Md. Mosque Hosts Active Shooter Training After Spike In Hate Incidents

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Active shooter training is being held at a Maryland mosque in response to what the Council on American-Islamic Relations calls "a recent spike in hate incidents targeting mosques nationwide."

"We encourage local community members and leaders of all faiths to attend and learn how they can prepare themselves in the event of a potentially-deadly crisis situation," said CAIR Maryland Outreach Manager Dr. Zainab Chaudry.

"In this political climate, it's more important than ever to adequately increase security for minority communities that face growing threats."

According to Chaudry, there have been 35 incidents targeting mosques in Florida, Ohio, Iowa, Kentucky, Georgia, Arizona, Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Texas, and a number of other states since the beginning of the year.

In an upcoming report, CAIR says will detail a more than 50 percent increase in anti-Muslim bias incidents in 2016 over 2015, and a 40 percent increase in anti-Muslim hate crimes in the same period.

Along with the active shooter training at the Masjid An-Nur Foundation in White Marsh, CAIR is asking American Muslims and Islamic institutions to take extra security precautions and is offering Muslim community leaders free copies of its booklet, "Best Practices for Mosque and Community Safety."

CAIR also recently decried what it termed the Trump administration's "deafening silence" on a growing number of anti-Muslim incidents.

"Every day, we receive more reports of hate incidents, threats and violence targeting American Muslims, Islamic institutions and even those perceived to be Muslim, yet we hear only a deafening silence from the Trump administration," said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. "President Trump must speak out against the growing Islamophobia in our nation for which he bears substantial blame."

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