RI religious leaders blame Trump, Gingrich for vandalism at local mosque
By Bob Plain on July 17, 2016
During an interfaith vigil for peace on Saturday, Rhode Island religious leaders implicitly and explicitly blamed Donald Trump, Newt Gingrich and the Republican rhetoric opposing religious freedom on the national political stage for vandalism that happened at a mosque in Kingston, Rhode Island on Thursday night.
“In one sense this incident is an isolated incident,” Rev. Don Anderson, the executive director of the Rhode Island Council of Churches who organized the vigil, told the crowd of well more than 100 people who came to be with the members of the Masjid al Hoda mosque Saturday.
“But we also need to understand that this happened in a context,” Anderson continued. “It took place in a context where there is irresponsible, hateful speech in our country. It is being applauded by many of our fellow citizens and it demands that we make a statement and stand up together.”
The isolated incident in question was an attack on the Muslim Community Center of Kingston, near the University of Rhode Island campus, Thursday night. A vandal broke windows in the mosque and spray painted “Muhammad prophet of butchers” on an outside wall. The context is Trump and other prominent Republicans who foment religious persecution by calling for new rules and regulations to monitor Muslims in America.
http://www.rifuture.org/ri-religious-leaders-blame-trump-gingrich-for-vandalism-at-local-mosque.html