NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Three men have been charged in the firebombing of a small mosque over the weekend, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.
Authorities said Eric Ian Baker, 32, Michael Corey Golden, 23, and Jonathan Edward Stone, 19, had planned for a week to burn down the Islamic Center of Columbia, about 40 miles southwest of Nashville, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul O’Brian said.
The men are accused of using gasoline, rags and empty beer bottles to set fire to the storefront mosque on Saturday. The men, who were arrested later that day, are facing federal charges of unlawful possession of a destructive device and state charges of arson.
The federal complaint filed against the men says Stone and Baker told officers they were members of the Christian Identity movement, an extreme doctrine that claims white Europeans are God’s chosen people. The complaint also said Baker spray-painted swastikas on the walls of the building, including the phrase “White Power.”
Associated Press, 13 February 2008
See also Al Arabiya, 13 February 2008
“Walid Shoebat, Kamal Saleem and Zachariah Anani are the three stooges of the Christian right. These self-described former Muslim terrorists are regularly trotted out at Christian colleges – a few days ago they were at the Air Force Academy – to spew racist filth about Islam…. These men are frauds, but this is not the point. They are part of a dark and frightening war by the Christian right against tolerance that, in the moment of another catastrophic terrorist attack on American soil, would make it acceptable to target and persecute all Muslims, including the some 6 million Muslims who live in the United States. These men stoke these irrational fears….
A councillor who campaigns against a “mega mosque” near the Olympic Park in Stratford is to run for London mayor. Alan Craig, leader of the Christian People’s Alliance opposition group on Newham council, is to be a candidate in the 1 May poll. He will also run for the London Assembly and could win a seat if he secures five per cent of the votes cast across the capital. He has been chosen to represent the Christian Party and will brand himself the “Christian choice”.
“Beneath the deceptively placid surface of everyday life, the British population is engaged in a momentous encounter with Islam. Three developments of the past week, each of them culminating years’ long trend – and not just some odd occurrence – exemplify changes now underway…. These developments suggest that British appeasement concerning the war on terror, the nature of the family, and the rule of law are part of a larger pattern. Even more than the security threat posed by Islamist violence, these trends are challenging and perhaps will change the very nature of Western life.”