The Islamic Center of Louisville, Ky. was defaced by graffiti earlier this week in an event that led to wide spread criticism. The walls of the center had messages that read "Nazis speak Arabic," "Moslems - leave the Jews alone," and "This is for France," in red paint.
"We knew that hatred will hit us one day but there was always a brink of hope that our community outreach efforts may deflect it away from us. But fact of the matter is that we are hit hard right here in our compassionate city of Louisville at a place that is [a] center of tolerance and compassion," mosque spokesman Muhammad Babar wrote in a letter, according to NBC News.
While the Louisville police are reviewing video footage to identify the miscreants, the FBI has also stepped in to investigate the vandalism, which is being termed as a hate crime.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said that the actions hit "like a punch in the gut" while calling them acts of ignorance and extremism. "To our Islamic center, I want to apologize on behalf of the entire community for this unacceptable incident here," Fischer said, The Washington Post reported.
We do not tolerate intolerance of any people; we are a city of compassion and united in condemning this vandalism pic.twitter.com/AFQYIQmidx
— Mayor Greg Fischer (@louisvillemayor) September 17, 2015
The Mayor also appealed to the residents of Louisville to join in cleaning up the Islamic Center via a Twitter post.
Let's show the world we are a city of inclusiveness. Join for a community celebration/cleanup at Louisville Islamic Center 3:30pm Friday — Mayor Greg Fischer (@louisvillemayor) September 17, 2015
Nearly 1,000 people gathered in response to the Mayor's request. "There is a lot of extremism in the world today. But today I'm seeing a lot of extreme love and support and I love it," he said, reported The Courier Journal.
Friday's rally saw participants, young and old, from all major faith groups and congregations, along with students from private, public and Catholic schools, applying paint to cover up the graffiti. The supplies for painting the center were donated by local residents and organizations.
