassee, Florida
WHEN: Feb. 25, 2016
WHO: Laila Abdelaziz, the legislative and government affairs director at the Florida chapter of the Council for American-Islamic Relations, and state Rep. Tom Goodson (R)
After trying — and failing — to get lawmakers in Florida to vote down an anti-Syrian refugee bill authorizing “military force” against “invaders” from the “Eastern hemisphere,” Abdelaziz walked into an elevator. “A Representative that should damn well know better walked into the elevator and jokingly hesitated while looking at me, ‘Oh, is it safe to ride the elevator with you,”” Abdelaziz wrote in a Facebook post. “Everyone laughed. Every single one of them laughed (Democrat, Republican, white, black, old, young) as I was belittled with a wildly inappropriate remark that because I’m a Muslim this Representative should be afraid to ride in an elevator with me. It’s not funny. It hurts.” The representative, Goodson, said in his own Facebook post that he regretted his comment “caused hurt to Laila,” whom he knew was Muslim. He then blasted the “national ‘politically correct’ police” for harassing him over the comment.
Source: The Huffington Post, The Orlando Sentinel
MARCH
Man Spits At Muslim Women On Train, Yells Slurs
WHERE: Aboard the Newark Light Rail near Newark, New Jersey
WHEN: March 3, 2016
WHO: Patrick Pietropaolo was arrested in the attack
Three Muslim female college students in hijabs were riding the train when Pietropaolo allegedly started cursing at them. “Muslim fucking bitch,” he allegedly called one of the women, before spitting at her. “I didn’t stop staring at him,” Yasmeen Alsaker, one of the women, said. “We thought he was going to really going to attack us.” Alsaker added that no one on the train did anything to help them. The women alerted the train’s conductor, and police arrested Pietrpaolo when the train arrived at Newark Penn Station. He was charged with simple assault, bias intimidation, theft of service (for not paying the train fare) and resisting arrest. “I’m used to people looking at me on the street,” said another one of the women, Sara Ebrahim, referring to what it can be like to walk around while wearing a hijab. “But I don’t want to get used to people attacking me.”
Source: The Huffington Post
Muslim And Hispanic Students Attacked By Man Allegedly Yelling ‘Trump!’
WHERE: Wichita, Kansas
WHEN: March 12, 2016
WHO: An unidentified attacker
Khondoker Usama, a 23-year-old Muslim student at Wichita State University, was at a gas station with another student, who is Hispanic, when a man started yelling at them. “You want to live in this country, you better leave,” the man reportedly told Usama and his friend before calling them “brown trash.” Surveillance footage then shows the man attacking the pair, repeatedly punching and pushing them. Eventually the man fled on a motorcycle. According to Usama, the man started yelling, “Trump! Trump! Trump!” Usama also said the man screamed, “Trump will take our country from you guys!”
Source: The Huffington Post, Mashable
APRIL
Quran Desecrated At Armed Anti-Muslim Rally Outside Government Building
WHERE: Atlanta
WHEN: April 18, 2016
WHO: James Stachowiak and Pastor Terry Jones
The pair were the only two people to show up to the “United against Islam and Islamic immigration refugee rally” outside the Georgia Capitol. Stachowiak, who organized the rally, was armed with two guns and wore a “BAN ISLAMIC IMMIGRATION” shirt. Jones, infamous for destroying Qurans in public, tore out pages from the holy book and proclaimed that Islam is the “devil’s religion” and “not even a religion” at all.
Source: Creative Loafing, The Huffington Post
Alleged Trump Supporter Calls Muslim Woman ‘Terrorist,’ Pours Liquid Over Her Head
WHERE: Washington, D.C.
WHEN: April 21, 2016
WHO: An unidentified white woman with blond hair
An African-American Muslim woman wearing a hijab says the blond woman called her a “worthless piece of Muslim trash” while both were sitting outside a Starbucks. “She says if Donald Trump wins the nomination I’m going to vote for him so he can send all of you all back to where you came from,” the Muslim woman recalled. The Muslim woman managed to record part of the conversation, in which the blond woman can be heard calling her a terrorist. A police officer arrived on the scene and reportedly said he couldn’t arrest the blond woman because of “freedom of speech.” After the officer left, the blond woman returned and poured an unknown liquid over the Muslim woman’s head. “It didn’t burn my skin or anything, but it had a strange smell to it,” the Muslim woman recalled. The Metropolitan Police Department is now investigating the incident as a simple assault and a suspected hate crime.
Source: WJLA, The Huffington Post
Women Say They Were Kicked Out Of Trendy Cafe For Being Muslim
WHERE: Urth Caffe in Laguna Beach, California
WHEN: April 24, 2016
WHO: Urth Caffe employees
A group of women wearing hijabs say they were singled out by the cafe’s staff for being Muslim. The women said staff told them they had to leave their table due to a policy requiring anyone at a table for over 45 minutes to either share or give up their table to other customers. But the policy, the women insisted, only applies when the restaurant is crowded. A video from that night shows plenty of open tables at the restaurant. “The party on the table next to us (a group of white women) overheard our conversation and were shocked,” Sara Farsakh wrote in a Facebook post. “They told us they had been sitting far longer than we had but had never been told to prepare to leave.” The staff nevertheless insisted that the women had to leave, and even called the police. When officers arrived, the women decided to leave, and are now filing a lawsuit. The cafe’s owner, Shallom Berkman, said his wife is Muslim, and that “We’re very sorry that she has this feeling that this was something racist, but that is just not the case.” He insisted the restaurant just needed the table for other customers.
Source: The Huffington Post
University Goes On Lockdown Over ‘Middle Eastern’ Person In Library
WHERE: The University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida
WHEN: April 26, 2016
WHO: An unnamed 911 caller
A social media post and a subsequent 911 call about a Muslim woman seen in the school library maybe holding a gun prompted university security to put out a text alert warning of a potentially armed “Middle Eastern” person on campus and to put the school on lockdown. The alert did not say what gender the alleged gunman or woman was. No one was found with a gun, and authorities gave the all-clear after about an hour. According to WESH, it’s believed that the reported gunman or woman “may have been a Muslim student wearing a hijab, praying in the stairwell with a Quran in hand.” UCF student Maha Qureshi told the news station that “just assuming she had a gun because she was praying how Muslims pray, it seemed like [the 911 caller] made that connection, I assume any object on them would be a gun.”
Source: WESH, The Huffington Post
Islamophobic Conspiracy Theorist Lectures Police Officers About Islamic Extremism
WHERE: The New York Tactical Officers Association annual conference in Verona, New York
WHEN: April 28, 2016
WHO: Ryan Mauro, who is listed as an anti-Muslim extremist by the Southern Poverty Law Center and is a national security analyst at the Clarion Project, a group known for producing anti-Muslim films
Mauro gave two lectures to tactical law enforcement personnel in a room that seats 700 people. The event was closed to the press and the general public so it’s not known what Mauro said. In previous speeches and public appearances, Mauro, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, “has promoted the false narrative of ‘no-go zones’ for non-Muslims in Europe” and once “told Fox News host Megyn Kelly that there are growing Muslim enclaves in the U.S. where gangs of Islamic extremists are ‘patrolling’ neighborhoods and enforcing the tenants (sic) of Shariah law.” Although Mauro insisted his lectures were in no way anti-Muslim, he simultaneously tweeted links to an article that called the Council on American-Islamic Relations the “the Hamas-linked mouthpiece that is a named terror organization in the [United Arab Emirates].” The accusations are part of an old and widely debunked conspiracy theory.
Source: The Huffington Post
MAY
Muslim Student Called ‘Isis’ In Yearbook Says She’s Being Bullied For Speaking Out
WHERE: Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga, California
WHEN: May 9, 2016
WHO: Classmates of Bayan Zehlif, a 17-year-old senior who wears a hijab
Bayan was misidentified as “Isis” in her high school yearbook. “The school reached out to me and had the audacity to say that this was a typo. I beg to differ, let’s be real,” she wrote in a Facebook post, suggesting someone had deliberately misidentified her as “Isis” — the acronym most commonly associated with the Islamic State terror group. After the national media picked up her story, Bayan said some of her classmates bullied her and accused her of speaking out just to get attention. “A poster was put up of ‘We Support Bayan,’” she said, “and it was ripped down and students started to cheer.” A video posted to Twitter corroborates her story.
Source: The Huffington Post
Republican Group Invites Anti-Muslim Extremist To Give Lecture On Islam
WHERE: The Pinehurst Country Club in Pinehurst, North Carolina
WHEN: May 15, 2016
WHO: Former Tennessee University professor Bill French, who goes by the pen name Bill Warner and is listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an anti-Muslim extremist
Warner, at the invitation of the Moore Republican Women’s Club, delivered a talk titled “Understanding the Threat of Political Islam” at the country club. Warner authored the book Sharia Law For Non-Muslims, and, according to the SPLC, “has no formal training or background in law, Islam or Sharia — which in any case is not an established legal code, as the book title implies, but a fluid concept subject to a wide range of interpretations and applications.” He has also called for a “war on Islam.” A group of protesters gathered outside Warner’s lecture, holding signs that read, “No to Racism, No to Islamophobia” and “To Learn the Truth About Islam, Ask a Muslim.”
Source: The Pilot, The Huffington Post, The Southern Poverty Law Center
Muslim Women Harassed At Ice Cream Shop
WHERE: Andrew’s Ice Cream and Dessert in Orange County, California
WHEN: May 23, 2016
WHO: An unidentified man who can be seen harassing Nura Takkish and Malaak Ammari, two women who wear headscarves
A 20-second video shows a shop employee saying to the man, “You can give somebody else your business” as she returns the $3 he had spent on ice cream. The shop’s baker later explained that the man had been saying “racist and nasty things.” As he heads to the door, he points a finger at the two women in headscarves and says, “I don’t want them near my country.” “Too bad, we’re here,” Ammari replies, still filming. “Sucks for you.” The man then gave a threatening reply: “Sucks for me? You’ll see what happens.”
Source: The Huffington Post
JUNE
Trump Delegate Calls Church And Leaves Anti-Muslim Voicemail
WHERE: Dallastown, Pennsylvania
WHEN: June 11, 2016
WHO: Matthew Jansen, a school board member and Pennsylvania delegate to the Republican National Convention who supports Donald Trump
After seeing a church sign “Wishing a blessed Ramadan to our Muslim neighbors,” Jansen promptly called the church, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, and left a voicemail, calling the sign “despicable.” He added that he was “completely shocked by that sign out in front of your church, that you are wishing people who subscribe to a faith that is not only godless but pagan, in front of your church, aligning it with the name of Christ. It is unbelievable that you would wish them a blessed Ramadan.” Jansen then asked, “Are you sick? Is there something wrong with you?” He then posted a photo of the sign along with the church’s phone number to Twitter. The church received multiple anti-Muslim phone calls. In a series of interviews about his voicemail, Jansen said that Islam is “not a religion.” Jansen did not heed calls for him to resign his school board position and later defended the anti-Muslim voicemail. “I’m still a Christian, and [Christians and Muslims] don’t share the same belief system,” he said.
Source: The Huffington Post
Armed Anti-Muslim Activist Films Himself Near Mosque, Says ‘Time For War Has Begun’
WHERE: Outside the Islamic Society of Augusta in Augusta, Georgia
WHEN: June 13, 2016
WHO: James Stachowiak, a known figure among both anti-government “Patriot” militias and anti-Muslim organizations. He is also a vocal supporter of presumptive GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Stachowiak, with a gun holstered at his side, filmed himself standing outside the mosque wearing a t-shirt with a middle finger and the word “Islam.” After throwing a Quran on the ground, then standing on top of it, he expresses a deep hatred for Islam, calls for the deportation of Muslims, the discharge of Muslim-Americans from the U.S. military, and general violence against Muslims. “Death to Islam. F**k Islam. F**ck this mosque right here. And you, Imam Dooadi (sic), you Syrian immigrant,” he says. “Take a stand against Islam today, people,” he added. “We don’t have much time left. The time for talk is over. The time for war has begun. Blessed be the Lord my rock who trains my hand for battle and my fingers for war.” The Council on American-Islamic Relations urged authorities to monitor Stachowiak.
Source: CAIR, Youtube, The Huffington Post
Note On Syrian Refugee Family Home: ‘You Are Muslim And Not Welcome’
WHERE: Tuscon, Arizona
WHEN: June 15, 2016
WHO: Unidentified suspect(s)
A Syrian refugee family found a note on the front door of their home with offensive language including “You are Muslim and not welcome,” “Go away killers” and “America hates Terrorist (sic) like you!” The family, who moved to the U.S. just nine months ago, decided to move to a different home out of fear for their safety. Police are investigating.
Source: The Huffington Post
JULY
WHERE: The Islamic Community of Bryan-College Station mosque in Bryan-College Station, Texas
WHEN: July 7, 2016
WHO: Unknown
The College Station Police Department says it received a report around 4:30 a.m. that four gunshots had been fired near the mosque. When officers arrived on the scene, they discovered that the mosque had been hit by multiple bullets. One mosque member said they counted seven bullets, one of which shattered the building’s glass front door. No one was hurt. “Our mosque. My mosque. My home away from home,” Nimrah Riaz, a 23-year-old student at Texas A&M University, wrote in a Facebook post. “The mosque that has children around and playing outside during Ramadan. The mosque that has people going in and out for late night prayers. The mosque where many Aggie Muslims spend their time in studying for exams at night. The mosque that sits in a neighborhood two blocks from Texas A&M Campus.” Police are investigating.
Source: The Huffington Post
‘F**k Muzlim’ And ‘Terroist’ Spray-Painted On Muslim Man’s Car
WHERE: Palmdale, California
WHEN: July 5, 2016
WHO: Unknown
A swastika and the words “Fuck Muzlim,” “USA” and “Terroist (sic)” were spray-painted on a truck belonging to a Muslim man named Ahmed Muqadarati. The vehicle’s windows were also smashed in. “I am also a citizen of America,” Muqadarati told local news station KABC. “I’m the type of guy that goes to the mosque almost every day, if I can. I know people see me around, and I’m not afraid of saying that I’m a Muslim. Obviously, it looks like somebody hated me because I’m a Muslim.” Police are investigating.
Source: The Huffington Post
‘Muhammad Prophet Of Butchers’ Spray-Painted On Mosque, Windows Smashed In
WHERE: The Muslim Community Center of Kingston’s Masjid Al-Hoda in South Kingstown, Rhode Island
WHEN: July 14, 2016
WHO: An unknown vandal
Hours after a terror attack in Nice, France, killed over 80 people, a vandal spray-painted “Muhammad Prophet of Butchers” in red letters on the mosque’s exterior wall and smashed in the building’s windows. “A witness to the incident described seeing a lone perpetrator wearing all black with a hood covering their head break a window with what appeared to be a long handled axe,” South Kingstown Police Capt. Joel Ewing-Chow said in a statement. “This individual then ran from the scene.”
Source: The Huffington Post
Muslim Teen Finds Note Reading ‘F**k’ Islam’ And ‘Muhammad Was A Rapist’
WHERE: The Islamic Dawah Center in St. Paul, Minnesota
WHEN: July 25, 2016
WHO: Unknown
A 15-year-old Muslim girl on her way to an educational program at the center discovered a note on the door, written in crayon. “Muhammad Was A Rapist. F**k Islam,” it read. Officials at the mosque said they reported the note to the local police department, which is investigating.
Source: The Huffington Post
AUGUST
Arab-American Man Killed After Years Of Harassment By Neighbor
WHERE: Tulsa, Oklahoma
WHEN: Aug. 12, 2016
WHO: Stanley Vernon Majors
Majors, a 61-year-old ex-convict, allegedly shot and killed 37-year-old Khalid Jabara outside his home. Majors reportedly has harassed the Jabara family, who lived next door, for years. He called the Jabaras — Christian immigrants from Lebanon — “dirty Arabs,” “Aye-rabs” and “Mooslems.” Last year, he nearly killed Haifa Jabara, the family’s mother, when he hit her with his car. Afterwards, according to police, he called the Jabaras “filthy Lebanese” who “throw gay people off rooftops” — a reference, no doubt, to ISIS propaganda videos showing the terror group doing just that. Majors was arrested and now faces murder and hate crime charges.
Source: The Huffington Post
Man Arrested After Stockpiling Weapons, Threatening To Destroy Mosques
WHERE: Holliston, Massachusetts
WHEN: Aug. 27, 2016
WHO: Joseph Garguilo
The FBI searched Garguilo’s home after receiving a tip online. They arrested him after finding a trove of weapons and ammunition. Garguilo allegedly had threatened to bomb police stations, kill homeland security officers and assassinate President Barack Obama. He also allegedly said he wanted to “chain a mosque closed and burn it down,” according to the FBI. During the search of his apartment, authorities discovered handwritten notes threatening violence against Muslims.
Source: The Associated Press, CBS
SEPTEMBER
Muslim Veteran Who Served In Iraq Finds ‘Terrorist’ Written On His Locker
WHERE: Marine Corps Logistics Base in Barstow, California
WHEN: Sept. 1, 2016
WHO: Unknown
Mohamed Abbas ― a 32-year-old Iraq War veteran with PTSD who happens to be Muslim ― found the words “terrorist” and “raghead” written on his locker inside the Marine Corps Logistics Base, where he works as a civilian tools and parts attendant. The Marine Corps Criminal Investigation Division is looking into the incident. Abbas said he has repeatedly been harassed at the base because of his faith.
Source: The Huffington Post
Mosque Set On Fire On One Of The Holiest Days Of The Year
WHERE: The Islamic Center of Fort Pierce in Fort Pierce, Florida
WHEN: Sept. 12, 2016
WHO: Joseph Michael Schreiber
Video footage allegedly shows Schreiber, 32, walking up to the mosque around 12:30 a.m. A flash can be seen in the video, then the fire starts and Schreiber runs away. “An examination of [Schreiber’s] social media account shows multiple anti-Islamic points and comments,” said Maj. Dave Thompson of the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office. Schreiber now faces charges of arson with a hate crime enhancement. The mosque was occupied just an hour before it went up in flames — people had been observing the end of the Day of Arafat, a day of fasting preceding Eid al-Adha, one of Islam’s most significant holy days.
Source: The Huffington Post, CNN
OCTOBER
Militia Group Members Arrested In Plot To Massacre Muslims
WHERE: Garden City, Kansas
WHEN: Oct. 14, 2016
WHO: Patrick Stein, Gavin Wright and Curtis Allen
The Justice Department accused the trio of stockpiling firearms, ammunition and explosive materials as part of a plot to attack an apartment complex inhabited mostly by Somali immigrants. They allegedly discussed parking four vehicles filled with explosives at the four corners of the complex. The attack, which the men allegedly said would “wake people up,” was planned for Nov. 9, one day after the presidential election. According to the FBI, Stein once said that “the only good Muslim is a dead Muslim” and that he would “enjoy” shooting Muslims in the head. “When we go on operations, there’s no leaving anyone behind, even if it’s a one-year-old, I’m serious. I guarantee, if I go on a mission, those little fuckers are going bye-bye,” he allegedly said. All three men’s Facebook pages shared links to conspiracy websites, many of them anti-Muslim in nature.
Source: The Huffington Post
‘TRUMP’ Spray-Painted On Mosque
WHERE: Masjid Al-Noor Islamic Center in Waterloo, Iowa
WHEN: Oct. 14, 2016
WHO: Unknown
Worshippers at the mosque found “TRUMP” spray-painted in red letters on the building’s brick exterior. During Donald Trump’s campaign, he proposed banning Muslims from entering the country, called for a national database of Muslims and said that mosques should be surveilled and Muslims profiled.
Source: The Des Moines Register
‘Fuck Muslims’ And ‘Donald Trump’ Spray-Painted On Islamic Center
WHERE: Muslim Community Miraj Center in Bayonne, New Jersey
WHEN: Oct. 14, 2016
WHO: Jonathon Hussey
Hussey allegedly spray-painted “Fuck Muslims,” “Fuck ISIS,” “Fuck Allah” and “Fuck Arabs,” as well as “Donald Trump,” on the exterior wall of the Islamic center. He faces charges of criminal mischief, bias intimidation and criminal trespass.
Source: The Huffington Post
Man Arrested For Threatening To Kill Muslims
WHERE: Los Angeles
WHEN: Oct. 19, 2016
WHO: Mark “Milosz” Feigin
Feigin allegedly called the Islamic Center of Southern California, threatening to kill parishioners there. These threats were driven by Feigin’s “hatred for Muslims and his belief that Muslims will destroy the United States,” said Los Angeles Police Department Cmdr. Horace Frank. A search of Feigin’s home uncovered nine guns ― not all of them registered ― and 250 pounds of ammunition. The suspect’s social media history featured multiple anti-Muslim posts and links to popular anti-Muslim conspiracy theorists.
Source: The Huffington Post
Anti-Muslim Graffiti Defaces Two Mosques
WHERE: Fort Smith, Arkansas
WHEN: Oct. 20, 2016
WHO: Unknown
In surveillance footage, three men can be seen spray-painting the sign, front door, windows and garage of the Masjid Al Salam mosque. The men drew swastikas and wrote messages including “Fuck Islam,” “Fuck Allah,” “Go Back to Your Country,” “Go Home” and “USA.” That same day, similar graffiti, including the phrase “Go home,” was discovered at the Fort Smith Islamic Center.
Source: The Huffington Post
NOVEMEBER
Multiple Mosques Receive Copy Of Letter Calling For Genocide Of Muslims
WHERE: At least eight mosques in California, as well as mosques in Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida
WHEN: The first letter was reported on Nov. 24, 2016
WHO: Unknown
A horrifying letter was sent to mosques across the U.S. “To the children of Satan,” the letter begins, “You Muslims are a vile and filthy people.” It goes on to say, “There’s a new sheriff in town — President Donald Trump. He’s going to cleanse America and make it shine again. And, he’s going to start with you Muslims. He’s going to do to you Muslims what Hitler did to the Jews.” The Los Angeles Police Department said it was investigating, and close to identifying the person who sent the letter.
Source: The Huffington Post,
DECEMBER
Mosque Receives Horrifying Anti-Muslim Letter
WHERE: New Haven, Connecticut
WHEN: Dec. 6, 2016
WHO: Unknown
The Islamic Center of New Haven received the same horrifying letter sent to mosques across the country. “To the children of Satan,” the letter begins, “You Muslims are a vile and filthy people.” It goes on to say, “There’s a new sheriff in town — President Donald Trump. He’s going to cleanse America and make it shine again. And, he’s going to start with you Muslims. He’s going to do to you Muslims what Hitler did to the Jews.” The New Haven Police Department said it was taking steps to protect the mosque.
Source: The Huffington Post, Fox61
Anti-Muslim Hate Group Brags About Influence In Trump Administration
WHERE: United States
WHEN: Dec. 13, 2016
WHO: Brigitte Gabriel, founder of the group Act for America, which is listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an anti-Muslim hate group
In a letter to Act for America’s hundreds of thousands of members, Gabriel bragged about the group’s influence in the incoming Trump administration. “Two of our board of advisors Dr. Walid Phares and General Michael Flynn were, and will continue to be President-elect Donald Trump’s National Security Advisors,” Gabriel wrote. She also noted that Rep. Mike Pompeo, a supporter of Act for America, was picked by Trump to be CIA director. The email lists the group’s alarming policy agenda over the next four years, including eliminating the country’s refugee resettlement program in its entirety and forbidding the Council on American-Islamic Relations from addressing state-elected bodies.
Source: The Huffington Post
Store Gets Attention For ‘Obama & Other Muslims Not Welcome Here’ Sign
WHERE: Mayhill, New Mexico
WHEN: Dec. 30, 2016
WHO: The unidentified owner of the Mayhill Convenience Store
Local news station KOB-TV drew attention to a slew of racist signs on the store, including one that reads “Obama & other Muslims Not welcome here.” The store’s owner couldn’t be reached for comment.
Source: KOB, The Huffington Post