WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Officials from the Islamic Society of Palm Springs reported an individual throwing a Molotov cocktail at the mosque, KESQ-TV reported on Friday.
The arson at the Coachella mosque took place amid campaigns to ban Syrian refugees from entering the United States. President Obama announced his plan earlier that 10,000 Syrian refugees will be resettled in the United States in 2016.
Opponents of closing the borders to Muslims, including the White House, argue such a move contradicts American values.
On December 1, Council on American Islamic Relations National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper told Sputnik the United States needs a new plan to combat Islamophobia.
Hooper argued that the current anti-Muslim environment is “more toxic” than that following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.
