San Francisco mosque vandalized more than once during Ramadan

Calls for protection after San Francisco mosque vandalized

A mosque in San Francisco has been vandalized at least twice in the last week, apparently by the same man. Community members want more protection.

SAN FRANCISCO - A mosque in San Francisco has been vandalized at least twice in the last week, apparently by the same man, prompting community members to call for more protection.

Masjid al-Tawheed on Sutter Street has been hit while the Muslim community has been celebrating Ramadan.

Surveillance video on social media shows a white man with light brown hair and some facial hair smashing the windows of the mosque with a skateboard on April 3.

It appears as though the same man came back on Tuesday, a day before Eid, breaking more windows, according to Hala Hijazi, a San Francisco Human Rights commissioner. She said he then entered the mosque, yelling Islamophobic rhetoric.

On Wednesday morning, the windows of the mosque were still boarded up.

Hijazi said he then allegedly smoked a cigarette inside the mosque, got into an altercation, threatened people and wrote "you will burn in hell" on the walls. The photo shows the words after mosque leaders tried to paint over them.

Hijazi, who initially tweeted about these attacks, says the rise of Islamophobia, including from public officials, is contributing to violence like this.

She’s calling on the city to help protect houses of worship, saying people don’t feel safe during this holy month for Muslims when the mosque is packed with families.

Aseel Fara of the San Francisco Immigrant Rights Commission said that despite what some might think, Islamophobia "happens every single day."

Many incidents aren't reported, he said.

"We're really asking for [police] and the city to prioritize this community and make sure that there are more resources and the community is protected," Fara said.