At least two mosques in New Jersey have received threats in the wake of Tuesday’s terror attack in New York City.
Congregants are on edge after Islamic Center of Passaic County, the region's most influential mosque, and others in Paterson have been the center of specific threats. Now the Council of American Islamic Relations is urging for extra security precautions. The mosque draws about 2,000 people for Friday communal prayers.
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The Islamic Center has gotten at least eight threats over the phone in the days since the attack in lower Manhattan threatening violence and damage to the place of worship, which is home to nearly 25,000 congregants.
CAIR reported another mosque in Paterson, Omar Mosque, has received telephone threats after word spread that the suspect in the TriBeCa terror attack, Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov, may have worshipped there since it was near his home.
Saipov is accused of killing eight people and injuring a dozen more in lower Manhattan while pledging his allegiance to the Islamic State. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack, calling Saipov a "soldier of the Caliphate." However, the terror organization offered no evidence to support their claim.
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Saipov was arrested on terror charges after police said he drove a Home Depot rental truck down the bike path in New York City. Police shot and detained Saipov, who authorities said had been planning the attack for months.
Neighbors at the Omar Mosque near his home say they never saw him there and say his acts aren't representative of the Muslim religion.
CAIR is calling in state and federal officials to investigate these phone threats as possible hate crimes.
