Hoda, a student at Cal Poly Pomona and regular attendee at Masjid Al-Sabereen, was appalled that anyone would take money from that mosque, which is well-known for sending money to needy Muslim families in Cambodia, Vietnam, and other countries.
"Masjid Sabereen has suffered a lot," Hoda said. "It’s not a very rich or big masjid; thus the loss of money from all the donation boxes as well as the stealing of the whole safe has hurt them very much financially."
In addition to Masjid Al-Sabereen, close to ten mosques in mostly the San Gabriel Valley were robbed in March and April, some twice or three times in a week. Thieves targeting these mosques broke through gates and windows after midnight to steal computers, electronic equipment, cash from donation boxes, and even safes.
According to board members of the targeted mosques, police have not been able to find any fingerprints, and no suspects have been arrested. Two unidentified witnesses have told officials that the culprits drove a black Mercedes and wore masks to hide their identities. However, without tangible evidence, no one has even been able to determine if the same thieves robbed all the mosques, or if they were isolated incidents.
Mosque representatives agree that these break-ins do not appear to be hate-affiliated, and some even think the thieves may be from within the community. Abdallah Mahmoud from the Islamic Center of Claremont or ICC pointed out that the bandits knew exactly where the valuables were kept and even knew the location of the mosque’s primary computer database. "Not even some of our board members know there’s a computer," said Mahmoud grimly.
ICC was the first mosque targeted in the string of robberies has been broken into a staggering five times since February 1. Approximately $8,000 – $10,000 worth of merchandise was stolen. According to Mahmoud, reaction to the robberies was delayed because mosque board members could not decide on an action plan quickly enough, and no one anticipated the thieves would return. However, the robbers did in fact return, and with the fifth break-in, took the mosque’s safe. "When they took the safe, I thought it was getting ridiculous," Mahmoud said. He took it upon himself to install an alarm system, bars around the windows, and security cameras.
The Islamic Center of Inland Empire (ICIE) in Rancho Cucamonga was next; thieves broke in through the back window twice in one week. Zia Eshanzada, ICIE Treasurer, said the perpetrators went straight for the donation boxes but couldn’t have stolen more than a few hundred dollars as the boxes had been emptied the day before. Since then the mosque installed cameras and window bars and hired security guards to patrol the grounds.
The mosques are currently working with local police departments to catch the individuals responsible for these robberies; some mosques have even hired private detectives. However, the police have no suspects or active leads at this time.
Other mosques in the Inland Empire that were robbed include Masjid Al Noor, Masjid Al Fatiha, Masjid La Mirada, and the Islamic Center of Riverside.
