© 2024 KLCC

KLCC
136 W 8th Ave
Eugene OR 97401
541-463-6000
klcc@klcc.org

Contact Us

FCC Applications
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Eugene Muslims Respond To "Punish A Muslim Day" Flyers

Brian Bull
/
KLCC

A flyer circulating around England and possibly the U.S. is calling for people to attack Muslims. Unconfirmed rumors say the flyer has appeared on the Lane Community College campus. KLCC’s Brian Bull reports on how local Muslims are responding.

The flyer declares April 3rd to be “Punish a Muslim Day”, and assigns increasing point values for attacks ranging from spitting in Muslim’s faces to destroying Mecca.

Credit Snopes.com
Flyers declaring April 3, 2018 as "Punish a Muslim Day" call for increasingly violent acts against Muslims for points. They first appeared in England and may have also shown up in Eugene, Oregon.

At the University of Oregon, members of the Muslim Student Association set up a table with informative pamphlets on Islam and took questions from people curious about their culture and religion.

Junior Fama Gdi says it’s to inform and make a statement.

“We’re Muslim and proud, despite how much people hate us for simply practicing a different faith," Gdi tells KLCC.  "So just kinda to say that we’re out here, we’re not scared.”

Another student, Abdullah Al-shbanah, says he’s concerned about calls to violence that have been made in the flyer.

“Many people actually take actions into that, so that’s really sad," he says. "And that’s why we’re doing what we’re doing now.”

Meanwhile, the Eugene Islamic Center says the FBI warned them of the “Punish A Muslim Day” flyer, and that police patrols would be stepped up around their building. Calls and knocks on the Center’s doors went unanswered. 

Copyright 2018, KLCC.

Brian Bull is an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Oregon, and remains a contributor to the KLCC news department. He began working with KLCC in June 2016.   In his 27+ years as a public media journalist, he's worked at NPR, Twin Cities Public Television, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, Wisconsin Public Radio, and ideastream in Cleveland. His reporting has netted dozens of accolades, including four national Edward R. Murrow Awards (22 regional),  the Ohio Associated Press' Best Reporter Award, Best Radio Reporter from  the Native American Journalists Association, and the PRNDI/NEFE Award for Excellence in Consumer Finance Reporting.
Related Content