And I do condemn it.

Police and the FBI are investigating after someone shot through the door of a mosque during Ramadan, a monthlong religious celebration involving dawn-to-dusk fasting, prayer and charity.

The bullet pierced the top aluminum frame of a glass entry door at The Islamic Center of South Texas on Friday afternoon.

Witnesses said they heard two gunshots, but investigators have found evidence of only one shot hitting the mosque, Corpus Christi police Cmdr. Jesse Garcia said.

"We're sure it's a high-caliber weapon, based on the damage," Garcia said.

Pieces of the bullet have been recovered for testing, but police have yet to name any suspects and haven't determined whether the incident is a hate crime.

Osama Bahloul, the spiritual leader of the mosque, is among about 600 members of the center who are celebrating Ramadan.

"We hope this is the end of it," he said. "But we are genuinely concerned about our people. We have a large number of children here this month, and if he or she did this again someone could be killed."

Bahloul said the center will install video cameras and members have been reminded to be aware of their surroundings.

Police have searched flower beds at an apartment complex across the street from the mosque and FBI agents went door to door to interview possible witnesses.

The FBI is adding $5,000 to the Crime Stoppers reward to bring it to $10,000 for information leading to an arrest in the case, FBI spokeswoman Patricia Villafranca said.

Most Muslims are decent people, and are entitled to freely exercise their human right to worship. Such acts of violence are not merely immoral, but are also an assault on our Constitutional values. I urge others to speak out against this incident as well.

Does this contradict my condemnation of those who wage jihad against the United States and other non-Muslim peoples? Hardly, but I am certain that emulating their crimes against the innocent is precisely the wrong way to stop them.

Posted by: Greg at 12:22 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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