The Michigan chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) has launched a safety toolkit for mosques and Islamic schools amid what the organization said is a rise in nationwide anti-Muslim threats.
CAIR-MI’s Safe Spaces department met with local police departments to help guide the development of the toolkit.
The organization said it's publishing the resource as Muslim communities across the country face safety concerns including physical attacks, violent threats, and vandalism at mosques. The organization also pointed to a deadly attack at an Islamic center in San Diego in May as part of the broader concerns facing Muslim institutions.
The toolkit starts out with a self-assessment checklist that has participating institutions examine their physical security, people and responsibilities, community relationships, and existing plans and procedures.
Following that checklist, CAIR said there's a simple response guide for situations such as suspicious or escalating behavior, threatening communications, and an active assailant situation.
Soobia Kidwai, who directs the council's Safe Spaces Department, said the goal is to give Muslim institutions a practical place to begin when assessing their security.
“This toolkit gives them a starting point to look at their facility, their procedures, and their people and ask, are we prepared? Do our staff and volunteers know what to do?”
These steps provide tools to help institutions improve emergency preparedness and build proactive relationships with local law enforcement, Kidwai said.
The group encouraged mosques and Islamic schools to take that process a step further by contacting their local police departments and requesting facility safety assessments.
During those assessments, law enforcement can visit a facility, review its existing safety measures and identify potential gaps.
For Kidwai, that relationship is one of the most important parts of the toolkit.
“The goal is to be proactive, to have the conversations, relationships and procedures in place before they're needed,” she said.
Kidwai said the success of the initiative will ultimately depend on whether institutions act on the information.
"For me, success isn’t just about how many people received the toolkit—it’s whether it helped our institutions become better prepared."
