Islamic group condemns grafitti

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Islamic group condemns graffiti

The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, an Islamic civil liberties group, said Wednesday that it condemned the vandalism of the Assyrian Church of the East-St. Mary's Church in Warren.

The group also called on law enforcement authorities to allocate greater resources in investigating hate crimes against houses of worship.

"We offer our sympathy and support to the local Assyrian community and call on law enforcement to investigate this incident, and similar attacks on houses of worship, with a greater sense of urgency," said Dawud Walid, the group's executive director.

The church vandalism was spotted on Monday morning and included black and blue spray-painted graffiti that suggested Arabs aren't Christians and should "Die 2wice."

Assyrians are Christians, and many do not consider themselves Arabs.

Walid said he was particularly concerned that the vandalism occurred during the Christian holy week of Easter.