Local CAIR chapter receives hate email with subject line ‘Muslim sewer rats’

This story was originally published by The OC Register

On the day the Department of Justice released its latest hate crime numbers, the Los Angeles chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), on Friday, July 7, received a threatening, obscenity-laden email with the subject line “Muslim sewer rats,” executive director Hussam Ayloush said.

Ayloush said the email came into the Anaheim-based group’s general inbox and that CAIR’s Minnesota chapter received a similar email.

The email reads: “Hey there Muslim PIG SWINE. We MILLIONS upon MILLIONS of PATRIOTS, armed to the teeth with HUNDREDS of millions of weapons, with literally over 50 BILLION rounds of horrific, violent camel jockey piercing rounds of ammo. We have a LEADER in the White House, now standing for JUDEO-Christian values. . .You have mistaken European White Males patience for weakness. Get ready to have a war. . .”

CAIR has reported the email to the FBI, Ayloush said.

“While we’ve seen people in other states charged and sentenced for hate crimes involving physical attacks, online or email threats are much harder to track,” he said. “Unfortunately, we’ve become accustomed to receiving such ugly messages through our email and our Facebook page as well.”

The amount of hate mail tripled between January and June of this year and has “stabilized now” to around what it was last year, Ayloush said.

“We’re still warning everyone at local mosques and Islamic centers to be vigilant,” he said. “In most cases, you hope these threats are made by someone who is venting their hate, bigotry and ignorance. But you can never take a chance because in some cases, these people are angry or unstable enough to take action.”

The Department of Justice’s latest tally of hate crimes showed that about one-third of the 11 percent increase in California’s hate crimes from 2015 to 2016 came from the city of Los Angeles.

According to FBI statistics, in 2015, there were 5,818 hate crimes in the US, up by about 340 incidents from 2014. The FBI reported 257 hate crimes against Muslims in 2015, an increase from 154 crimes in 2014.

This week, CAIR launched a mobile app called “Making Democracy Work for Everyone.” The app allows users to quickly report hate incidents they experience.