Libraries become unexpected sites of hate crimes
By Christopher Mele, New York Times
One of seven books about Islam or the Quran that were recently defaced at a public library in Evanston, Ill.
A librarian at the public library in Evanston, Ill., was recently preparing for a program titled “The Quran: Is It a ‘Good Book’?”
She gathered books to display for attendees and discovered that inside the cover of one, “The Koran for Dummies,” someone had written “lies cover to cover,” drawn a swastika and made a disparaging remark about the Prophet Muhammad.
The authorities say there has been a spate of hate crimes targeting libraries, their books or patrons — offenses officials said they had rarely seen before. These crimes coincide with a recent report by the FBI that attacks against American Muslims surged last year.
