The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations called for stepped-up police protection for Muslim worshipers in St. Cloud on Wednesday.
The announcement comes after another incident of damage at the Central Minnesota Islamic Center on Fourth Avenue South.
A broken window was reported to St. Cloud police Monday night. This is the fourth incident of damage at the Islamic center in the past month. No one was injured in the incident.
Lori Saroya, executive director of CAIR-MN, said the biggest concern is that the situation will escalate. There have been situations where vandalism has risen to arson in other cases, she said.
Saroya urged community leaders to use safety measures outlined in a CAIR booklet “Best Practices for Mosque and Community Safety,” which was published in response to previous attacks on American mosques.
CAIR has created a new safety training for Muslim faith organizations, going through a checklist of items like lighting, security cameras and more, often with a local law enforcement officer.
“The community leaders feel empowered, they feel like they know what their legal rights are,” she said. “And it helps build a relationship with law enforcement” so that if there is an incident, that it’s reported and that it’s investigated as a potential hate incident.
She said incidents like this flare up when there’s an international issue — most recently the Islamic State — where some people may mistakenly blame all Muslims.
“We formed in 2007. Every year, we see more and more of these cases,” she said.
Since 2010, every new mosque project in Minnesota has faced community opposition, Saroya said, which can lead to safety concerns once a mosque is built.
“I would never say no to collaboration with any of our community agencies,” said Police Chief Blair Anderson. “I appreciate what it is they’re doing. But it’s what we do all day, every day. We spend a lot of time in the protection business.”
Earlier this month, CAIR, a Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization, called on federal law enforcement authorities to investigate incidents at two St. Cloud mosques as hate crimes. Last month, the group sought similar investigation of an incident in a St. Paul neighborhood.
St. Cloud police previously had asked for the public’s help in investigating reports of damage at local Islamic centers, including broken windshields on vehicles parked outside.
Anderson said Wednesday investigators don’t have any solid proof the incidents are connected.
Anderson outlined some of the things the department is doing to mitigate escalation, including increasing its presence, beefing up patrols and continuing to investigate the case.
“It’s as unsettling to us as it is to all the people in this community,” he said. “As I say often, our presence is our greatest tool.”
Saroya said security cameras are probably the No. 1 thing the local center can do to prevent escalation.
While there are some grants available for some of those, it’s often something the community will fund, she said.
“It’s not just the Muslim community,” she said. “There are far more people that come out in support and want to help and feel horrible about what happened.”
Anyone with information is urged to call St. Cloud police at 251-1200, or Tri-County Crime Stoppers at 255-1301, 1-800-255-1301, or visit www.tricountycrimestoppers.org.