NEW YORK - Mosques around the United
States increased security measures for Friday prayers after a
gunman shot dead 49 people and wounded more than 40 at two New
Zealand mosques.
Police in New York and other cities said they were stepping
up patrols at mosques and other places of worship as a
precaution, although there was no sign of any specific threat.
Nihad Awad, head of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR), said at a Washington news conference that he
urged Muslims who would be praying at the more than 3,000
mosques in the United States to "not abandon your mosques."
For years, American Muslims have become used to police
patrols, active shooter drills and private security officers
guarding mosques for Friday prayers. Security is often ramped up
after mass shootings, some of which have taken place at houses
of worship, including churches, a synagogue and a gurudwara.
CAIR, the largest Muslim rights group in the United States,
said Muslims and other minority groups had faced a surge in
bigotry since Donald Trump won the 2016 U.S. presidential
election. A CAIR statement blamed this in part on what it
described as "Islamophobic, white supremacist and racist Trump
administration policies and appointments."
The accused gunman's manifesto posted online praised Trump
as "a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose." The
White House did not respond to a request for comment.
"Today, the terrorist has quoted the most powerful person in
the world, President Trump," CAIR's Awad said at the news
conference. "And I would like to address Mr. Trump: Mr. Trump,
your words matter. Your policies matter. They impact the lives
of innocent people at home and globally."
Trump extended condolences for "the horrible massacre" in
what the White House called a "vicious act of hate".
Police in New Zealand said three people were in custody,
including one man in his late 20s who had been charged with
murder for the attack in Christchurch.
Police have not identified any of the suspects. The gunman
broadcast his attack live on social media.
CAIR urged worshippers in the United States and abroad to
take "stepped-up security precautions."
"There's no such thing as a foolproof plan in a situation
like this," Khalid Siddiq, an official at Atlanta's Al-Farooq
mosque, said.
"We just rely and trust in God."