ULTRAMAN VH
01-10-2007, 08:17 AM
Vandals hit Shi'a stores
Muslim leaders cite Saddam's execution in Detroit damage
Ricardo Thomas / The Detroit News
Dana Media owner Inaam Alkhafaji, above, describes damage to her store. "It's a war with the Iraqi people. Maybe next time they kill us," she said. See full image
Ricardo Thomas / The Detroit News
Mohammed Al-Zehiri makes repairs to the Al-Akashi Restaurant next door. See full image
DETROIT -- Muslim leaders say a spate of vandalism over the weekend involving stores owned by local Iraqis could stem from brewing sectarian Islamic tension over the execution of Saddam Hussein.
While Shi'a and Sunni Muslims are fighting in Iraq, the two groups generally get along in Metro Detroit and the United States. But Muslim and Arab leaders say the hanging of Saddam, and especially the timing of the execution, spurred hard feelings.
They say the vandalized property was owned or operated by people of Iraqi descent who are Shi'a.
"People are scared to come here. It's very dangerous, this place," said Inaam Alkhafaji, referring to her Detroit business, Dana Media, whose windows were broken.
"It's a war with the Iraqi people. Maybe next time they kill us."
The tension that concerns Muslim leaders was spurred by the timing of the execution, according to Dawud Walid, the executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations and other community leaders.
Saddam was ordered hanged by the Shi'a controlled government of Iraq on the morning Sunnis began celebrating Eid al-Adha, the holiest of Islamic festivals. Most Shi'a did not begin to celebrate until the following day.
While Shi'a Iraqis took to the streets of Dearborn to celebrate, many other Muslims viewed the timing of the execution as an insult. Realizing the tension in the local community, some clergymen were considering meeting this week to take action.
Shattered glass remained inside a cardboard box outside of Alkhafaji's store on Warren Avenue Monday. Next door, the window of the Al-Akhasi restaurant was boarded up -- it, too, had been smashed. A person called the restaurant earlier that day and made a threat that an incident would occur.
The incidents follow similar acts of vandalism at stores along Seven Mile near Woodward, Arab leaders say.
"It smacks close to it and that's the concern. That's what makes it different," said Imad Hamad, regional director of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
The two major branches of Islam are split over governance of the faith. The Sunnis believe that because the prophet Muhammad designated no successor, the leader should be chosen or elected from the most knowledgeable Muslims.
The Shi'a believe the leaders should be drawn from the bloodline of the prophet, from his daughter Fatima and her husband, Ali, who also was Muhammad's cousin.
Meanwhile, the Council on American Islamic Relations-Michigan said a series of mailings containing drawings that slur Islam were received in recent days at two mosques, one in Ann Arbor and one in Metro Detroit, as well as at the CAIR office in Southfield. But Walid said the mailings, which seem to target all Muslims, are not related to the vandalism.
You can reach Darren A. Nichols at (734) 462-2190 or dnichols@detnews.com.
More Metro/State Headlines
detnews.com
Muslim leaders cite Saddam's execution in Detroit damage
Ricardo Thomas / The Detroit News
Dana Media owner Inaam Alkhafaji, above, describes damage to her store. "It's a war with the Iraqi people. Maybe next time they kill us," she said. See full image
Ricardo Thomas / The Detroit News
Mohammed Al-Zehiri makes repairs to the Al-Akashi Restaurant next door. See full image
DETROIT -- Muslim leaders say a spate of vandalism over the weekend involving stores owned by local Iraqis could stem from brewing sectarian Islamic tension over the execution of Saddam Hussein.
While Shi'a and Sunni Muslims are fighting in Iraq, the two groups generally get along in Metro Detroit and the United States. But Muslim and Arab leaders say the hanging of Saddam, and especially the timing of the execution, spurred hard feelings.
They say the vandalized property was owned or operated by people of Iraqi descent who are Shi'a.
"People are scared to come here. It's very dangerous, this place," said Inaam Alkhafaji, referring to her Detroit business, Dana Media, whose windows were broken.
"It's a war with the Iraqi people. Maybe next time they kill us."
The tension that concerns Muslim leaders was spurred by the timing of the execution, according to Dawud Walid, the executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations and other community leaders.
Saddam was ordered hanged by the Shi'a controlled government of Iraq on the morning Sunnis began celebrating Eid al-Adha, the holiest of Islamic festivals. Most Shi'a did not begin to celebrate until the following day.
While Shi'a Iraqis took to the streets of Dearborn to celebrate, many other Muslims viewed the timing of the execution as an insult. Realizing the tension in the local community, some clergymen were considering meeting this week to take action.
Shattered glass remained inside a cardboard box outside of Alkhafaji's store on Warren Avenue Monday. Next door, the window of the Al-Akhasi restaurant was boarded up -- it, too, had been smashed. A person called the restaurant earlier that day and made a threat that an incident would occur.
The incidents follow similar acts of vandalism at stores along Seven Mile near Woodward, Arab leaders say.
"It smacks close to it and that's the concern. That's what makes it different," said Imad Hamad, regional director of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
The two major branches of Islam are split over governance of the faith. The Sunnis believe that because the prophet Muhammad designated no successor, the leader should be chosen or elected from the most knowledgeable Muslims.
The Shi'a believe the leaders should be drawn from the bloodline of the prophet, from his daughter Fatima and her husband, Ali, who also was Muhammad's cousin.
Meanwhile, the Council on American Islamic Relations-Michigan said a series of mailings containing drawings that slur Islam were received in recent days at two mosques, one in Ann Arbor and one in Metro Detroit, as well as at the CAIR office in Southfield. But Walid said the mailings, which seem to target all Muslims, are not related to the vandalism.
You can reach Darren A. Nichols at (734) 462-2190 or dnichols@detnews.com.
More Metro/State Headlines
detnews.com