The Muslim Hate Crime That Wasn’t

The grievance industry went into overdrive last month when burned Korans were reportedly discovered at a local mosque in southwest Virginia.

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations issued an immediate press release on June 16 calling for “Americans of all faiths to obtain and read the Quran after burned copies of Islam’s revealed text were found” in a shopping bag at the front door of the Islamic Center of Blacksburg.

Repent, all ye infidels!

Incensed CAIR officials contacted the FBI and pressured authorities to treat the incident as possibly “bias-related.” CAIR-MD/VA Director of Civil Rights Shama Farooq lectured that “A redoubled commitment to freedom of thought and religious diversity is the best response to the burning of any sacred text” in order to “send the message that bigots do not represent our nation’s values.”

{snip}

It certainly was a symbola symbol of the knee-jerk penchant among some civil rights groups and their enablers to cry racism, claim discrimination, and criticize U.S. law enforcement authorities for not doing enough to stop “hate crimes.”

It turns out, you see, that the burnt Koran was left at the mosque by . . . a Muslim student.

According to the AP, a Muslim Virginia Tech student took responsibility saying he dropped off the burned Koran and other singed materials at the mosque, hoping “it could be given a respectful disposal.” Police Lt. Bruce Bradberry reported that the student, who was not named, apparently contacted police last week, “saying he was going to be traveling abroad and didn’t know what to do with the Koran, which had been burned in a 2004 house fire. The student said he placed the book and other fire-damaged materials in a bag and left the bag at the Islamic Center with a note, which apparently blew away.”

{snip}