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Local reaction to Mosque hate letters

Posted at 11:31 PM, Nov 29, 2016
and last updated 2016-11-30 02:31:05-05

Hate letters sent to at least seven mosques throughout California last week have launched an investigation.

Kern County mosques haven't gotten any yet, but community leaders say they expect them.

Emad Meerza is a well-known leader in the Muslim community in Kern County.

On Tuesday, he got a call from the state attorney general’s office, assuring Meerza that the office is aware of what's happening.

Meerza says they've gotten threats in the past. The letters in this case use derogatory terms about Muslims, suggesting president-elect Trump will do to Muslims what Hitler did to the Jews and that they better pack their bags.

Meerza is afraid the mood in the United States isn't good right now. He hopes the narrative about Muslims can change in this country and that people will have the compassion to understand that Islam is just like any other religion.

The FBI is working with local agencies where those letters were sent to find the person responsible. They are investigating it as a hate crime.