Harlock

Melissa Harlock
Dr. Dana Gregory Griffith
Understanding Religious Intolerance
20 November 2014
Intolerance in Our Midst
In the whole round of human affairs little is so fatal to peace as misunderstanding.
- Margaret Elizabeth Sangster
It is so easy to get caught up in ones own emotions and beliefs, but it is even easier to get
caught up in the misunderstanding of these concepts that quickly foster a presence of intolerance
and hate. Far too many times have religious groups been the target of hate crimes, derogatory
speech or jokes and overall hateful language. It is only by a lack of sympathy, an unwillingness
to open oneself up to information, and the idea that ones own religion is the only way, truth and
light in the world, that this hate and intolerance continues to grow in this day and age. It would
be easy to assume that after events such as the Holocaust or the Civil Rights struggle, that people
would start to realize the power of hate, but unfortunately, intolerance caused hate crimes
sparked by religious bigotry are still alive and well today.
Issues such as these that affect such a wide range of people often feel as though they are
out of our grasp and therefore out of our worry when in reality, acts of religious intolerance are
in our midst on a daily basis. From hearing or telling a joke about a single student and their
religious affiliation on the University of Cincinnati campus, to seeing a news story about a
pregnant woman in Sudan being sentenced to death based on her marriage to a Christian Man,
religious intolerance is all around. The number of people that intolerance touches and the range
of people it has affected across the world and right here in Ohio, is a troubling thought, but it is
important to realize that before religious hate can be stopped everywhere, it has to cease to exist

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somewhere. Somewhere could be here and now if we only begin to educate each other and care
about the protection of one anothers right to partake in their own religious preferences.
For many years now, Islam has been a religion with a plethora of questions and concerns
surrounding it. For a number of Americans in particular, the Muslim faith began to be feared
after the incidents that occurred on September 11, 2001. Although these acts of terrorism were
executed by an extremist organization that doesnt believe in what Islam itself stands for, people
still couldnt help but associate the two groups as one. It is due to this misunderstanding that
people began to see Muslims as terrorists based purely on the fact that the extremist group
identified themselves as followers of Islam. Many people still believe to this day that all Muslim
people have some deep inner hatred for Americans based solely on the events of 9/11. Although
it is easy for many people to understand that every religion has people who take things out of
context after misinterpreting the words of their leaders or book of faith, Americans especially,
cannot get the idea that the Muslim faith is responsible for all that has happened, out of their
head.
On September 30, 2012, a man took his misinterpretations of the Islamic faith and did the
unthinkable. The Indiana born and raised 52 year old, Randolph T. Linn, drove from his home in
St. Joe Indiana to the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo in order to set flames to the place of
worship in hopes of getting some payback (Morlin). The Islamic Center of Greater Toledo is
the third largest mosque in the United States and has approximately 3,000 members that attend
on a regular basis. The 60,000 square foot Mosque just recently celebrated its 34th anniversary
and has been known to many Muslim people as a significant and holy place of worship for many
years now. Linn was ultimately convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison and is now
required to pay all restitutions which equal approximately 1-1.5 million dollars, to the mosque in

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order to repair the damage caused by his blatant hate crime (Blade). After the incident, Dr.
Mahjabeen Islam, president of the Islamic Center of Toledo, stated that he believed Muslim
people and their places of worship were clearly under attack (Morlin). Islam believes this to be
so based on the deliberate way this crime was committed. This was no accident and encompasses
the realm of a religion based hate crime. Linn drove his vehicle containing several firearms and
three gas containers into Ohio (Blade). He filled the gas cans and then continued driving to his
target location-- the Toledo area mosque. According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Ava Dusten,
upon arrival, Linn attempted to gain entry into the mosque by searching for an open door while
wandering around the building. After finding an open door, he entered the mosque with a firearm
in hand and proceeded to check all the rooms. Linn then returned to his vehicle to obtain a gas
can and then reentered the mosque to begin the arson.
In regards to the fire, President of the Toledo Mosque stated that he believed, It was a very
symbolic fire... it was started in the center of the prayer area right under the dome (Morlin). By
setting fire to the rug directly under the dome of the mosque where the prayer takes place, Islam
believes that Linn did so in a direct attack of the Muslim people and faith. Not only does Islam
believe this, but Linns own statements to police and in court help to support this notion as well.
Although Linn told the judge he had drunk 45 beers over a period of six or seven hours before he
jumped up and drove to Ohio and that he definitely did not think about it, Attorney Ava
Dusten countered this with notions of premeditation (Blade). About two weeks prior to the
incident, while talking to his 20 yr. old son, Linn threatened to burn the mosque. Dusten also
brought up the fact that when he was arrested on Oct. 2, in Fort Wayne, Ind., Linn told the
arresting officer, [expletive] those Muslims. They would kill us if they got the chance (Blade).
Perhaps the most disturbing thing about the premeditation factor of Linns arson of the Toledo

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Mosque was the fact that his reason for committing such a crime was based purely on his
intolerance for the Muslim people and faith based on his own untrue assumptions. Linns
confusion between what he saw of extremists on news programs, and the truth about the
practices and beliefs of Islam. During the trial, Linn acknowledged that he personally did not
know anyone of the Islamic faith and his opinions and strong intolerance for the Muslim people
was based purely on what he had seen on the news in regards to Muslim people killing American
citizens. This fact simply reinstates the importance of education when it comes to the
misunderstanding of religions. Linn saw a select and radical group of people who came from a
dominantly Muslim country and who declared themselves as Muslim crash into the twin towers.
He saw the footage of war in the Middle East, heard of the deaths of American soldiers, and
immediately associated it all with Islam. Without questioning and researching these beliefs, he
over generalized a religion of 1.6 billion people by judging the actions of about 20 terrorists.
It us amazing to me how much conflict, damage and suffering can come about right here in
our own communities by people who are purely misinformed and hateful. Judge Jack Zouhary
said it best when he said to Linn, When you went through that door, you did not attack
extremists or terrorists. Instead, you attacked the place where families come to pray Ironically,
its your own violence that was sinful and evil (Morlin). When people think of religious
intolerance they dont normally think of churches or mosques burning down in Toledo Ohio, but
events like this continue to happen all over the country and globe. Hate is all around us and
although hate is sometimes hard to combat, the best way we can hope to do so is through
informing others of the truth behind the religion and truly fearing the misunderstanding that leads
so many to turn away from peace in order to embrace hate.

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Works Cited
Blade Staff. Man pleads guilty to mosque arson fire. The Blade: One of Americas Great
Newspapers. 19 December 2012. Web. 20 November 2014.
Morlin, Bill. Muslims Under Attack, Says Toledo Mosque Official After Arson. Southern
Poverty Law Center. 4 October 2012. Web. 20 November 2014.