Bay Area Muslim leaders say San Diego mass shooting not isolated incident of anti-Muslim hate

Rami Bailony described the Islamic Center of San Diego as closely tied to his family’s life, noting his father helped establish it and his brother’s children were in class there during the shooting. Mansour Kaziha, the mosque caretaker, was killed along with two other people, and Bailony remembered him as a steady presence who made others feel safe and loved. Sources reported anti-Muslim and Islamophobic writings found in the vehicle of two teenage shooters. Muslim community members said the violence was not isolated, citing frequent violent threats and hate emails toward Bay Area mosques. In Pleasanton, the Muslim Community Center hired armed guards to protect worshippers for Friday prayer and Eid al-Adha, occurring during the first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah.

"“It is shock. In many ways, you don't even want to believe it,” says Bailony, who grew up attending the mosque and school. “It's a place that has been connected to our lives, ever since we were born.” Bailony's father helped to establish the Islamic center. His brother's children were in class there when the shooting happened. They all grew up with Mansour Kaziha, the mosque caretaker, who is one of three people killed by the two teenaged shooters."

"“Every camping trip. Every barbecue. He was there. He was really like an uncle to me,” says Bailony, who now lives in Belmont. “ He is the type of person that served people with a kind of quiet goodness. He made everyone around him feel safer and loved.”"

"Sources tell ABC News that anti-Muslim and Islamophobic writings were found in the vehicle with the two teens. Members of the Muslim community say what happened in San Diego is not an isolated incident of anti-Muslim hate. Violent threats have become common for many Bay Area mosques."

"“We were getting a significant amount of increase in hate emails. We had someone... saying that they have guns, and they want us out. Go back to your own country,” says Seema Badar, a former board member of the Muslim Community Center in Pleasanton, the largest mosque in the East Bay. Badar says armed guards have been hired to protect worshippers ahead of the weekly communal Friday prayer and the Eid al-Adha holiday next Wednesday - the biggest Muslim holiday of the year."

Read at ABC7 San Francisco