Islamic group wants investigation into threatening letter

AMES, Ia. – Authorities are investigating a letter left at an Ames mosque that contained anti-Muslim messages and threats.

Officers responded around 4 p.m. Thursday to a report that the note had been left on the door of Darul Arqum Islamic Center in Ames, Ames Police Department spokesman Jason Tuttle said Friday.

According to a news release from the Iowa chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, "To all (expletive) Muslims" was written on the envelope. Inside, a note read: "We will burn all of you; leave our country; we hate you."

Tuttle called the comments "concerning," but said there doesn't appear to be any immediate threat to the mosque, although police have since begun working with leaders at the mosque to implement a safety plan and provide extra patrol in the area.

"We want this investigated as a hate crime, not just viewed as vandalism or harassment," Council on American-Islamic Relations Executive Director Miriam Amer told the Register. "There's been a spike of this going on around the country. This hasn't happened before to this degree here."

The council, also known as CAIR, is the United States' largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

"We're shocked and alarmed by what's happening," Amer said. "There's 1.8 billion Muslims in the world and only half of a percent are terrorists. We are your doctors, your lawyers, your teachers, your neighbors."

CAIR is calling on community leaders to implement safety measures and seek to identify and eliminate vulnerabilities in bias-motivated attacks, the release read. It cited the council's booklet, "Best Practices for Mosque and Community Safety," as a resource.

Amer has lived in the state for nearly 16 years and in the U.S. her entire life.

"It's not fair, and it's not right," she said. "We are not, in any way, the enemies in this country."

Tuttle said an investigation into who left the letter is ongoing. He said a charge for the crime hasn't yet been determined.

Shams Ghoneim, vice president of the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa and coordinator of the Muslim Public Affairs Council of Iowa, said she's "deeply saddened" that such actions have reached Iowa.

"It's not the Iowa that I've known and lived in," said Ghoneim, who has been in Iowa City since 1967.

Register staff writer MacKenzie Elmer contributed to this report.