CAIR Director Condemns Church Vandalism As A Hate Crime

By ANDRIY R. PAZUNIAK The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jun 27, 2007

TAMPA - White paint and religious art now cover the wall inside tiny Christ the Servant Apostolic Catholic Church on Nebraska Avenue.

But for Ahmed Bedier, the hate remains from a message scribbled on a church wall during the weekend.

Just before 6 a.m. Saturday, the church's pastor, Bishop Chuck Leigh, received a call from Tampa police that someone had broken down the front door to his church.

When Leigh arrived, he found framed pictures smashed on the floor and "Traitors Support Terrorist" written in black marker on the wall.

To Bedier, the executive director of the Tampa chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the act was more than just vandalism - it was a hate crime.

During a news conference Tuesday, Bedier called the incident a "deliberate act" targeting a congregation and pastor who have supported the local Muslim community on local and international issues.

"The writing's on the wall," Bedier said. "This was not some sort of random act."

Leigh supported a failed proposal two years ago to add the Muslim holiday Eid Al-Fitr to the Hillsborough County school district calendar.

Leigh also supports the release of former University of South Florida Professor Sami Al-Arian, who is awaiting deportation and remains imprisoned on federal contempt charges for refusing to testify about Palestinian charities.

Leigh, who also is president of the Florida Council of Churches, said his church tries to help any group it views as persecuted.

That will continue, he said, despite the vandalism.

"If we waver, then we've lost the Gospel and we're not who we are," said Leigh, who described his 50-member congregation - many of whom call themselves pacifists - as "progressive."

Bedier said CAIR has asked Tampa police to consider enhanced charges for hate crimes in any action taken in the case.

Police said they had no leads or suspects.