The Islamic Centers of three California cities received identical letters last week promising nationwide ethnic cleansing, starting with the genocide of Muslims by President-Elect Donald Trump; we learn via the LA Times:
The handwritten letter, which was photocopied, was addressed to “the children of Satan” and called Muslims a “vile and filthy people.”
“Your day of reckoning has arrived,” the letter states, according to CAIR-LA. “There’s a new sheriff in town — President Donald Trump. He’s going to cleanse America and make it shine again. And, he’s going to start with you Muslims.”
The letter, signed only by “Americans for a Better Way,” said Trump was “going to do to you Muslims what Hitler did to the jews [sic].”
Hussam Ayloush, Executive Director of the Center for American-Islamic Relations-Los Angeles said that people at the mosques were "disheartened that anyone would address fellow Americans, fellow human beings, in such a hateful, dehumanizing way." Further:
“You always want to trust that most people are good, that your neighbors have been good, and that has been our experience,” he said. Still, he said, the letters and the tone of the campaign season has left local Muslims concerned for their safety.
And:
Ayloush said the “irresponsible, hateful rhetoric” of the Trump campaign has fueled “a level of vulgarity, vile hatred and anger among many self-proclaimed Trump supporters.”
“I’m not saying [Trump] created racist people,” he said. “He normalized it. While he might say he’s not responsible, and I respect that, I remind President-elect Trump that he has a responsibility to act as a president for all Americans.”
A President for all Americans. Does that ring a bell? Oh yes, the Hamilton actor respectfully admonished that very thing and he was excoriated by the Trump surrogates for it and Trump himself demanded an apology.
Earlier in the year when hate crimes were surging in California and across the country, the Los Angeles Times published statistics from the Southern Poverty Law Center and updated those stats just this last week. They reported 701 incidents of harassment since November 9th, with the majority occurring from November 9 through 11th. 206 incidents reported were anti-immigrant; 51 were anti-Muslim; and 27 were anti-Trump.
The Southern Poverty Law Center data base provides meaningful insight into the frequency and nature of hate crimes, which are on the rise since 2015 and which spiked in the 72 hours following the election. Clearly, the lunatic fringe is feeling empowered. It behooves all of us as Americans to keep a sharp focus on these activities so that they do not escalate. We need to take care of one another because at this point in history we are bereft of leadership that we can depend on.