One day after someone threw an explosive device into the window of a mosque in Bloomington, Minnesota, the state's vast array of Muslim advocacy groups joined its governor in condemning the bombing as an "act of terrorism," and they are demanding the FBI investigate it as a hate crime.
"It’s an act of terrorism, a criminal act of terrorism," said Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton on Sunday during a visit to the mosque, Dar Al Farooq. "I hope and pray the perpetrator will be caught and prosecuted to the full extent of the law."
Larry Frost of the Paladin Law firm in Bloomington told WND that FBI agents have fanned out across the area in search of a suspect.
"The entire neighborhood has already received visits from the FBI and supporting agencies," Frost told WND. "I had a Joint Terrorism Task Force officer who works with local FBI show up on my door this morning."
But Minnesotans say there was no such outcry from public officials when a Somali refugee went on a stabbing spree last fall and when a gang of Somali thugs harassed and terrorized people on the Lake Calhoun beach last summer.
Before any suspects have been named or factual evidence presented by authorities, Dayton joined a chorus of Muslim advocates including Muslim Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Muslim-American Society in condemning Saturday's attack as motivated by anti-Muslim bigotry.
The blast early Saturday morning targeted the notorious Dar al-Farooq Islamic Center, headed by imam Walid Idrus al-Maneesey, who has preached hatred against Jews, quoting from the sayings of Muhammad as recorded in the hadiths. As WND has previously reported, at least six Somali refugees known to have engaged in terrorist-related activities have attended Dar al-Farooq at one time or another.
In April 2016, the Investigative Project on Terrorism described the mosque as "a hotbed of extremism."
Asad Zaman, the executive director of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, called the attack an “unprovoked hate crime” during the news conference with the governor Sunday. He thanked elected officials and police for responding quickly to "repudiate” the attack.
While the claims of a hate crime against the mosque may yet turn out to be accurate, attorneys, activists and law enforcement experts contacted by WND say there's a 50-50 chance that the blast may not have been a hate crime at all.
It could have been someone who attended the mosque, or it could have been someone from another mosque who had an issue with the imam. The device landed in the imam's office, causing minor damage. Nobody was present in the office at the time, and nobody was injured.
It wouldn't be the first time a Muslim attacked a mosque. It happens all the time in the Middle East. Just Sunday a Shiite mosque in Afghanistan was hit by a Muslim suicide bomber, killing at least 29 and wounded up to 100.
In the wake of a hate-motivated attack on a mosque in London during Ramadan, Europeans are also struggling with political pressure to classify regular crimes against Muslims as hate crimes. A series of acid attacks against "Muslim-looking people" has caused the East London Muslim community to claim that Muslims were being singled out for "hate crimes." But law-enforcement officials have said they believe the acid attacks appear to be a new method of robbery "muggings," the Independent reports.
Still, Dayton wasted no time making assumptions in Minnesota.
His quick draw on the "hate crime" label is a stark contrast to the caution exercised by Minnesota officials whenever a Somali Muslim injures or kills a fellow Minnesotan.
An example was the shooting of an unarmed white woman, Justine Damond, by Somali police officer Mohamed Noor last month. The city withheld Noor's name and background for more than two full days.
When Somali refugee Dahir Adan stabbed 10 people at the Crossroads Mall in St. Cloud, Minnesota, on Sept. 17 last year, it wasn't until 11 days later, on Sept. 28, that FBI director James Comey informed the public that Adan was inspired by foreign-based "radical Islamic groups."
When more than a dozen Somali men terrorized Minneapolis's Linden Hills community on Lake Calhoun for three straight days in late June 2016, threatening a woman with rape and pretending to shoot people on the beach, police and local media hushed up the incident, which never appeared in the local Star-Tribune newspaper. No press conferences were called and no arrests were made. The incident is documented by eyewitnesses in the book "Stealth Invasion: Muslim Conquest through Immigration and Resettlement Jihad."
Dayton famously told Minnesotans in 2015 that if they did not like living alongside Somali refugees, they should "find another state," because Minnesota was committed to diversity and requires foreign nationals to satisfy its labor needs.
Mosque sets up GoFundMe account
The mosque is already seeking to capitalize financially on the explosion by launching a GoFundMe campaign. By Monday morning, it was halfway to its fundraising goal of $95,000, with more than 900 people making donations.
The GoFundMe campaign states:
We have created this page to garner support to rebuild this community center and mosque damaged after an Islamophobic attack. The picture below denotes the targeted area which is our imam's office. Extensive damage was done by the explosion and the start of the water sprinkler system. We request you to pray for us in this time of grief and make generous donations. Any amount is appreciated.
In a press release, the Dar Al Farooq mosque thanked the community for an "outpouring of support."
Mosque officials expressed thanks at the tremendous support that immediately came from all sectors of the community. A variety of faith communities came to the mosque to express their support and offer any help they could. Neighbors were walking down the street holding signs in support for the mosque. This is just another reminder that Minnesotans are one community who support each other during difficult times.
'Double standard' by Minnesota officials?
But not so fast, say some experts on Islamic terrorism.
John Guandolo, a former FBI counter-terrorism specialist who now runs Understanding the Threat, a consultancy for law enforcement on Islamic terror, said the FBI and local investigators have adopted a "double standard" in how they investigate acts of terrorism.
Guandolo said law enforcement would be wise to further investigate before jumping to conclusions about the mosque attack in Bloomington, but they appear more likely than ever to succumb to political correctness that prevents them from overseeing an unbiased, neutral investigation.
"There is a double standard. It would not be unusual if it was an inside job – that is a part of their modus operandi," Guandolo said of hardline Muslims such as Al-Maneese, who heads up the Dar al-Farooq Islamic Center. "All the way back to when ISNA was first established in the early 1980s, they were caught making up a 'vandalism' attack which they perpetrated themselves. Mosques have been caught doing the same since 9/11.
"The important point here is there is a long trail of evidence the governor of Minnesota has the reins in his mouth and is guided by the Islamic leaders in Minnesota for everything he says and does on these issues," he added. "Whatever he utters about this is sure to be cow dung."
Former U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann said the double standard in Minnesota is palpable and growing worse by the month.
"Several years ago, a terrible explosion occurred in the Minneapolis Cedar Riverside area resulting in the deaths of Somalis, and the story was quickly extinguished," Bachmann told WND. "The public was told it was a natural-gas leak, which the gas company denied, as there was no proof."
The building was razed before an investigation could be conducted, but authorities announced it was not a natural-gas leak.
"The public was never given a further explanation for that explosion," Bachmann said. "The recent mosque explosion looks like it could have been a self-inflicted wound, but we don't yet know. That alone begs for an investigation."
Earlier last week, there was an explosion at Minnehaha Christian Academy in Minneapolis that resulted in two deaths.
"We're told that may have been a natural-gas explosion," Bachmann said. "Who knows? I didn't hear if the governor showed up to mourn the loss of people at the Christian school and make declarations of terrorist intent. In fact, I'm certain he didn't.
"Talk about compare and contrast. The Minnesota media are falling into the same cliché reporting of the European press corps.
"They fawn over Muslims and protect them from obvious observations while condemning white America. It's boring, lazy and wrong."