Nearly two weeks after a local Falls Church area mosque, Dar Al-Hijrah, was threatened with a hoax bomb, U.S. Rep. Don Beyer, who represents the 8th District of Virginia that includes Falls Church, joined Keith Ellison (D-Mn.), and Joe Crowley (D-NY) to write House colleagues urging them to visit the Falls Church mosque to participate in Friday prayers this week. “Intolerance and hatred have no place in American society,” said Rep. Beyer. “We are a diverse nation of immigrants whose shared cultural heritage is one of openness and inclusion. We must celebrate this diverse thread of our cultural cloth, not tear it apart.” Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, Outreach Director for the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center, said, “Many in our community feel under siege in recent weeks. Women taking their children to school have been heckled by passersby, and we experienced two incidences of hate violence. It is with the support of good neighbors like Congressmen Beyer, Ellison, and Crowley that we carry on knowing that our future will be brighter.”

Their visits comes on the heels of numerous reports over the past few weeks of anti-Muslim acts of hatred throughout the country, including in Northern Virginia, Texas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Arizona. Beyer will participate in Friday prayers at Dar al-Hijrah, 159 Row Street, Falls Church, at 12:15 p.m. Following the service, he will join Imam Johari Abdul-Malik to speak with reporters and the public.