‘Punish a Muslim Day’ passes peacefully but hate crime concerns remain

[TomSea]

‘Punish a Muslim Day’ passes peacefully but hate crime concerns remain
By Phoebe Leila Barghouty

A viral letter that began circulating online over a month ago had New York City police officers on high alert this Tuesday. The letter advertised April 3rd as “Punish a Muslim Day,” encouraging people to commit violent crimes against Muslims.

The flyer featured a chart of suggested actions and a point system, asserting that more violent actions would guarantee a greater reward, though there was no indication what the supposed reward would entail. On the chart, the mildest suggested act was “verbally abuse a Muslim” for 10 points, while the most extreme urged participants to “nuke Mecca” for 2,500 points.

Hard copies of the letter were anonymously mailed to families in London. In the United States, images of the letter made rounds in several online communities. A namesake hashtag rattled through Twitter in the days leading up to April 3rd. On social media, many speculated that the campaign was a hoax.

Read more at: https://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/features/2018/04/04/Viral-letter-promoting-hate-crimes-against-Muslims-raises-security-concerns-in-New-York-.html

The article is from 5 days ago.