Bayonne pastor's house vandalized with anti-Muslim graffiti

Rasa - A local pastor's home was vandalized over the weekend with anti-Muslim graffiti, marking the second such incident involving Islamophobic hate speech in Bayonne since October.

News ID: 426523

Date: 13 January 2017 - 21:58

RNA - A local pastor's home was vandalized over the weekend with anti-Muslim graffiti, marking the second such incident involving Islamophobic hate speech in Bayonne since October.

The graffiti, which reads "*** Islam," was spray painted directly below signs in the window of Joseph Basile's home on Avenue A that read "Save Bayonne" and "Stop the Mosque."

Basile, who first saw the "foul stuff" spray painted on his house as well as the road and snow nearby, said that the graffiti may be directed at him because of the signs in his windows.

The signs refer to the local Muslim community's plan to convert a warehouse on the east side of the city into a community center that would include a mosque, classrooms and a soup kitchen.

"Why would somebody do something like that?" Waheed Akbar, secretary for the Bayonne Muslims, said in reference to the anti-Islamic graffiti. "It's totally uncalled for."

The religious group's plan to build a community center at 109 East 24th St. has faced heated opposition. But Basile said the tension surrounding the plan is "not a religious fight as far as I can tell."

"The issue with the mosque is only the location of it," added Basile, the pastor at Grace Bible Fellowship on West 21st Street. "But I think the word on the street for a number of people is otherwise. It's unfortunate because the poor soul who did it didn't really do himself a favor."

A zoning board meeting scheduled for Jan. 23 will determine whether the Islamic community center is built.

A local pastor's home was vandalized over the weekend with anti-Muslim graffiti, marking the second such incident involving Islamophobic hate speech in Bayonne since October.

The graffiti, which reads "*** Islam," was spray painted directly below signs in the window of Joseph Basile's home on Avenue A that read "Save Bayonne" and "Stop the Mosque."

Basile, who first saw the "foul stuff" spray painted on his house as well as the road and snow nearby, said that the graffiti may be directed at him because of the signs in his windows.

The signs refer to the local Muslim community's plan to convert a warehouse on the east side of the city into a community center that would include a mosque, classrooms and a soup kitchen.

"Why would somebody do something like that?" Waheed Akbar, secretary for the Bayonne Muslims, said in reference to the anti-Islamic graffiti. "It's totally uncalled for."

The religious group's plan to build a community center at 109 East 24th St. has faced heated opposition. But Basile said the tension surrounding the plan is "not a religious fight as far as I can tell."

"The issue with the mosque is only the location of it," added Basile, the pastor at Grace Bible Fellowship on West 21st Street. "But I think the word on the street for a number of people is otherwise. It's unfortunate because the poor soul who did it didn't really do himself a favor."

A zoning board meeting scheduled for Jan. 23 will determine whether the Islamic community center is built.

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