Local and national Muslim leaders allege the shocking attack on San Diego’s largest mosque that left three people dead was enabled by a culture of racism and fear.
In return, they are demanding politicians and community leaders speak out and stand together against anti-Muslim hatred and violence.
“Step in, step up, and take our security seriously,” said Tazheen Nizam, executive director of the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
“The anti-Muslim, anti-Arab rhetoric needs to come to a stop,” Nizam said. “Elected officials and community leaders need to make sure that this doesn’t happen again, and that is by making sure that hate and bigotry doesn’t get a promotion.”
The two suspected shooters left a manifesto outlining “hatred for a broad range of folks,” an FBI official overseeing the investigation said Tuesday. The vehicle the suspects used to carry out the attack also included writings that revealed “ideologies outlining religious and racial beliefs of how the world they envisioned should look,” San Diego Special Agent in Charge Mark Remily said.
Others echoed Nizam’s perspective, asking for support from the wider community.
“This is not easy,” said Taha Hassane, who serves as imam at the Islamic Center of San Diego.
“The community is in shock at this point, because this is something we have never, ever expected.”
A crowd of about fifty supporters stood with speakers from the Muslim community at Lindburgh Park during Tuesday’s press conference, steps from the Islamic Center of San Diego’s campus. Many people – including the speakers – were in tears throughout the event.
“My dad was a role model,” said Hawa Abdullah, daughter of Amin Abdullah, the security guard lauded as a hero who was shot and killed in Monday’s attack. “He was my best friend. The best, the absolute best dad in the world.”
Abdullah and two others – Nader Awad and Mansour Kaziha – were killed by the teenaged gunmen while rushing to defend the mosque and the people in it, including 140 school children.
Imam Taha Hassane said that their actions were extraordinary, but in a way, unsurprising.
“We have three heroes who did their best to protect the people who were there, the kids, the students and the teachers and all of us who were there – but I can tell you that anyone from my community would do the same thing because we believe in one another,” he said. “We believe in sacrificing ourselves for the well-being of others.”
Tazheen Nizam of CAIR said the sense of loss and shock reverberating throughout San Diego Muslim communities and beyond were a sign that things need to change.
“Address the concerns of the Muslim community seriously,” she said, asking for “space and grace” from communities as they recover from their losses.
“We’re asking for support from our elected officials to stand in and support us while we manage the security of this amazing facility,” she said.
“Because our hero – our knight in shining armor – has fallen.”
