PATCH: Islamophobic Graffiti Targets Homer Glen Home
HOMER GLEN, IL — A Muslim family's home in Homer Glen was vandalized with Islamophobic graffiti on Sept. 17, according to the Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The organization, known as CAIR-Chicago, is calling for a hate crime investigation.
According to CAIR-Chicago, the vandalism involved spraying an anti-Muslim message and crosses on the sidewalk and in front of the house, as well as spraying black paint over the brake lights of the family's car in the driveway. The sidewalk message read, "Muhammed, p**s be upon him."
CAIR-Chicago said when Muslims refer to Muhammad, they add the phrase "peace be upon him."
The Homer Glen family has lived in the house for more than 20 years, according to CAIR-Chicago.
"These kinds of cowardly attacks are designed to do one thing: make people feel unwelcome and unsafe, even in the sanctity of their own homes, for no other reason than their personal choice of faith," CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab said in a release. "As such, these types of attacks are antithetical to our constitutional values, to the spirit of our freedoms and to common decency, they must always be met with zero tolerance."
The group has called on the sheriff's department to investigate the incident. Patch has reached out to the Will County Sheriff's Office and has yet to receive a response.